Waterfront Professional Park’s
Clean Air and Green Initiatives

Why did we upgrade our HVAC Systems with
Plasma and Bi-Polar Ionization?

From a 40,000 foot view, we’ve always looked at ways to make our buildings greener from inception to present time. It is why our buildings use the most efficient LED lighting, low voltage hand dryers, low flow plumbing, etc. However, while our HVAC improvements are undoubtedly “Green” in that they save our buildings 30% on energy consumption and lower every entrant’s carbon footprint by reducing outdoor air intake by up to 75%; they [HVAC Improvements] were also the responsible thing to do for all of our tenants, our tenant’s clients and customers, and all other entrants and stakeholders.

One of the problems with green energy and/or green technologies is that economically and environmentally viable alternatives rarely coalesce. Adding the plasma and bi-polar ionization units to our common areas, tenant suites, and throughout our entire buildings’ HVAC systems provided one of those rare opportunities for a win-win to our bottom line and the environment. Likewise, from a public health perspective our HVAC systems now also eliminate airborne pollutants, pathogens, and all the nefarious things like COVID-19 that we wouldn’t want to be breathing.

But how does it work?

Ionization isn’t a term we expect everyone to know. Understand that this technology targets pathogens like viral germs and bacteria in the air by making them more susceptible to air filters. Before, too many of these undesirable aspects of life could have been floating in the air waiting to make patrons sick, trigger allergies, or target and harm their immune system.

But the HVAC system doesn’t destroy them, so much as convert them into harmless and helpful compounds. They become substances like oxygen, carbon dioxide, nitrogen, and water. This means we’ve not only bettered our carbon footprint by reducing our energy consumption, but we’re converting malicious germs into key building blocks of life. It all becomes either the air we breathe, the gas plants synthesize to thrive, or the substance that keeps us all hydrated and healthy. These are the only byproducts of our system.

Ionization in the Air-Conditioning and Heating Equals Clean Air

This isn’t something you hear about and never notice. Entrants will physically notice a difference between breathing clean air in our building versus everywhere else they go. But saying isn’t the same as explaining. To better understand the differences, we dive into how successful these HVAC improvements resolved environmental health issues in another location.

The Challenge of Odor ControlA children’s hospital needed to upgrade its HVAC system to deal with noxious diesel fumes and street odors emanating from a nearby construction zone. This led to hospital staff and patients complaining about odors their existing HVAC system was unable to filter out. The facilities management team was also looking for a solution to keep the entire depth of the coils clean and free of biofilm, which would only further pollute the air. They needed a much more rigorous solution to ameliorate the enterprise-wide environmental health of their multiple teams, patients, and stakeholders. This was especially important considering the at-risk patients in this hospital, so our Plasma and Bi-Polar Ionization manufacturer developed a solution.

The Solution to Odor ControlA new air system was set up for the hospital. It was designed to do three things to fix the air problems they were having:

  1. Control the noxious diesel fumes.
  2. Destroy the odors coming from the construction site.
  3. Destroy the microorganisms that produced the biofilm on the old HVAC’s coils.

The Results of the ExperimentThe diesel fumes and other unpleasant odors were eliminated and the HVAC system’s coils were sanitized within 48 hours. Altogether, this saved as much as 30% in power consumption in the process. The hospital’s other alternative to resolving the odor issues would have been expensive renovations. If the hospital had gone with the renovations instead, they would have added more demand to their system. This would eventually create high-pressure drops, which are of no help to anyone. In layman’s terms, this would have resulted in a higher energy bill without 100% certainty of solving the problem. So when you walk into buildings at the Waterfront Professional Park, expect the air to be clean, odorless, and generally devoid of any virulent particles.

The HVAC bi-polar Ionization Process

Our air filtration system does four things with ionization. The process works so well, that our buildings get better and cleaner air versus other air filtration systems.

Reduces Particles: The filter reduces airborne particles like dust, pet dandruff, and pollen through a process called agglomeration. During this process, airborne particles are subsequently attracted to one another. This works to effectively increase their mass and size. The air filtration system then easily captures the larger particles.

Reduces Pathogen: During the cleaning process, the HVAC technology attacks and kills viruses, mold spores, and bacteria. The ions steal away hydrogen from the pathogens, leaving them to die, and leaving you with clean and healthy indoor air.

Neutralizes Odors: During the cleaning process, chemicals, pets, cooking, and other odors are broken down into basic harmless gases, like carbon dioxide. This leaves the indoor air smelling fresh and free of odor-causing substances.

Saves Energy: Our HVAC’s environmentally friendly cleaning process allows commercial buildings to significantly reduce the amount of outdoor air required to operate. This equates to a safer, more comfortable environment that requires up to 30% less energy to air-condition.

To learn more about how our system works, you can visit our partner’s page detailing their technology.

A Clean Air and Green Initiative for a Greener Future

We’ve gone green, for us and you. That isn’t a tagline but a mission statement. By utilizing our new HVAC system to clean the air for all entrants into our buildings, without polluting the environment, we have created an enterprise-wide environment that lets people breathe cleanly.

To learn about what available spaces we have where you can breathe fresh and clean air as you work, check our vacancies.

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