years
Customer Profile
Automotive Industry
- Automotive trim and chassis shop
- Working with AAF Service Partner John Morfield Ltd., a distributor for a variety of filter types to a wide range of industrial market sectors, as well as a supplier of filters to this customer
Situation
TCOD in Automotive Industry
The customer advised that the current panel filters they were using were only lasting two to three months before requiring changeout at 250 Pa. This customer was therefore in need of a filter with a longer life cycle to reduce maintenance costs.
Challenges 1 – Short life cycle of existing filters
Challenges 2 – High filter change out rate
Challenges 3 – High Total Cost of Ownership (TCO)
AAF and service partner John Morfield offered the AAF MEGApleat® filter as the solution. The customer requested a trial comparing their current supply against the PerfectPleat® HC filter (already in use on the site), and the MEGApleat filter. Three AHUs were selected with the same airflows and running hours. Each unit contained eight 20 x 25 x 2 filters.
The competitor’s filter did not perform well under the particular operating conditions. The high airflow and moisture ingress presented challenges to the integrity of the filter, particularly the filter frame, leading to the collapse of the filter, which came out of its holding frame and was found on the AHU floor after only two months of service.
The AAF PerfectPleat HC filter performed to specification. However, the high flow rate resulted in the dp reading reaching 250 Pa by the second reading, therefore requiring the filter to be changed out after 2 months of life.
The AAF MEGApleat filter was the most successful performer under the operating conditions. It had the lowest initial pressure drop of 73 Pa when installed.
At the point where the competitive panel filter collapsed and the PerfectPleat HC filter reached 250 Pa, the MEGApleat filter had only reached 95 Pa—less than the initial dp of the other filters on trial. In addition, the MEGApleat filter was not affected by moisture.
The AAF MEGApleat filters have continued to perform and are still in service after 9 months with a dp reading of 200 Pa.
The automotive shop has advised they wish to change to the AAF MEGApleat filter in another trim and chassis shop and will begin installing those filters at the end of September.
They have also advised that they wish to purchase additional MEGApleat filters to run trials in both their casting shop and the body shop.
In total, there are 102 AHUs in the three areas under consideration.
Recommended Product & Solution
Air Filtration Audit
A thorough air filter audit of your HVAC systems is the first step that AAF International takes in order to provide you with professional guidance and analysis for cost savings and risk reduction. By conducting this audit, we will be able to understand exactly how you compare to the best practices of companies that are similar to you.
Indoor Air Quality (IAQ)
Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) is a term that refers to the air quality in your building, breathed in every day by the building’s occupants. The pollution levels in indoor air can be up to 5 times higher than outdoor levels, and people spend more than 90% of their time indoors.
TCO Diagnostic®
The purpose of TCO Diagnostic is to assist you in selecting the best filters for your air handling systems and to understand their sensitivity to your operating conditions, in order to operate your system in the most optimal and effective manner.