Fall 2009Volume 7 /Number 3
Fall is here and students are back in school. Only half
are going back to class with good indoor air quality
(IAQ). Approximately 50% of 120,000 school buildings
have been diagnosed with poor IAQ. Aging buildings,
tight operating budgets and environmental conditions
could inhibit learning and pose health risks to the
children and staff.
Research has
shown that
children who
attend a school in
poor condition
score 11 percent
lower on stan-
dardized tests
than students
who attend
schools in good
condition.
More than 53
million children
and about 6
million adults
spend the majority of their day indoors in school build-
ings across the United States. Problems that could arise
in a school with poor IAQ range from short- or long-
term health problems to creating potential liability
problems. Absenteeism is a problem that increases in
poor environments for both the students and teachers.
The leading cause of absenteeism is asthma. The Cen-
ters for Disease Control and Prevention estimates
approximately 14 million school days per year are lost
due to asthma exacerbated by poor indoor air quality
in schools.
There are many causes of poor IAQ. Schools represent
a denser population than a commercial office building.
Viable and non-viable particulates are brought into the
building through open windows and doors and on
people’s clothing. The increased activity level of most
young people, cause the increased shedding of skin
cells and other particulates. The cleaner air in the morn-
ing had all night to filter but at the end of the day the
school is filled with
the dirty air that was
created by a full day
of particulates and
odors.
Schools can improve
IAQ by doing just a
few easy steps.
Ensure there is
adequate ventilation.
Adequate ventilation
is essential for good
IAQ. Many ventila-
tion problems in
schools are caused
by simple and inex-
pensive problems
such as blocked intakes and vents. Adequate ventila-
tion will decrease the energy costs and can improve the
health associated with good ventilation. Upgrade air
filters to high efficiency filters. Many schools will use a
MERV 1-4 filter, due to tight budgets, but they will only
remove minimal levels of particulates. The particulates
that remain in the air will eventually be inhaled by the
children and staff some of the particulates eventually
accumulate in the lungs causing illness.
Replacing the low efficiency filters with high efficiency
filters can save energy, remove allergens and irritants
from the air, and greatly improve IAQ, providing an
improved learning environment for our students.
In early July, U.S. Representative John Spratt visited
Filtration Group/Filtrair's operations in York. Congress-
man Spratt, a Democrat, has served
in the U.S. House of Representatives
for 26 years and currently chairs the
Budget Committee. His 5th congres-
sional district of South Carolina
includes both the city of York and
York County.
The Congressman has a special inter-
est in York given that he grew up in
the city and continues to maintain
agencies. His interest in the company and its employees
was further demonstrated by extending his visit from
the one hour scheduled meeting
to almost three hours.
Filtration Group began operations
in York in 1996 with two facilities
totaling 120,000 square feet and
50 employees. Today, we have
over 275,000 square feet and over
250 employees when combining
the Filtration Group and Filtrair
York operations Approximately
U.S. CONGRESSMAN VISITS YORK FACILITY
IAQ IN U.S. SCHOOLS GETS A BAD GRADE
Poor IAQ can cause illnessrequiring absence fromschool, and can causehealth symptoms thatdecrease performanceat school.
• Environmental Protection Agency
“Every child and schoolemployee should havethe right to an environ-mentally safe and healthyschool that is clean and ingood repair.”
• American Public Health Association
“When the building’sair filters do not removethe particulates from theair, the occupants’ lungsbecome the filter.”
• H.E. “Barney” Burroughs -ASHRAE Fellow
Research reports suggestthat students attendingschools in poor conditionscore 11 percent lower onstandardized tests.
• Environmental ProtectionAgency
The Filtration Group Newsletter
the city and continues to maintain
his home there. We at Filtration
Group were honored
to host his visit. Congressman Spratt has supported the
company in our efforts to work with governmental
York operations. Approximately
50 new jobs were created in the
summer of 2009 in York due to the
expansion of HEPA products. Filtration group plans on
being part of the York community for years to come.
