A Scottish specialist engineering company has designed ‘The Biojet” to help deliver COVID free, clean air solutions for a safe return to work and indoor public places
CPA Engineered Solutions Ltd has a 29 year track record of product innovation providing clean air solutions for industrial, commercial, and retail premises. Having tested and developed a combination of air ventilation, sterilisation and purification technologies, CPA are now designing tailored installations that create COVID-19 free air in workplaces, thus providing a solution for a cleaner, safer new normal.
Product Technical Support Engineer, Euan Whelan said: “COVID-19 has presented a tough task for employers to ensure the safety of their employees’ return to work and for all businesses to ensure public safety, travelling through indoor public places – shopping malls, schools, colleges, hospitality venues, bus stations, train stations and airports.”
SAGE commissioned a report with regards to air cleaning devices suggesting they may be a useful strategy to reduce airborne transmission risks in poorly ventilated spaces. They recommend such devices for settings where the ventilation is poor, and it is not possible to improve it by other means. They also note that the efficacy and safety of such devices should be evidenced by relevant test data, and that the effectiveness of air cleaning devices depends on multiple parameters, including the design of the device, the in room location, the environment it is used in and also the maintenance of the device.
Two industry power houses; REHVA (Federation of European Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning) and CIBSE (Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers) both recommend increasing flow rates of fresh outside air and avoid re-circulation and transfer of air from one room to another. UVGI is now forming part of CIBSE ventilation guidance for COVID 19 and independent testing has shown that UVC is effective at inactivating coronaviruses when the correct dosage is applied. Combined with ventilation and purification measures, this technology is considered to be amongst the most vital engineering applications in infection control.
Euan added: “To minimise transmission, effective air ventilation is crucial in assisting infection control during the pandemic and the evidence continues to suggest that in poorly ventilated indoor spaces, airborne aerosols still pose a transmission risk. Having researched what existing equipment we could work with, we established very quickly that there was little available and that we would have to design our own equipment.
“At CPA, the key to cleaner and safer indoor air is more than just the products. It is about creating a measured solution for each unique space. We make sure that the air ventilation is designed and maintained for maximum effect. We use air purifiers, and we use our own air sterilisation technology, The Biojet.”
The Biojet is a high volume air cleaning device that passes air through an Ultra-Violet C (UVC) Germicidal Irradiation chamber (UVGI) which deactivates viruses, including coronavirus, mould and bacteria.
With 14 years’ experience in UVGI, CPA’s UVGI product specialist, Emmet O’Callaghan explains, “We know the damage microbial activities can cause to both lives and the economy.
“CPA’s ambition is to reduce this microbial activity and reduce the probability of another transmission event. On a more positive note, we now see that groups like CIBSE and ASHRAE (The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers) are recommending the use UVC as part of a suite of solutions to deal with poor indoor quality.
“The Biojet and similar technologies should be considered as solutions for the future proofing of our buildings against both existing microbial threats and the inevitable arrival of similar pathogenic microbes like COVID 19. The recent pandemic has shown the damage that can be caused due to Lockdown, so consideration should be given to protecting our buildings against such threats.
“Good indoor air quality is the cornerstone of any internal air management strategy going forward if we are to maintain our way of life, protect our people, make buildings safer and more robust, keep supply chains open, running efficiently and to protect our environment.”
With regards to air ventilation, CPA have combined the use of evaporative coolers with hybrid roof ventilation systems. Direct evaporative coolers provide 100% fresh conditioned/cool air into your building whilst the hybrid roof ventilator extracts warmer stale air out of the building, achieving target ventilation rates with extremely low running costs. Furthermore, the humidity control and removed pollutants improve indoor air quality and more importantly, decrease the risk of COVID-19 airborne transmission.
CPA take a unique customer focussed approach to provide virus, mould and bacteria free indoor air, however, they continue to work hand in hand with facilities managers and infection control experts who makes sure that work surfaces are regularly and thoroughly cleaned in order to create safe indoor spaces. They recommend that government guidelines should be followed at all times.
About CPA
CPA Engineered Solutions Ltd has made its name by supplying and creating innovative, technology-driven air solutions. Their heritage in compressed air, the lifeblood of manufacturing led them onto solving challenges relating to the effective and efficient use of air within a facility. A privately held company, CPA Engineered Solutions Ltd is committed to perpetuating its 29-year tradition of product innovation. Today, CPA employs a highly skilled team of Engineers and support teams with a manufacturing facility based in Central Scotland.
If you would like more information, contact: weelynn@weepartnership.co.uk or call 07967804257
