Big energy efficiency gains at a major local hospital

Airways recently completed a five-phase duct sealing project using the Aeroseal® process at a local hospital.  The results were pretty dramatic, so we are excited to share them with you.


The combined systems which we sealed has a designed air flow of 152,702 cubic feet per minute (CFM).  Collectively, they were losing 20,646 CFM before we started our work.  That leakage rate of 13.5% is actually pretty low for systems which haven’t been sealed.  We sometimes see leakage rates of 25% or even more.


Using Aeroseal technology, our Airways crew was able to inject a non-toxic polymer sealant into the ductwork.  The sealant collected around the leaks in the ductwork, forming a flexible but strong seal.  The result was that leakage was reduced to 845 CFM total across all of the systems.  That reduction of 19,801 CFM, or 95.9%, is the equivalent of 49.5 cooling tons.  


Or, to put it another way, we reduced the leakage by an amount equal to one railroad freight car worth of air, about every 16 seconds.  The resulting air flow is 99.4% of design.


Each of the five phases of the job was able to be done in a single overnight shift, leading to minimal disruption in hospital operations.  The crew used HEPA-filtered air scrubbers to make sure that there would be no problems caused by sealant escaping from the ductwork.


Every system is different and the numbers come out differently on each job.  If you think your building could benefit, give us a call.