The term "air handling equipment" is fairly broad; it refers to all of those devices that are designed to manage, regulate and/or circulate the flow of air within an enclosed space. Most often, these devices are found in the form of products that involve conditioning, filtering, ventilating or heating air. Sometimes, they provide users with the ability to set automatic temperatures or to manually adjust indoor temperatures; at other times, they improve air quality and breathability by filtering out particles and dust; and some systems even prevent the development of mildew and mold. Some examples of air handling equipment include air compressors, air filters, air pollution control systems, blowers, dust collectors, industrial vacuum cleaning equipment and vacuum pumps. They can be built to be handle air quality maintenance in homes and office buildings, as well as restaurants and hospitals and medium to large industrial buildings like warehouses. Basically, air handling equipment can be designed to serve any space.
To work, air handling systems feature components such as heating and cooling elements, vibration isolators, heat recovery devices, filters, mixing chambers, flow rate controls, humidifiers and more. Heating and cooling elements work using direct or indirect exchanger coils. Direct exchangers are those that are placed directly in an air stream, while indirect exchangers are those that use something like a boiler or chiller to convey heat or cooled air. Typically, they use chilled water for cooling and steam or hot water for heating. Examples of direct coil exchangers include refrigeration evaporators, heat pumps, electric resistance heaters and evaporative coolers. Examples of direct coil exchanger heating and/or cooling elements include central boilers and central coolers. Vibration isolators are components used to absorb some of the vibration created by blowers, stop it from transferring to other parts of the system and also muffle the sound it generates. To work, manufacturers install these rubberized canvas-esque pieces of material surrounding the duct on both ends and sometimes between the fan compartment and the rest of the system. Heat recovery devices are installed in order to increase the capacity and energy savings of air handling equipment. Filters, of course, catch dust, contaminants and other particles and hold it back as newly clean air passes through a system. Due to the nature of air handling equipment, virtually every air handling system contains one or more filter. A staple of indoor air handling equipment used in temperate climates, mixing chambers mix together cool outside air with warm return air in order to reach a temperature goal. Flow rate controls allow for the regulation of the flow rates of air handling equipment. They, along with other regulatory controls, come in the form of thermostats, automated systems and the like. The final feature mentioned here, the humidifier, is a device used to rehydrate air that has become overly dry. There are a variety of different types of humidifiers. To learn more about air handling equipment, check out the specific equipment types and the manufacturers that we have detailed below.
Air compressors are a type of air handling equipment with the goal of providing air and power alike to systems and tools. As their name suggests, they do so by compressing air. The most common way that air compressors work is by pulling air from the surrounding atmosphere and then decreasing its volume while increasing its pressure. In this way, air compressors are able to convert mechanical energy into useful pneumatic energy.
Air filters are a components of virtually all air handling equipment and systems. Designed to capture undesirable or harmful particles like dirt, dust, pet dander, mold spores, pollen, gases and odors, air filters are essential to the maintenance of healthy air quality within an enclosed space. Air filters can be found inside air conditioners, cars and vehicle engine components, humidifiers, in-home heating systems, commercial heating systems, direct air machines and ventilation systems.
Air pollution control equipment is equipment that targets and removes or reduces the presence of irritable, potentially harmful or harmful particles and substances from the air. These include Hazardous Air Pollutants (HAPs), such as odors, fumes, vapors and sulfuric gases, and Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs). The removal of pollutants such as these is important for a number of different reasons. First, from a community health and wellness standpoint, it is the responsibility of those facilities that emit harmful substances to keep them from getting into the breathing air and/or water of the surrounding community. (Note over 100 regulated HAPS have been confirmed as or are suspected carcinogens.)
Dust collectors are a type of equipment that work to accomplish just what their name suggests the collection of dust and other particles from air or gas. They are useful and important in a number of different industries, such as: agriculture, cement fabrication, chemical processing, coal handling, mining, pharmaceuticals, recycling and woodworking.
Industrial vacuum cleaning equipment is equipment that makes life easier for those individuals who wish to clean up a large and/or very dirty space. Particularly useful in those settings in which a continuous flow of dust and debris are produced, industrial vacuum cleaning equipment is used in settings such as metal fabrication plants, woodworking shops and other industrial facilities. They are also quite popular for use by clients like carpenters, custodians and maintenance workers.