A Revolution in HVAC Energy Efficiency and Indoor Air Quality

Client demands and HVAC design requirements get tougher every year. Energy codes keep changing and requiring higher energy efficiency, but higher energy efficiency usually means higher HVAC costs and complexity, while clients continue to tighten budgets and schedules. On top of all this, your clients want LEED certification and ways to deliver healthier spaces for their tenants, employees, and students. So how do you provide a highly energy-efficient HVAC system that comes in under budget and can be designed quickly to minimize project hours? 

enVerid can help. The single largest energy waste in buildings comes from ventilation requirements. But it does not have to be this way. enVerid’s award-winning HVAC Load Reduction® (HLR) modules clean the air in buildings so that indoor air can be safely recirculated. This allows outside air requirements to be reduced by up to 85% using ASHRAE’s performance-based Indoor Air Quality Procedure (IAQP), which is part of Standard 62.1, the Standard for Ventilation and Indoor Air Quality.  

Designing HLR® modules into your project can deliver the following benefits: 

  • Save up to $25,000 per HLR module by downsizing HVAC equipment
  • Lower HVAC energy costs by up to 40% by reducing load on HVAC systems
  • Extend the life of HVAC filters and equipment with lower outside air requirements
  • Earn up to 9 LEED points and the LEED Environmental Quality (EQ) prerequisite
  • Improve occupant health and productivity with better indoor air quality

Use in almost any commercial building

HLR modules can be used to reduce ventilation rates and HVAC costs in most commercial building types covered by ASHRAE Standard 62.1, the Standard for Ventilation and Indoor Air Quality.

As outside air is reduced, so is general exhaust, allowing ventilation to be reduced or eliminated in some cases. HLR modules can be integrated with a wide array of HVAC systems including:

  • Custom and semi-custom airside systems
  • Packaged systems
  • Dedicated outside air systems (DOAS)
  • Variable refrigerant flow systems (VRF)
  • Energy recovery ventilators (ERVs)
  • Demand control ventilation (DCV)

Installing HLR modules in new and existing buildings can reduce outdoor air requirements and energy use while providing high levels of indoor air quality. Learn more about incorporating HVAC Load Reduction into HVAC designs from our Support documentation.

Sorbent Ventilation Technology®: proven and field-tested with years of data

HLR modules use Sorbent Ventilation Technology (SVT®) to safely clean indoor air of CO2, VOCs, and other contaminants without producing byproducts. Hundreds of HLR modules have been installed globally by leading engineering firms. The energy savings from HLR modules in the field have been validated by multiple utilities who have provided incentives for installing HLR modules and by the Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Lab, as well as multiple utilities that provide incentives for installing HLR modules.

Independent labs have conducted ASHRAE 145.2 single-pass efficiency testing on enVerid HLR modules for the removal of key indoor air contaminants required to maintain acceptable indoor air quality in buildings.

In 2019, the HLR 200M received the AHR Expo Product of the Year Award, the most prestigious award for the HVAC industry. ASHRAE judges commented that enVerid’s Sorbent Ventilation Technology “was not only innovative, but visionary,” and called it “an industry game-changer” due to its ability to “safely remove all molecular contaminants, including carbon dioxide (CO2), formaldehyde and a full range of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from indoor air.” In 2021, the HLR 100M was named HVAC Product of the Year by the readers of Consulting-Specifying Engineer magazine.

Save on HVAC Equipment Costs

The following are examples of where first cost savings can be realized when Sorbent Ventilation Technology is used: 

  • Downsize dedicated outdoor air systems (DOAS) 
  • Eliminate or downsize energy recovery ventilation (ERV) 
  • Downsize rooftop unit (RTU) or air handler unit (AHU) capacities
  • Reduce outside air and exhaust duct size
  • Downsize cooling plant capacities
  • Downsize heating plant capacities

Reduce HVAC energy use up to 40%

Reducing the quantity of outside air using HLR modules and ASHRAE’s Indoor Air Quality Procedure (IAQP) reduces the load on HVAC systems, which in turn saves energy, reduces carbon emissions, and extends equipment life.

Energy savings and payback periods will vary based on climate zone, building operating hours, energy costs, and building-specific installation costs. In many markets, payback periods can be improved with utility incentives and when carbon emissions penalties are considered in markets like NYC and Boston.

enVerid Sorbent Ventilation Technology is a natural component in Net Zero Energy buildings. Reducing peak utility loads and energy use can facilitate electrification of new and existing buildings.

Learn more about how to achieve Sustainable Indoor Air Quality while earning credits from ASHRAE, USGBC, WELL, and more – take our free online course.

Indoor Air Quality (IAQ)

Improve indoor air quality

Sorbent Ventilation Technology improves indoor air quality by removing contaminants generated by building materials, furniture, and cleaning supplies, and by reducing the intake of outside air polluted by exhaust from highways and airports, smoke from industrial parks and wildfires, pollen, and ozone.

enVerid’s HLR modules are the only product that removes all the contaminants of concern called out by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). Independent labs have conducted ASHRAE 145.2 single-pass efficiency testing on enVerid’s sorbent materials for the key contaminants of concern required to maintain acceptable indoor air quality in buildings.

When combined with high-efficiency MERV filters or local HEPA filters, Sorbent Ventilation Technology can also be used to deliver safe indoor air quality for COVID-19 mitigation with less outside air.

Qualify for LEED and WELL points

Implementing Sorbent Ventilation Technology can help buildings earn LEED points in the Energy & Atmosphere (EA), Indoor Environmental Quality (EQ), and Innovation (IN) credit areas. New construction projects can use HLR modules to earn up to 12 LEED points, and existing building projects can earn up to 9 LEED points. Learn more here.

Using the WELL Building Standard, or WELL, SVT can help buildings earn up to 2 preconditions, 3 optimization points, and 3 points under an Alternative Adherence Path in the WELL Air concept category. WELL explicitly allows project teams to utilize the ASHRAE 62.1 Indoor Air Quality Procedure (IAQP) as a methodology for complying with minimum ventilation requirements. Integrating HLR modules under the IAQP ensures that high indoor air quality is maintained for the health of occupants. Learn more here.

Use ASHRAE's Simple Indoor Air Quality Procedure (IAQP)

enVerid has developed an IAQP Calculator to make calculating ventilation rates using the IAQP as easy as applying VRP. The output of the Calculator is a comprehensive compliance report that can be used in the permitting process. enVerid’s in-house team of experts can assist with running IAQP reports and generating compliance reports for code officials.

ASHRAE Standard 62.1 specifies minimum ventilation rates to provide indoor air quality (IAQ) that is acceptable to human occupants and that minimizes adverse health effects. The standard is intended for regulatory application to new buildings, changes to existing buildings, and to guide the improvement of IAQ in existing buildings.  

Standard 62.1 defines two procedures for mechanical ventilation: the Ventilation Rate Procedure (VRP) and the Indoor Air Quality Procedure (IAQP). Unlike VRP, which defines ventilation requirements based on space size and occupancy without considering environmental factors or the efficiency of air cleaning technologies, the IAQP is a performance-based ventilation approach that allows for less outside air (OA) when environmental factors and the efficiency of air cleaning technologies are considered.

Learn more about performance-based ventilation design while earning credits from ASHRAE, USGBC, WELL, and more – take our free online course.

Are you designing for schools? Read "Specifying HLR Sorbent Ventilation Technology for K-12 Schools: A Guide for Consulting Engineers"

Read the K-12 Guide

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