Air intake filters are commonly installed on rooftop HVAC units—but that’s not the only place you’ll find them. Custom air intake filters are critical for protecting equipment and lowering energy costs anywhere cooling or clear air is required. If you’re not using them on the following five pieces of equipment, you should be.
- Reach-in Coolers
Commercial refrigerators such as reach-in coolers keep items cold, but within easy reach for customers. In most cases, and especially in display cases such as those used for produce, the refrigeration components are inside the base of the unit, and their air intake grills are near the floor. As a result, coolers are particularly vulnerable to lint, winter salt and other foot-traffic-related dirt. All this dirt hampers equipment longevity and increases repair costs.
Because of the “open” configuration of display coolers, they use a lot of energy to cool, especially when they get dirty. A reach-in cooler with dirty coils uses up to 20% more electricity than a clean one. Installing custom air intake filters pays for itself quickly.
Learn more about the high cost of dirty reach-in and display coolers.
- Portable Chillers
Portable chillers are used to cool areas and, because they have wheels, can be moved to differen
t spaces, as needed. They are often used in construction sites, shipyards, data centers, production lines, and manufacturing centers. Chillers are also commonly used to cool high-powered equipment including medical apparatus like MRI machines. The air filters in a portable chiller need to be cleaned and changed regularly, a step which is commonly forgotten. Custom air intake filters minimize the need for regular filter cleaning, keeping these machines working efficiently.
Learn more about how air intake filters protect portable chillers.
Similarly, cooling fans are used by some facilities to recirculate air and keep spaces colder. We worked with a cereal processing plant that used large fans to quickly cool products from the oven before they were packaged. You may not immediately think of a fan as needing a filter, but Permatron’s PreVent® fan shrouds and bonnet-style filters fit over the backside of the fan, or the entire fan, to keep dirt from getting in, and then blowing out into the air (and onto cooling food).
- Equipment Enclosures
Equipment enclosures house, operate and securely protect electrical components, including computer data servers, variable frequency drives, industrial production process equipment, air compressors, and medical diagnostic equipment.
Because the space inside can heat up in a hurry, equipment enclosers need continual, cool airflow moving inside them. Most equipment enclosers utilize outside ambient air. But that air can be thick with contaminants, especially because their air intake openings are usually located near the base of the units, at foot traffic level, where dust and dirt collect. To maintain a constant flow of clean, cool air circulated throughout the enclosure, custom air intake filters should be installed and brushed clean regularly.
Learn more about the importance of equipment enclosure filtration.
- Ferries, Ships and Boats
HVAC equipment is needed to cool and clean the air in engine rooms and control centers, as well as crew and passenger areas. The dark, damp maritime atmosphere, including high humidity and wide temperature differentials, take their toll on HVAC equipment, as do the extreme weather conditions such as sudden wind gusts and sea salt sprays. In these moisture-filled environments, bacteria, molds, yeasts and VOC’s quickly build up without adequate air filtration. The best custom air intake filters are made to perform flawlessly in wet, corrosive environments.
- Walk-in Coolers
Walk-in coolers are critical to restaurants, grocery stores, food processing plants, and even research centers and medical facilities. If a cooler fails and the temperature inside rises, the products spoil—putting restaurants out of business, ruining research studies, and endangering patients. To ensure proper and long-lasting performance, walk-in cooler filters need to be cleaned regularly, but those filters may be difficult to access. Air intake filters provide critical protection that keeps coolers running properly, and maintaining them is easy—simply brush them clean.
Learn how we helped one restaurant protect its walk-in cooler.
Prevent Filtration Problems with PreVent® Custom Air Intake Filters
Big or small, outdoors or in, when you’re looking for custom air intake filters look no further than PreVent air intake filters. PreVent delivers the industry’s finest quality, dependability and value. They can be designed to fit any shape or size, including special cutouts for pipes and electrical wires, and come in a variety of frame and material options. They’ll provide you with incredible cost savings, too. PreVent air intake filters have been shown to lower HVAC repair costs by 30% and cut HVAC maintenance costs by up to 2/3rds.
What’s your ideal air intake filter? Permatron makes a variety of PreVent air intake options including our Model U, Model BHA and Model R filters.
- PreVent Models U & BHA
These flexible, vinyl-edged air intake filters are ideal for outdoor aerospace equipment, data centers cooling, industrial enclosures, military equipment, power generation, telecom equipment and wind turbines.
- PreVent Model R
This rigid, steel-framed air intake filter is perfect for indoor beverage dispensers, computers, electronics, food service, ice machines, industrial enclosures, air compressors, variable frequency drives, military equipment, portable cooling devices, power generation equipment, reach-in coolers, telecom equipment and wind turbines.
To keep your energy and maintenance costs under control and your equipment running efficiently and trouble-free, install custom air intake filters wherever continual, clean and cool air is required. Contact Permatron for more information or for a free sample for our PreVent air intake filters.
