Air Handling Unit upgrade saves 58% energy
Birmingham Airport is the seventh largest airport in the UK, flying around 9.4 million passengers to over 140 destinations each year. With this level of activity, keeping the airport fully operational is essential. So, when one of the air handling units in the terminal check-in area broke down, engineers at Birmingham airport looked to Munters, global leaders in energy efficient air treatment, for a solution.
Quick facts
- Energy savings of 58%
- Fast ROI - only 19 months
- Reduced AHU maintenance costs
- Better controllability and reduced noise
Finding the right solution
Munters began the upgrade project with an initial site survey to calculate the existing AHU´s power output and airflow. “We began by analyzing power consumption over the course of seven days” says David Bennett, Service Sales Manager at Munters. “This enabled us to better understand how the AHU was running so we could pick the perfect solution.”
Replacing old fans with a new FanGrid
Munters replaced the AHU fans with a new FanGrid made up of five high-efficiency EC centrifugal plug fans. Besides reducing energy consumption, these fans have reduced maintenance costs for the AHUs, provided better control and reduced noise. The upgrade was carried out with minimal disruption to airport operations. Result? Substantial savings! The project has surpassed requirements, with power consumption reducing from 24 kW to 6.4 kW. The airport is predicted to save over £11,000 per year, with a return on investment in 19 months. Watch our video This is how we did it
