News | United CoolAir

April 10, 2018 by Matt Hanson

Grow Room HVAC Units

The rapid increase of the cannabis industry within the United States creates a critical need for proper HVAC equipment in Grow Room facilities. Growing cannabis can be very tricky due to the fact it is grown indoors instead of outdoors like other crops. It is critical that cooling and dehumidification are the focus of their HVAC needs.
There are six main challenges that one will face when determining an HVAC system for a grow facility. Those six challenges are temperature, humidity, lighting, airflow, ventilation, and smart technology.

Grow room facilities typically need to be between 70°F-75°F with humidity between 50-60%. HVAC systems should be able to maintain the specific temperature to ensure growth for the plants. Also needed is the ability to quickly remove any additional humidity that may arise during the watering process. The lights used in these facilities also produce a large amount of heat, therefore, needing a strong HVAC unit to keep the rooms cool and prevent overheating.

Airflow is critical and your HVAC system should provide enough to create a “natural like breeze” to ensure the plants have constant movement and vibration. Equally important is the need to provide extensive filtration to the system. This will ensure smells cannot leak to the outside and prevents mold spore formation by capturing all dust and sediment. Lastly, your grow room cooling unit must have smart technology enabled in order to control all of the above mentioned or alert you if something goes wrong.

When it comes to selecting your HVAC unit for a grow room facility, you need to think of United CoolAir. United CoolAir can manufacture exactly what you are looking for in order to create a successful grow room. We have both the expertise and experience to provide you the best operational equipment in the USA.

March 20, 2018 by Matt Hanson

Dedicated Outside Air Systems (DOAS)

The late sixties, early seventies ushered a new era into many facets of our lives. The rising cost of oil and uncertainty of supply made it necessary to evaluate what we had taken for granted for many years. The October of 1973 Arab oil embargo sent oil prices rocketing while shortening oil supplies. This caused building owners/operators to search for more reliable, less expensive ways to heat and cool large commercial spaces. The solution it seemed was to create a sealed building envelope thereby limiting the amount of infiltration and ventilation air to the minimum.

National energy conservation measures called for a reduction of outside air to 5 CFM per building occupant from 10 CFM. Most experts incorrectly believed this would be sufficient ventilation to ensure adequate health and comfort. The reduction in expensive OA resulted in a large increase in occupant complaints traced to their time at their workplace. Symptoms included nose or throat irritation, headache, dry cough, itchy skin, sensitivity to odors, nausea, and eye discomfort. Sick Building Syndrome (SBS), as it became known sickened 221 people and killed 34 others at an American Legion convention in Philadelphia. Later discoveries concluded the contamination occurred through their air conditioning system.

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March 20, 2018 by Matt Hanson

Retrofit Replacements

It is estimated that there are over 5 million buildings available for HVAC retrofit upgrades and retrofitting. While 70% of commercial buildings built prior to 1980 have not had any HVAC improvements. With changes in building codes, government guidelines, technology, IAQ and environmental standards many building owners face an excess of challenges. For example, one of the issues that building owners have little control over is the cost of energy. Current rates range from 6.5 cents to over 12 cents dependent on area. All forecasts show tremendous growth over the next few decades. HVAC related building power costs now account for 40% of consumption. This means efficiency advances and cost savings will be vital for owners.

Projected Energy Growth

During new construction when HVAC systems were originally installed; size, weight, ease of installation and refrigerant were of no concern. Large chillers were lowered into basements before construction was finished, and rooftop units were installed using machinery already onsite. Now twenty to thirty years later things are more complex. No longer is there open access or a crane onsite to simplify upgrading an HVAC system.

With an importance on green building, what is the best answer? Buy a replacement rooftop unit and spend thousands of dollars on installation. However, the installation could cost half of the cost of the replacement unit. For instance, how do you remove and retrofit large tonnage chillers from a basement in a dense urban area?

At the same time, there are products to solve these retrofitting problems. Selecting an off the shelf or stock unit will not be a perfect fit like the initial installations. United CoolAir adapts units to make retrofit projects simple and easy to install. Choosing a splittable system that can move through a standard 32-inch doorway into a standard elevator resolves to get the units inside an existing building. This will also diminish the total cost of installation by using less manpower; overcome other technical issues that would be necessary for the installation of standard commercial units. What can make these EZ-Fit units even more attractive is they can fit above the ceiling or in a mechanical room?

The Indoor Advantage

By bringing your units indoors you can gain valuable roof space for green projects such as solar panels or a living roof. Additionally, units are serviceable indoors at any time; support longer unit life; reduce damages from storms, vandalism or even theft of valuable copper destroying your units.

Owners can expect a shorter ROI, lower energy costs and an overall lower lifecycle cost. Concerns from building owners vary from too costly, tenant interruption, and no funding among others. In today’s climate, governments along with others are providing programs to lessen the financial worry. As a result, PACE bonds, leasing, and energy programs like Potomac Edison provide fantastic incentives to become more energy-efficient. Potomac ED’s program provides up to 50% rebate of the purchase price, excluding taxes for each VFD installed capped at a total of $250,000. These programs give building owners every reason to retrofit their outdated HVAC systems.

