A high-tech Chattanooga manufacturer is jumping into the green building movement with a new product — a nanofiber residential air filter touted as environmentally friendly and healthy to people.
“The energy use is lower, and the nanofibers get a lot of the submicron particles out of the air,” said Jay Doshi, president and chief executive of eSpin Technologies Inc., who described the product as a major step forward for his business.
The business, next to the future Volkswagen plant at Enterprise South industrial park, is preparing to sell the Exceed air filter brand for residential use.
The filter, eSpin’s first product, is offered to commercial users, including hospitals and other businesses that require purified air, Mr. Doshi said.
The residential filters will go on sale by January after initial testing is done, Mr. Doshi said, and distributors have been signed up. The filters are made in the Enterprise South plant. The filters will be available in 13 sizes.
ON THE WEB
eSpin: www.espintechnologies.com
LEED information: www.usgbc.org
Nanofibers have a diameter 1,000 times smaller than that of a human hair, allowing them to trap the vast majority of allergens, Mr. Doshi said.
The Exceed filters meet requirements to be used in LEED-certified buildings, he said. The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Green Building Rating System promotes sustainable building practices. The program uses strict guidelines in building design to promote energy efficiency, healthy living and reduced waste in construction.
Part of the LEED program requires homes to be well-insulated and to have good air quality, said Aaron Collier of Collier Construction, a company that builds LEED-certified buildings, including several houses on Madison Street in the Southside. Mr. Collier said he did not know of eSpin, but LEED-certified products in general are helpful in building
“In terms of efficiency, the quality of air is important, how well-insulated the home is and tying that into the use of high-quality air filters” Mr. Collier said. “Each part of the house works together to provide a healthy environment.”
Mr. Doshi said that his company uses three-dimensional computer modeling to find the best design for the filters, allowing for efficient airflow, which reduces the amount of electricity to move air through the heat and air ducts.
ESpin’s filters are 95 percent efficient, versus the 98 percent efficiency of high efficiency particulate air, or HEPA, filters, Mr. Doshi said. He said eSpin’s offering is a fraction of the cost of HEPA filters.
The Exceed filters remove most odors and allergens such as pet dander, and last longer than regular filters, he said, though are a little more expensive.
High-end filters keep the air ducts cleaner regular filters, said Mr. Doshi, who won the 2007 Kruesi Award for Innovation.
