We at HS-Luftfilterbau GmbH have been pursuing the approach of sustainable production since the end of the 1990s. Last but not least, we underline our attitude towards this with our environmental management system, which has been certified for more than twenty years. While in the past we have increasingly optimized our processes with regard to environmental compatibility, we consider the time to be more than ripe enough to also take certain risks in product development. We will offer the market and consumers products that not only increase the energetic effectiveness of your ventilation system, but also give you the option to reduce the consumption of irreplaceable raw material stocks and the associated CO2 release in the manufacture of air filters.

Storage filters (in this sense "air filters" for short) are essential consumption components to ensure the functionality of air conditioning systems. They consist of a large number of more or less high-quality and elaborately manufactured materials. In addition to the filter media, which consist of synthetic nonwovens or meltblowns, glass fibers or synthetic membranes, other essential components are frames, seals and special adhesives. Optimizing the sustainability of these products has so far largely failed to materialize due to the price sensitivity of major users and consumers. The manufacturers' efforts are essentially focused on saving energy during operation and the lowest possible manufacturing costs. In both cases it can be assumed that these aspects of sustainability are already very far advanced.

However, if you look at the resource requirements of a compact filter, which is used, for example, in air conditioning systems, supply and exhaust air systems or gas turbines, an imbalance immediately strikes you when you look at the figures. Filters of this type weigh 6 - 8 kg in standard dimensions. During the period of use, these filters store approx. 250 - 600 g of atmospheric dust, particles and aerosols. In other words: a 7.5 kg filter (592x592x292 mm) is disposed of after the weight has increased to 7.9 kg when the final pressure difference is reached, or in other words: for a maximum of half a kilo of stored fine dust, 7.5 kg of mass must also be disposed of. Recycling of the components is not possible or would be extremely difficult due to the filtrates alone.

This means that the balance of benefit effectiveness for these products turns out to be extremely poor.

The optimization of compact filters is our first development goal due to their general distribution and thus large quantities as well as the comparatively poor benefit effectiveness, which will be followed by a series of sustainability optimizations in our entire production range in the coming years. Here it ultimately depends on the users and consumers whether we can consistently follow this path. The costs of sustainable products will initially be higher than those of classic products. In the long term, however, these changes are inevitable if we want to leave a planet worth living in for future generations. Under the given circumstances, there is not much time left to transform our consumer goods and consumer products.

Our "Econergy" project starts this summer with our compact filter HS-Mikro Pak 4V Econergy, the plastic components of which consist of more than 60% renewable raw materials. If we succeed in replacing our total demand for plastics in this segment, we could save approx. 70 - 90 tons of polystyrene per year and thus greatly reduce the consumption of fossil raw materials in this supply chain. How strongly do these figures show: for the production of 1 kg of polystyrene, approx. 10 kg of crude oil, 7.4 kg of natural gas and 0.14 kg of coal are required.

From August 2021 HS-Mikro Pak 4V Econergy will be available in classes ePM10 60% to ePM1 85% as well as EN 1822 E11 and H13. It goes without saying that HS-Mikro Pak 4V Econergy offer the lowest initial pressure losses in the area of ​​energy class A +. This enables your organization to achieve energy and CO2 savings targets.

We would be delighted if you would support us in this mission.

The robust and function optimized filter system can be mounted in many ways: at ceilings, walls or outdoor. Several HS-Airifyre 700 units can be used decentralized in large spaces and prevent aerosol distribution over long distances to significantly reduce the risk of infection by airborne germs. In a classroom of e.g. 75 m², 3 HS-Airifyre 700 achieve a 10 times air exchange per hour with a total volume flow of approx. 2100 m³/h.

The low-noise compact fan delivers a total volume flow of up to 700 m³/h with a filter performance >99.995% @ MPPS (most penetrating particle size: approx. 0.1 - 0.3 µm). This means that particles <0.1 µm and >0.3 µm are separated with much higher efficiencies. This also includes Sars-Cov-2 viruses.