Pictured from left to right Sean Moore, Larry Ost, John Spratt and Charlie McDow
PRSRT. STDUS POSTAGE PAIDPERMIT NO. 441
JOLIET, IL
Filtration Group912 E. Washington StreetJoliet, IL 60433
“Or Current Resident”
KERMIT
WAS
WRONGIt’s Easy Being Green
With The NewSeries 400 Pleat
Fall 2009
Years before the famous frog crooned, “It’s noteasy being green,” Filtration Group challengedthe notion by producing air filters for maximumperformance and energy efficiency.
Today, with more than 65 years of experience, FGIremains on the forefront of thinking green,producing more than 40 million filters annually.One the many reasons for FGI’s success is itsdesire to provide its customers with the verylatest filtration technology at competitive prices.
Enter FGI’s latest state-of-the-art offering: theAerostar Series 400 Pleated Air Filter. Rated anunprecedented MERV 10, the new Series 400high capacity pleat is unique because it utilizes100% synthetic media without artificial surfaceenhancement to achieve exceptionally highlevels of efficiency with the lowest resistance toair flow available on the market.
Designed for use in commercial buildings, hotels,industrial facilities, airports, schools, universitiesor any application desiring higher levels of airfiltration, the filter is effective in removing manyairborne irritants such as pollens, molds, danderand dust. In addition, the filter can protect cool-ing coils, ductwork, and other components of theHVAC system from dust and dirt.
“With the High Capacity Series 400 Pleated filter,you’re getting a breakthrough level of efficiencyat much lower resistance,” explained Phil Win-ters, Director of Product Development at FGI. “AtMERV 10 it is the best performing pleated filteravailable, it is a bit like getting more miles pergallon.
Given today’s tumultuous marketplace, theSeries 400 comes at an opportune time for build-ing designers, owners, operators, and decision-makers looking for opportunities to reduceenergy costs. The combined annual energy costsfor U.S. commercial buildings and industrialfacilities is $202.3 billion, according toEnergystar.gov. The “portion of energy in build-ings used inefficiently or unnecessarily” isreported at 30 percent. The improved Series 400pleat is designed to reduce a building’s energyfootprint, lower cost and improve IAQ.
Bringing the Series 400 filter to the marketplacerequired a dedicated research and developmenteffort, one that began with a challenge. “Wewere tasked by our distributor network toimprove the Series 400 MERV rating,” saidEugene Beck, Business Unit Manager, Commer-cial & Industrial, FGI. “What made the challengeunique,” he added, “is that no one in the industry
had ever achieved such a high rating with a com-parable filter.”
The R&D Department accepted the challenge,but knew it would have to push the envelope tomeet it. The process, led by Shelby Calvert, was arigorous one. Before determining the factorsrequired for developing the desired product,Calvert said, R&D assessed FGI’s own non-wovencapabilities. It also worked with multiplevendors. In all, the department performed inexcess of 300 ASHRAE tests on more than 30unique material candidates. In the end, theresults were worth it.
“The Series 400 high capacity jumped from aMERV 8 rating to a remarkable MERV 10 rating,”said Beck. “The HC initial resistance has beenlowered from 0.27” to an industry leading 0.17”.
The 37% lower resistance provides considerableenergy savings for our customers.”
Consider the impact the improved Series 400pleats can make on one commercial building inSan Francisco. Using 500 high capacity pleats ayear in a variable-speed drive system, the build-ing will save nearly $16,000 per year in energycosts, using the national average of $0.10/kWh.Since the cost of electricity in California is 35%higher than the national average, the totalsavings would actually be much higher. At thesame time, the building would reduce green-house gases by about 125 tons per year.
What’s next in filter development from FGI? Insupport of the company’s commitment to excel-lence, new innovations are in the works. In themeantime, FGI will continue its legacy of think-ing green by seeking new opportunities thatprotect the environment and ensure its productsprovide maximum performance and energyefficiency.
COMPARING A MERV 10FILTER TO A MERV 8
MERV 8 filters only deliver efficiency ofgreater than or equal to 70% on 3.0 - 10.0micron particles.
MERV 10 requires a minimun of 50% efficiency
Particle Size
1.0 - 3.0 (E2)
3.0 - 10.0 (E3)
N/A
70 < E3
MERV 8 MERV 10
50 <E2 < 65
85 < E3
MERV 10 requires a minimun of 50% efficiencyon much smaller particles in the 1.0 - 3.0micron range and an efficiency greater thanor equal to 85% on 3.0 - 10.0 micron particles.
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