Repair or retrofitting is going to become more widespread than new construction in the upcoming years. Retrofitting your old high energy-consuming system with unique features split unit can make a retrofit project as simple as screwing in a light bulb.

March 5, 2018 by Matt Hanson

Hotel HVAC Solutions

Many hotels and other high-rise buildings can develop indoor humidity issues causing high moisture levels. As a result, these problems can lead to damage to the building or discomfort to their guests without having the proper DOAS system into place. It is critical for business designers to implement cost-effective strategies to ensure their buildings are operating efficiently.

A proper DOAS system combined with interior conditioning strategies such as chilled beams or VRF systems can help control high humidity levels within a building. Preventing high indoor moisture is extremely important not only for the building but for the health of their occupants. The initial upfront could be a costly endeavor, however, the long term benefits of investing in a DOAS will far outweigh the short term cost.

Moisture Level in Hotels is Key

Moisture removal is the key component to optimal IAQ (indoor air quality) and occupant comfort. This can maximize the life of the facilities equipment and furnishings. The recommended range of human comfort (defined by ASHRAE) and desirable humidity level for interiors is around 65% relative humidity. Anything above 65% will yield the likelihood of microbial growth. One way to minimize the reheat energy associated with dehumidification would be through an energy recovery wheel (ERV). If you had an extremely hot and muggy day at 88°F and 60% RH, an ERV could reduce the outside air temperature down to 77°F and 60% RH.

Dehumidification often tends to be ignored because of the high cost and high energy expenditure of operating today’s buildings. Consequently, the lack of dehumidification in hotels can not only cause occupant discomfort but building damage as well. The best way to address this concern is to properly design a dehumidification system. Using a system with an energy recovery wheel is a great solution. Contact United CoolAir today and ask about how our Alpha Aire unit can meet all the needs of your building.

February 21, 2018 by Matt Hanson

Temporary Cooling Your Portable Solution

Once an HVAC unit has had a proper installation, it typically remains stationary and operating for decades to come. On the other hand, some situations call for cooling, heating, and dehumidification to be used for a short time. In these instances, it is important to have a temporary cooling or portable solution.
. The most common conventional applications are construction sites, industrial and manufacturing pharmaceuticals, education institutions, and commercial office space. Additional uses are server rooms, events and function facilities, restoration and remediation, and emergency response. New construction or reconstruction is where most of these uses can be applied. With that being said, one wants to ensure that these temporary HVAC units are cost-effective and environmentally friendly options.

Choosing a Temporary Portable Unit

In choosing the proper Temporary units you would want one that is capable of cooling only, heating only or cooling/heating and dehumidification. Furthermore, a unit that can also be used indoors and outdoors where condenser air is duct-able to the outside or into a plenum. Additionally, you would want it to be designed incorporating a flexible duct to move the conditioned air where it is needed. They should also provide a free-blow capability and have the flexibility, to be used with the flexible duct using optional duct adapters. Occasionally the capability to mount the unit on a pod would be beneficial. Of course, the handling of smaller units could be easier by providing them with casters. Furthermore, easily transporting a compact trailer unit to a job site can be of great value.

A value-added reason for utilizing a temporary HVAC system is a project’s first cost. Another financial benefit of a temporary unit is the exclusion of HVAC equipment from the first cost of the building’s program construction. Some examples would be if there was a lack of equipment room space, no in-house operations, and maintenance labor cost. Still, other value-added reasons would include no in-house inventory cost. The final reason would be to avoid the end of life replacement costs.

January 3, 2018 by Matt Hanson

Healthcare-Associated Infections: How can we help?

Indoor air pollutants can affect the health of children, the elderly and those with health problems and lead to infections. As people spend an extreme amount of time indoors, the air we breathe in closed-in spaces can further worsen health problems. For example, each and every day we are open to indoor impurities such as chemicals, gases, dust, and mold. Many health problems can occur from poor indoor air including sore eyes, nose burning, sore throat, headaches, and fatigue. These pollutants can be found in homes as well as schools offices and even healthcare facilities.

Healthcare-Associated Infections

Healthcare-Associated Infections (HAI) are infections that patients can get while having treatment in any healthcare facility. Most of these HAI’s could be preventable with proper indoor air quality. Meanwhile, pollutants can cause or worsen existing allergies and breathing illnesses such as asthma, heart disease, cancer, and other conditions. Furthermore, the hospital’s physical environment can have a momentous impact on patients’ health. If the air is dry (as it is in most hospitals) this can create a home for microorganisms. In addition, this can worsen the indoor conditions that lead to infections and allergens to humans. An indoor relative humidity between 40-60% will help to protect patient health and decrease excess health care costs.

Indoor air hydration will support patients in a variety of ways including skin and respiratory tract defenses. This also includes immune cell functioning wound healing and total body fluid balance. In other words, all of those are natural defenses against HAI’s. Healthcare facilities need to ensure they are making patients their number one importance by focusing on indoor air quality. With proper indoor air quality, you will see a decrease in re-admissions, shorter inpatient stays, and lessening of non-reimbursable hospital expenses. One of the best ways to control IAQ and improve health is to have a dedicated outdoor air system (DOAS) in place. United CoolAir produces many units designed to bring in the fresh air and improve the health of buildings and patients.