Page 25 - Climate Control News Magazine August 2019

Indoor Air Quality
Platform accommodates personal preferences
The platform allows occupants to modify environmental conditions according to their own requirements in spaces such as hotel rooms.
Novel filter
reduces allergens
A GRADUATE STUDENT in the Purdue Uni- versity School of Industrial Engineering, Andrew Huang, has founded Ongenia to bring a new type of soybean-based HVAC filter to market.
The novel filter removes fine particles out of the air and could improve indoor air quality and reduce airborne allergens.
Typical HVAC units control heat and air supply as well as ventilation in indoor spaces to achieve the desired room temperature and humidity.
The units also include filters of polyester or fiberglass that remove large particles out of the air.
Common air pollutants include dust, smoke and dirt, which can affect both indoor and outdoor air quality. However, Andrew Huang, said the Ongenia filter looks and acts like a typical air filter but cer- tain biological properties allow air to pass through while filtering out specific particulates.
He said he hopes a larger air ventilation com- pany will sublicense his innovation.
“Biological materials can have many brilliant features, including being a renewable resource and possibly having improved fire resistance,” Huang said.
Currently, the startup is building a proof-of- conceptprototype. ✺
Andrew Huang is developing a soybean-based HVAC filter.
ACUITY BRANDS HAS announced that Dis- tech Controls has launched the ECLYPSE Sky Ecosystem platform which allows occupants to easily manage comfort settings within their space using a mobile device.
Charles Pelletier, director of product manage- ment at Distech Controls, said everyone has their own preferences for temperature and light levels.
“Our new platform allows occupants in building spaces to have greater personal con- trol over these elements in their indoor environ- ment through the my PERSONIFY app on their mobile device,” he said.
The ECLYPSE Sky Ecosystem platform in- cludes the Allure UNITOUCH touchscreen, my PERSONIFY app, and EC-Multi-Sensor sensing and communicating device. The cutting-edge user interface of the Allure UNITOUCH is fitted with its own touch sensor.
With its built-in Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) technology, it can be paired with a smartphone for quick and easy adjustment of room comfort settings such as HVAC, lighting and sunblinds.
The EC-Multi-Sensor BLE features a motion detector, light sensor, temperature sensor, and a BLE transceiver that together enable the wireless control of comfort settings in build- ing spaces. The my PERSONIFY app is easily customizable for each user through its intui- tive interface.
Occupant well-being is an increasingly im- portant consideration for optimizing work- place performance, reducing absenteeism and boosting morale.
Distech Controls president, Martin Villeneuve, said occupants using the platform can easily and quickly modify environmental conditions accord- ing to their own requirements in spaces such as hotel rooms, cellular offices or classrooms.
“OUR NEW PLATFORM ALLOWS OCCUPANTS IN BUILDING SPACES TO HAVE GREATER PERSONAL CONTROL OVER THEIR INDOOR ENVIRONMENT.”
– DISTECH CONTROLS PRODUCT MANAGEMENT DIRECTOR, CHARLES PELLETIER.
“We were able to create an occupant-fo- cused and mobile-accessible platform, putting employees or guests in charge of their own spaces to maximize comfort, control and well- being, the interface of which can blend aes- thetically in the environment as it is available in black and white finishes,” he said.
CLIMATE CONTROL NEWS
AUGUST 2019
25