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Room air purifiers are still in demand for pandemic protection. However, the multitude of products on offer makes it difficult to find the right solution. The recommendation is: "6 air changes per hour and filter class EN 1822 H14". A number of suppliers, including well-known International brands for household appliances, rely on cheap OEM produced devices. Their consumer price is usually well below the 30,000 THB mark. According to our market observations, a similar but questionable filter concept can be found in many cases with imported devices. In addition to flimsy pre-filters and undersized activated carbon filters for odor filtration, filters are also used there that are referred to as HEPA and are nevertheless not suitable for virus and aerosol filtration.

The term HEPA (high-efficient-particulate-air filter) is unfortunately not a protected term.

If the filter is not further identified by the standard EN1822 or ISO 29463 as well as the filter class H13, H14, ISO 35H, ISO 40H or ISO45H are not named, it must be assumed that the filter in question is a product of inferior quality.

Typically, "HEPA filters" are very inexpensive imported room air purifiers with a black cardboard frame and a circumferential seal on the frame. There are no standard declarations, serial numbers and test certificates or other markings on the filter.

These filters generally do not meet the requirements for HEPA filters according to EN 1822, namely classes H13 or H14. On the one hand, the filters of cheap room air purifiers are often not tightly glued and, on the other hand, the frame tends to deform and leaks through gaps.
The import room air cleaners themselves usually do not offer a tight filter mount, so that leakage occurs on the tightly dimensioned sealing surfaces. Since many import room air cleaners are also only equipped with weakly dimensioned fans, no mechanically operating filter media can be used, as it is the case with standard HEPA filters.

Retrofitting those air purifiers with functional and standard-compliant filters is usually difficult because the weak fans only allow very small filter pressure differences. Therefore, mostly coarse-fiber, inferior filter media with correspondingly low resistances are used in these devices. The media is electrostatically charged to boost the efficiency. However, this is not reliable to ensure the efficiency of these filters against viruses and infectious aerosols in the long term.

The performance of such filters cannot be compared with actual HEPA filters according to the EN1822.

These days we have tested some “HEPA filters” from imported devices and the results are sobering. The series of measurements showed that the filters are at most suitable as pollen filters, but are not suitable for the safe separation of viruses and aerosols, as the degree of efficiency is not sufficient in case of doubt.

According to the operating instructions, the product in this example achieves an efficiency level of approximately EN1822 E10 and would therefore be at most an EPA filter. A measurement according to EN1822 / ISO 29463 was not possible due to a large number of leaks. A test according to ISO 16890 only resulted in a separation efficiency of ePM2.5 70%. This filter qualifies for house dust, lint, textile fibers and pollen. Such a filter is not suitable for infection protection

Unfortunately, we have noticed that schools, doctors and care facilities are increasingly using such devices out of misleading information conveyed by commercials.

Therefore: take a close look at the device and the filters. For filters of class EN1822, the following apply among others. the following labeling requirements on the filter:

• Name of the manufacturer, trade name or other information to identify the manufacturer;
• The type and serial number of the filter;
• the test standard (e.g. EN 1822 or ISO 29463);
• Filter class - for protection against infection EN 1822 H13 or better or ISO 29463 ISO 35H or better;
• Nominal air flow rate on which the filter class is based.

If this information is missing from the labeling of the filter, the dealer information must be questioned. If in doubt, have an individual test certificate for the corresponding serial number of the filter presented to you. The test must have been carried out in accordance with EN 1822-4 or ISO 29463-4.

The filters themselves must be securely pressed in the device by means of a seal on the front of the frame on a flat sealing surface in the housing. Circumferential foam-like seals on the wall surfaces are unsuitable for this purpose, since they do not provide a sufficient seal.

Upgrading imported devices is difficult - but not impossible. We have special filter media that are mechanically extremely effective and yet offer sufficiently low pressure differentials. From a purchase quantity of > 500 filters, we can offer individual upgrade solutions.