Clean air, clean future – choosing the right system

Ulrik Vadstrup, Regional Europe Sales manager for HVACR at ABB Drive Products, acknowledges that while choosing the right HVACR system remains a complex challenge, opting for drive and motor (DM) packages, as opposed to electronically commutated (EC) fans, makes the greatest sense for healthcare estates and facilities teams – given such components’ circularity, durability, and adaptability, as well as their lower overall lifecycle costs.

Healthcare settings such as hospitals, clinics, and doctors' offices, all need a variety of highly specialised equipment to help medical staff treat and care for patients. When people think about this equipment, many automatically picture scanning machines, surgical instruments, and sterilisation tools, and while these are all vital, there is an often-overlooked area which is critical to delivering high-quality patient care and safeguarding the health and comfort of medical staff — air quality.

Clean air and precisely controlled temperatures have a tangible impact on elements such as infection control and patient and clinician comfort, and are managed by heating, ventilation, air-conditioning, and refrigeration (HVACR) systems. For healthcare facilities, HVACR systems must not only meet the highest operational standards, but also align with sustainability goals to support long-term patient outcomes and environmental responsibility. Designers and managers get several chances to choose which system to install — during initial construction, but also throughout the lifetime of the facility as retrofit and upgrade programs are implemented.