1. Sustainability and Life Cycle Costing of Air Filtration
This empty slide is for you to add your name and company name. Good speaking etiquette dictates that this should be the only place you say anything about your company.

2. Sustainability
“Looking beyond initial cost factors towards the total cost throughout life of operation”
Benefits to the Facility:
Lower energy use
Lessen impact on the environment
Lower use of resources – raw materials and human
Increases Productivity and Improves Environment Impacting Health and Productivity of Building Occupants
Here is how we are defining “sustainability” in this presentation. We want facility managers to look beyond the initial cost of an item or piece of equipment to the life cycle cost of that item. This would include factors like energy use, how much additional pollution of the environment the item might have – in the case of air filters we are talking disposal in land fills and related costs, this also includes the use of facility personnel time to change filters, and providing a better environment to a facility. As is being demonstrated in research in the US and other countries, the indoor environment has a major impact on occupant’s health and productivity.

3. Filter System Cost Comparison
The major cost of most air filters is not in the initial cost, but in the energy it takes to overcome the resistance air filters impose on a system. As filters load, they increase system resistance. Also, they decrease flow which results in lower air velocities and longer unit run time to satisfy a thermostat.

4. Life Cycle Costing Components
81%
18.5%
0.5%
Carlsson, Thomas; “Indoor Air Filtration: Why Use Polymer Based Filter Media”, Filtration+Separation, Volume 38 #2, March 2001, pp
In addition, filters tend to be easily damaged when shipped or kept in inventory so there’s an 18.5% cost with this, and because they are bulky, they take up space in a dumpster and the facility pays for sending them to a landfill.

5. Energy required to overcome filter system resistance
Energy Costs
Energy required to overcome filter system resistance
Energy Consumption (kWh)
Q x ΔP x t
η x 1000 =
Looking at the energy consumption equation, we can see that energy is dependent on a number of factors, but if air flow, time, and fan efficiency are all held constant, the energy consumption is directly proportional to pressure drop across the filter.
Q = Air Flow (m3/sec) t = Time in Operation (hrs)
ΔP = Avg. Pressure Loss (Pa) η = Fan/Motor/ Drive Efficiency

6. Theoretical Press Drop of Filter
Final ΔP
Initial ΔP DP
As this slide shows, theoretically a filter loads as a straight line between initial pressure drop and final pressure drop, and then the filter is changed and the process starts all over again.
Time

7. Actual Filter Loading Curve-Versus Linear Curve Used in Formula
This really is not usually the case with filter pressure drop. A filter will not display an increase in resistance .01” each day for days, then require changing. They will load up very slowly at first, then as the dust particles begin to occupy a lot of space between the fibers where air used to pass, the resistance will begin rising. At the end of the filter’s life is when the loading is the fastest.

8. Energy Consumption Rate Increase
This slide shows the time it takes for a filter to achieve final resistance. To get from 0.35 when clean to 0.40 takes 1000 hours, however, to reach the final resistance – getting from .90 to 1.00 takes just 250 hours, demonstrating the steep increase in pressure drop that occurs at the end of the filter life.

9. INPUT DATA
Option 1
Option 2
Filter Type
Pleat
Filter Model
XXXXX
Model #
Std Cap
Hi Cap
Filter Price ($ per filter)
$3.25
$4.00
Number of Filters Per Case 12
Shipping Cost Per Case ($)
$5.00
$5.50
Estimated Damage Loss (%) 5%
Number of Filters in Bank 30
Estimated Filter Life (months) 3 4
Changeout time required - full bank (min) 60
Changeout Labor Cost ($/hour fully loaded)
$25.00
Disposal Cost ($/filter)
$0.50
Initial Resistance ("WG)
0.34
0.28
Recommended Final Resistance ("WG)
1.2
System Airflow Rate (cfm)
60,000
Days in Operation
365
Hours in Operation Per Day 24
Energy Cost ($/kWH)
$0.080
Fan/Blower/Drive Efficiency (%)
80%
This is all of the input data that is needed in order to configure a life cycle costing analysis comparing two filters in a system. In this example, we have selected a standard capacity pleated filter costing $3.25 (higher initial cost) to an exact same filter except that it has another 6 square feet of media and is called a high capacity pleat. Because the high capacity pleat has more media, it can hold more dust and consequently, is changed only 3 times per year versus the standard capacity pleat which is changed four times per year. Also, the initial resistance to airflow of the high capacity pleat is 0.28 – 6 tenths of an inch lower than the standard capacity pleat. Also,

10. Energy Conservation for Sustainability via Filter Selection
Going forward with the input information, the initial cost and inventory costs are shown here.

11. Further input-shipping storage
Next, we add the shipping and Damage/loss cost.

12. Further Input-Labor & Disposal
Next, we factor in the installation and removal cost along with the disposal costs of the spent filters.

13. Results-Energy Consumption Differences
Finally, we factor in the energy costs. Here we are using the average of the initial and final resistance of the two filters. As you can see, the additional media and reduced resistance makes a difference in the energy consumption of the two filters.

14. Results-Total LCC Comparison
Here is the summary of all of the costs just discussed. Even with the higher initial first cost, the high capacity pleat offers a savings of $ in this example - $ just in electricity cost savings which is 77% of the total!. Now, while this does not sound like much, this actual example is one of 8 buildings in an office park – all having similar HVAC systems for savings. The point is, this is the low hanging fruit…the easy painless way to utilize a formula to realize savings in energy and other total costs and increase the sustainability of the HVAC equipment and building furniture and fixtures. Just coincidently, it helps improve the overall indoor air quality since the high capacity pleat is a couple of MERV points higher in efficiency.
Overall Cost is Reduced with Life Cycle Costing
Cleaner Equipment and Indoor Environment with Higher
MERV Filter
Savings in Shipping, Storage, Labor, and Disposal Costs

15. Summary
Sustainability is a combination of savings of many items & many efforts
Air filters can be part of your overall sustainability directive
Using life cycle costing is Green - Conserving energy, resources and the environment
Less Ventilation?
Life Cycle Costing gets the highest efficiency filter for $$
In summary – looking at all of the costs for air filtration, you can impact sustainability of your system and facility. And you are doing something great for the environment through better utilization of resources.