Lunch ASHRAE Chapter Meeting

Cold air sinks to the floor

If your surgeons are too hot - and patients too cold - this is why.

Cold air from a traditional laminar flow ceiling will naturally fall to the floor. It pulls the air around it into the middle of the air column and accelerates downward and kicks warmer air back into the rest of the room.

This is why patients receive a blast of cold air, but surgeons are still hot at the table. It is also the reason 'laminar flow ceilings' have the reputation of not being effective.

Turning the room temperature DOWN is not the right solution

When you turn the room temperature down from 68^oF to 65^oF:

• The air coming out the ceiling and forced on the patient is even colder.
• The air at the surgical team is maybe 1^oF cooler - so the surgical team is still hot....
• The air handler feeding that room is now operating beyond desired capacity, and facilities has to set a hard limit on the performance of the room.

No one is happy

Does this sound familiar?

Replacing the air handler to perform at the same standards won't fix the problem. Replacing the ceiling and keeping the same equipment - delivering 20-25 air changes - won't fix it either.

What if you could:

• Deliver warmer air to the patient and cooler air to the surgical team - AND mange the humidity in the room.
• Reduce the # of air changes delivered by your air handler = Up to 30% energy savings
• Lessen the scope of your project because you may not need a new air handler OR a new laminar flow ceiling.

If you are thinking HOW to make this happen, we can help you get to the real cause of the problem and provide a right sized long-term solution.