Green Design — Innovations for Environmentally Responsible Buildings

HVAC systems consume a large amount of energy in buildings and, therefore, can significantly impact the environment. Nortek Air Solutions has the ability to custom manufacture HVAC equipment to fit your specific requirements and minimize the impact on the environment. We’ll work with your design team to make sure that your HVAC equipment is energy efficient, while providing excellent indoor air quality and quiet acoustical performance. Our custom-design capabilities provide unique solutions to your most challenging applications.

We’re an industry leader in creating energy efficient solutions for your HVAC systems. Our engineering expertise and advanced technology help us develop innovative components and processes to provide you with an HVAC system that’s environmentally responsible and cost effective.

Our efficiency innovations:

• Permanent Magnet (PM) Motors The highest-efficiency motors on the market at every operating point.
• Free Cooling IDEC Systems Our indirect/direct evaporative cooling units use outside air to cool the indoor space in a wide range of operating conditions.
• Economizers An energy-saving system that uses a cooling tower, condenser, water piping, control valves, and water coils to provide cooling without compressor operation.
• Oil-free, frictionless magnetic-bearing compressors These magnetic-bearing compressors provide tremendous efficiency at part load.
• Evaporative condensers Our evaporative condensing process uses the cooling effect of evaporation to lower the condensing temperature in your system.
• Energy Recovery Systems Energy recovery systems use the energy in building air that would normally be exhausted to treat the incoming ventilation air.
• FANWALL TECHNOLOGY^® FANWALL^® systems offer energy savings as high as 40%.

As one of the most widely recognized green building rating programs, LEED^® helps building owners minimize their impact on the built environment through a set of credits and points. HVAC systems themselves do not get points, but are a large part of the building system, contributing to several points the building may earn. Here’s a list of LEED^® NC points involving the HVAC system:

• EA Credit 1: There are up to 20 points available for demonstrating energy efficiency better than a baseline building as defined by ASHRAE 90.1-2007. The benefit to the building owner is reduced energy costs.
• EA Credit 4: There are 2 points available depending on the refrigerant chosen for the HVAC system, or for not using refrigerant at all. Refrigerant choice is a first step in minimizing the environmental impact of your HVAC system.
• IEQ Credit 1: There is 1 point for monitoring outdoor air delivery either by using an outdoor airflow measuring station or a demand control ventilation. This helps to ensure ventilation is delivered to the occupied spaces in a building.
• IEQ Credit 2: There is 1 point for increasing the amount of outdoor air by 30% above ASHRAE 62.1-2007. This ensures additional outdoor air is supplied to the occupied space for improved indoor air quality for occupants.
• IEQ Credit 3.1 and IEQ Credit 5: There are 2 credits and 2 points for addressing IAQ and particulate contaminants during and after construction. For the HVAC design, this requires MERV 8 filtration if the air handlers are used during construction, and MERV 13 filtration after the building is occupied.
• IEQ Credit 3.2: There is 1 point for completing a building flush-out or an air quality test, which helps to reduce indoor air quality issues resulting from construction or renovation in a building.
• IEQ Credit 7: There are 2 points for designing and verifying compliance with ASHRAE 55-2004. Addressing thermal comfort needs in the space helps occupants feel more comfortable and also improves productivity.

We can easily set up a condensate drain recovery system in your air handlers, so you can reuse that water within your building. LEED^® recognizes condensate recovery as a significant way to reuse water within the building, which can help reduce potable water use.

Read about how we helped customers like the Transamerica Pyramid and Dell Children’s Medical Center reach LEED^® Platinum certification.

Your indoor air quality is extremely important for a healthy environment, and supplying your building with superior-quality air is one of our primary goals at Nortek Air Solutions. We’ve made several innovations — particularly in humidity control, Dedicated Outdoor Air Systems, and filtration — that will significantly improve your indoor air quality.

Our innovative sound reduction technologies — including our Coplanar Silencer^® — will help lower sound levels for a comfortable, functional building environment.