Panama.
The Inter-American University of Panama (UIP), is about to enter its second year of being protected by the technology of the ultraviolet emitters C band of Steril-Aire. UVC emitters are installed in all air handlers in the new building located in Panama City.
This technology has kept the air that heats the entire building and event halls free of mold, virus and bacteria, thus protecting all administrative and academic staff, its student community and all visitors who enter this institution.
Additionally, the implementation of UVC emitters in the handlers, installed from the first day of their operation, keep the coil free of bio-film, managing to maintain the efficiency in heat transfer as well as the low electricity consumption of a team just out of the factory.
"This has a very profound effect on maintenance, as it frees staff from everything related to the manual cleaning of cooling coils, eliminating the use of chemicals for not having to perform this task and in turn giving maintenance personnel much more time to perform other necessary tasks on the premises, also eliminating premature wear of the coil of each equipment caused by manual maintenance, extending their useful life", explained Erick Taylor, from the Dept. of CAI and Energy Savings of Copanac S.A.
On the other hand, the implementation of UVC emitters also has a profound effect on the Indoor Air Quality of this Institution, since the air treated by the emitters in an installation carried out based on the installation parameters detailed by the manufacturer is guaranteed to be 99% free of mold, viruses and bacteria. This high quality of air on the premises helps reduce asthma symptoms, allergy and reduces infections. This has an effect on student and staff absenteeism, reducing it and allowing an improvement in university productivity. This applies in the same way to any office that has very high intensity UVC emitters installed.
The company explained that in Panama this is not the only institution protected by steril-Aire's UVC emitters, they are also installed in the Electoral Tribunal and several hospitals in the city, thus protecting the health of anyone who visits these institutions.
"ASHRAE endorses the use of UVC emitters and supports through a study the notion that a clean coil saves energy. Overall, ASHRAE position papers recognize the health benefits of using UV-C radiation, as demonstrated in several studies and recognize that the technology is a potentially beneficial option, the use of which should be considered by office/residential building owners, hospitals, hotels, airports, supermarkets, shopping malls, schools/universities, museums, really any place where air conditioning or refrigeration is used," said engineer Taylor.
