Several members of our team attended the annual AHR Expo in February of this year, held in Atlanta, Georgia. Sponsored by ASHRAE (the American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air-Conditioning Engineers) and AHRI (the Air-Conditioning, Heating and Refrigeration Institute), the event is the world’s largest gathering of HVAC/R professionals.
This year, the Expo attracted more than 40,000 visitors from 105 countries, including manufacturers, engineers, contractors, distributors, manufacturer’s representatives and more. The event includes a wide range of educational sessions, networking opportunities and a nearly 500,000 square foot exhibit hall with 1700+ exhibiting companies.
Here at AJ, we use the AHR Expo as a way to stay up to date on the latest trends and technologies in HVAC, as well as to meet with many of our independent representatives located across the country. After spending three days immersed in the HVAC industry, it became clear that one topic stood out as the focus for so many attendees and exhibitors: Indoor Air Quality (IAQ)!
Considering the devastating impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic, this focus on IAQ is really not surprising. But the extent to which the entire industry has turned its attention to the quality and contents of the air people breathe definitely cannot be overstated. In fact, ASHRAE, the organization that sets the standards for building HVAC systems, has announced that it is expediting the development of a new “national indoor air quality pathogen mitigation standard” (see related story for details).
As we walked through the show floor, we saw one example after another of new products and systems designed to clean the air and eliminate viruses and other pathogens. But despite the many new items being promoted, we did not see a solution that is more effective – and especially more proven over time – than the HEPA filtration systems we’ve already been manufacturing for years!
Due to our longstanding specialty of serving the air purification needs of hospital operating rooms, laboratories and other critical environments, we already know how to mitigate airborne pathogens extremely effectively. So, our takeaway from the show was that rather than the industry looking for new solutions to an old problem, we feel the correct approach is to look for ways to apply existing, proven technologies in ways that can protect more people in various indoor environments.
We think this philosophy will be the future of meeting more stringent IAQ standards – and we know we have the products and the experience to meet these new challenges. We look forward to seeing where the industry goes from here, and to developing whatever solutions are needed.