2024 Dealer Design Awards: Indoor Air Quality

Not only is this new IAQ product’s highly-visible LED lamp-life notification bar catching the eyes of technicians and homeowners, but also the attention of the judges in this year’s Dealer Design Awards IAQ category, taking home the gold medal for best product.

The Apco-One, with its all-new quick-release control box and LED lamp-life notification bars, represents a significant step forward in the design and installation of an in-duct IAQ system.

While other systems had lamp notification bars, they are so small that customers, and even technicians, may not notice them, said Tyler Batchelder, IAQ project manager at Chuck’s Heating and Air Conditioning.

“With his one, you can literally tell right when you walk in the mechanical room whether it’s working or not,” Batchelder said.

“Technicians and homeowners will be notified when it’s time to replace the UV lamp via color-changing LED light bars and flashes,” Aaron Engel, vice president of business development at DiversiTech, added. “This allows the installer to offer replacement UV lamps, guaranteeing system performance and meets end-user expectations. Lamp notification also allows for additional replacement revenue by increasing UV lamp sales.”

Batchelder said not only is this a convenient install, but it’s also easy to explain the benefits to customers.

“I’ve been a fan of UV for a long time — especially with how UV handles odors and biologicals and anything that might be growing on the coil,” Batchelder said. “So there are all kinds of indoor air quality benefits for it.”

Designed to be installed in the ductwork or over the evaporator coil, Apco-One continually disinfects the air, addressing mold, bacteria, viruses, and odors that recirculate within the home or building and complementing the HVAC filter. Apco-One is also designed to help maintain peak HVAC equipment efficiency by neutralizing pressure-robbing mold and biofilm that causes issues such as odors, heat transfer loss, and increased static pressure across the coil. The two-year advanced UVC lamp neutralizes the microorganisms while the lifetime EverCarbon catalyst reduces odors and VOCs. The 24V Apco-One system includes a lifetime warranty and ships with a 120/208/240VAC transformer.

“Fresh-Aire UV used to have a low-voltage option, but the fact that this comes with a 24V transformer just makes it so much easier,” Batchelder said.

Although Apco-One can be installed in the return or supply, the ideal location is above the evaporator coil. As the HVAC system is often described as the lungs of the building, by using the disinfecting system, Apco-One continually maintains a clean and healthy HVAC system by neutralizing mold and biofilm. While the HVAC filter captures one-third of airborne contaminants including dirt, dust, and dander, the Apco-One employs UVC light and EverCarbon catalyst to address the other two-thirds of contaminants such as mold, bacteria, viruses, odors, and VOCs that pass through a filter like sand through a tennis racket. Apco-One is the perfect complement to HVAC filtration.

Apco-One also addresses two issues installers face: 1) ease of installation and 2) notification, or when it’s time to replace the UV lamp. Having a simple assembly allows for a quick, simple, and fast installation. Often, in-duct and coil mount IAQ solutions are installed in awkward spaces such as attics or crawl spaces. Using a quick-mount design allows the installer to easily install without the need for small screws or additional hardware.

With heightened concerns over IAQ in general, and increasing challenges to outdoor air quality like wildfires, a growing number of building owners and occupants are looking to control and remove odors, VOCs, and other gas phase contaminants from the indoor air. Enter this year’s Silver winner in the IAQ category: Dynamic AQS’s Dynamic Edge Gas Phase Solutions.

Tangential airflow along Edge media is even, non-restricted, and predictable. The design takes advantage of geometry to optimize the path length of airflow and contaminant contact time. This paves the way for low static pressure, which allows for new opportunities in gas phase filtration for existing systems and significant energy savings. It also allows for high removal efficiencies, complete utilization of activated carbon and additives, and a lean Mass Transfer Zone (MTZ).

The product is ASHRAE Standard 145.2 third-party tested for select EPA Criteria Pollutants, 62.1-2022 Design Compounds, and Inorganic Contaminants. It requires no media settling, bypass, or dusting, and no post-filtration is necessary.

Dynamic Edge opens the door for customized gas phase filtration solutions and offers two Edge media blends that are engineered for targeted removal of specific gas phase contaminant types. This allows customized solutions to the challenges of each application, via flexible panel configurations, media blends, product depths, and media densities. Edge VOC Blend removes medium to high molecular weight VOCs such as toluene and terpenes. Edge Acid Gas Blend removes VOCs as well as small inorganic acidic gases, including H2S, SOX, and NOX, by means of chemisorption.

Aireshield is an innovative system designed to combat biologicals and infectious aerosols in indoor environments (airborne pathogens) while adhering to ASHRAE standard 241.

Airborne pathogens, such as viruses, bacteria, and PM2.5 sub-micron particles, pose significant health risks and can lead to the spread of diseases within the built environment. HVAC systems can increase the spread of aerosols within buildings without a pathogen mitigation strategy.

The system combines advanced filtration using a confined plasmic field. This technology also conforms to UL-2998 and enhances existing particulate filters via agglomeration of opposing polarity charged particles. The end result is a MERV 8 becomes a MERV 13, while a MERV 13 becomes a MERV 16.

The Aireshield is a true confined non-thermal plasma device. Standard 120 or 220 volts are stepped up to 5500 volts with very little amperage to create this plasma field within 1-inch openings. The airflow passing through these openings is disinfected.

The Aireshield does not utilize consumables (unlike traditional media filters or UV bulbs). All that is required is cleaning the Aireshield twice a year.