Inline air purification system and method
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional HVAC systems and air purifiers are not designed to work together effectively, leading to inadequate removal of airborne contaminants and gases within buildings, with indoor air quality often being worse than outdoor air and posing health risks.
Innovation Solution
An inline air purification system integrated with HVAC systems, using variable speed fans in intake and exhaust channels, adjusts fan speeds to balance airflow, introduce fresh air, and enhance filtration in response to air quality sensors, ensuring balanced air pressure and improved indoor air quality.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If HVAC systems and air purifiers operate independently, then each system can function with its own design parameters, but the overall air purification effectiveness is insufficient and indoor air quality deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the HVAC system and air purifier into a single integrated unit, merging the air handling functions of both systems. The integrated system shares common components such as the blower motor, heat exchangers, and control system, while incorporating purification technologies like HEPA filters and UV-C lights within the same air flow path, thereby improving overall purification effectiveness without proportionally increasing system complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The integrated system performs multiple functions simultaneously: heating, cooling, ventilation, and air purification. The HVAC unit is designed to handle both thermal conditioning and contaminant removal through unified air intake and discharge pathways, allowing a single system to replace what would traditionally require separate independent systems
2Object-affected harmful factors
If air purifier filtration is intensified to improve indoor air quality, then air quality improves, but energy consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The integrated system maintains continuous air circulation and filtration through the unified HVAC-purifier design. The blower motor continuously moves air through both the thermal conditioning section and the purification section, ensuring ongoing removal of contaminants without requiring intermittent high-energy bursts, thereby maintaining improved air quality with optimized energy consumption
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically adjusts operational parameters such as blower speed, filter engagement, and UV-C activation based on real-time air quality sensors and environmental conditions. This allows the system to intensify filtration only when necessary to maintain improved air quality, reducing energy consumption during periods when air quality is already acceptable
3Productivity
If air flow rate is increased to introduce more fresh air, then ventilation effectiveness improves, but air pressure balance within the building envelope is disrupted
Solution Approach 1:
The integrated system incorporates pressure sensors and air quality sensors that provide real-time feedback to the control system. When fresh air intake is increased to improve ventilation effectiveness, the system monitors resulting pressure changes and automatically adjusts exhaust airflow or intake dampers to maintain building envelope pressure balance, preventing negative pressure conditions that could cause infiltration of unconditioned air
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The system effectively balances air pressure, introduces fresh and filtered air, and enhances filtration to improve indoor air quality, reducing health risks and maintaining optimal air quality within buildings.
Implementation Method 1
a first variable speed fan in an intake channel... automatically adjusting a speed of the first variable speed fan... to maintain an air flow ratio between air inflow and air outflow
Implementation Method 2
a second variable speed fan in an exhaust channel... automatically adjusting a speed of the second variable speed fan... to ensure air pressure within the building envelope is balanced
Implementation Method 3
an ionization filter
Implementation Method 4
an Ultraviolet-C (UVC) light
Implementation Method 5
at least an ERV or HRV... to transfer heat (ERV and HRV) and humidity (ERV only) between the fresh and stale air
Data Source
AI summary
Embodiments herein describe a method including using one or more air quality sensors and an air purifier to detect and adjust air quality within a structure having a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system, the air purifier having a first variable speed fan in an intake channel and a second variable speed fan in an exhaust channel, and, in response to detecting an adverse air quality event within the building envelope by one or more sensors, automatically adjusting a speed of the first variable speed fan and a speed of the second variable speed fan (i) to maintain an air flow ratio between air inflow and air outflow within the HVAC system, (ii) to introduce increased fresh and filtered air flow from outside, (iii) to increase filtration of indoor air, (iv) to monitor the ERV and filter performance, and (v) to send relevant maintenance notifications to the user.