Canadian airports, small and large across the country, have been facing cost uncertainty and cost increases for just about every expense, whether it be labour, energy, or environment-related. The bulk of energy use, up to 80% of electricity costs, is used by HVAC systems. Another challenge for airports is maintaining indoor air quality for passengers and airport staff while keeping costs down. In this article, we will detail how your airport can save on energy costs and on other operating costs related to HVAC, while providing the cleanest air.
The Dual Challenge: Clean Air & Energy Efficiency in Canadian Airports
The Air Quality Threat in Airport Terminal Buildings
The sources of pollution in and around airports are; jet fuel, ground vehicle exhaust (taxis, rideshare vehicles, service vehicles, etc.) and airport operations, resulting in elevated levels of ultrafine particles (UFPs), carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen oxides (NOₓ), sulfur dioxide (SO₂), volatile organic compounds (VOCs), black carbon (BC), and particulate matter (PM1 and PM2.5). These pollutants pose significant health risks to workers and residents in adjacent communities.
Outside airports, pollution from the airports mixes with pollution from traffic and industrial and residential activities. The highest health risks can be found in zones concentrated within several kilometres of major runways. Source: Government of Canada
Inferior Filters Fail Energy Audits and Indoor Air Quality Tests
Low quality air filters require more frequent changeouts and have higher average pressure drops. They can also bow and collapse, rendering them useless and resulting in poor air quality for your building. Airports can benefit most from high-efficiency filters with the lowest average pressure drops for maximum energy savings and better air quality.
The Best Air Filtration Technology for Canadian Airport Success in Air Filtration
Why is a high-efficiency MERV 13A or higher air filter a good solution for airports?
A MERV 13A, with the A-designation indicating the filter’s actual performance after proper testing, is a great choice for airports because it provides superior indoor air quality (IAQ) and health protection. MERV 13A filters capture at least 85% of fine particulates in the 1 to 3 micron range. This includes fine, harmful particles like kerosene-based jet fuel, diesel exhaust from trucks and machinery, construction dust, black carbon, and allergens.
Merv 13A filters capture bacteria and viruses in high-traffic areas such as check-in and security queues, limiting exposure, especially during high travel seasons. This helps keep travellers and airport staff healthier by reducing the number of sick days lost to airports.
High-efficiency, MERV-A-rated filters combined with molecular filters also protect employees in critical areas such as control towers from jet engine emissions such as hydrocarbons, ozone, and nitrogen oxides (NOx), as well as volatile organic compounds (VOCs), particulate matter, and carbon monoxide in the building.
High Energy Efficiency Air Filters and Cost Savings
If you’re after energy savings, use high-efficiency air filters with the lowest average pressure drop over their lifespan, combined with a filter that lasts longer. With filters such as the Hi-FloES or Durafil MERV 13/13A filters, HVAC system fans consume significantly less energy to move a high volume of air. This results in substantial airport operational cost savings.
With micro-fine glass media, the Hi-Flo ES bag filter ensures a longer service life with more dust-holding capacity. This leads to fewer filter changeouts, allowing labour to be reallocated to other tasks as well as lower filter and disposal costs.
Using Life Cycle Cost (LCC) analysis, air filtration experts can help airports choose filters that offer lower costs, less energy consumption and required maintenance for the lowest total cost of ownership.
HVAC System Protection with Better Air Filter Design
Airport facility managers often have to deal with high humidity and moisture, along with airflow challenges. Using filters with robust frames and moisture-resistant media can make things easier on your HVAC system.
Protecting expensive air filtration equipment, such as coils, ducts, and air handling units, from clogging and degradation ensures maximum operating efficiency and longer equipment life.
Compliance, Recommendations for Airport Filtration
Considerations for airport-specific environments
Air Quality: Airports need systems to eliminate odours and can benefit from filtering out contaminants coming from outdoor air with high-efficiency particulate filters (HEPA) in sensitive areas and activated carbon filters throughout facilities.
High Occupancy: Airports feature high-traffic areas, proper ventilation and high-efficiency filters are crucial.
ASHRAE Recommendations: ASHRAE, the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers, recommends a minimum filtration level of MERV 13 combined with molecular filtration (for gases) for airports to capture pollutants such as jet exhaust and airborne viruses.
ASHRAE Standard 241: This standard guides the control of infectious aerosols and outlines the development of a “building readiness plan” that details how to manage risk and operate the HVAC system for improved air quality. The standard requires a local survey of potential contaminant sources. It mandates specific air treatment and filtration to ensure that outdoor air brought indoors is filtered and meets quality standards before being introduced to occupied facilities. Standard 241 includes requirements for HVAC system design, installation, commissioning, operation, and maintenance. It also ensures that filtration systems run properly over time.
Adherence to Standards: The use of Camfil MERV 13A filters enables airports to meet stringent air quality standards and recommendations from organizations like ASHRAE.
Sustainability: Camfil provides sustainable solutions, including systems where used carbon filters can be regenerated and reused, aligning with airport sustainability goals.
Airport Filtration Best Practices:
- Minimum MERV 13: For all recirculated air, use filters with a MERV 13 rating or higher.
- Higher efficiency is better: MERV 14A and HEPA filters capture finer particulates and more airbourne virus particles.
- Air cleaning units: Portable air cleaning units with high-MERV-rated filters can be used in problem areas or to provide better filtration to critical buildings such as control towers.
High-Efficiency Filtration for Airports
High-efficiency air filters are crucial for airports as they provide the cleanest air while saving energy. Filters such as the Hi-FloES and DurafilES3 provide superior fine particle removal and a lower pressure drop for longer to save more energy over the life of the filter. Premium filters provide clean air by providing high-level particle removal.
Premium particulate filters are the best choice for airports because they offer fine particle contaminant protection with operational efficiency, low airflow resistance, long filter life, and energy efficiency, helping meet sustainability goals.
MERV 13 filters are typically used in airports since they remove a significant amount of airbourne particles such as PM1 and PM2.5 and allergens, and reduce virus transmission as well. Ultrafine particulates penetrate deep into the body, causing serious health issues.
Handling fumes and odours, improving air quality and sustainability in airport environments
CamCarb filters are molecular filters that use activated carbon or alumina media to remove pollution from jet and diesel exhaust gases such as NO₂, ozone, VOCs, and sulfur oxides. Molecular filters protect sensitive electronics in airports and air-handling systems from corrosion. CamCarb filters should be coupled with particulate stage filters to ensure that particulates are also captured along with gases.
CityCarb filters combine particulate (eg, MERV15/ePM1) and gas-phase filtration in a single, compact unit using Rapid Adsorption Dynamics (RAD) media. CityCarb filters work by passing air through pleated media that includes activated carbon. The carbon traps gases through adsorption: molecules stick to the surface of the carbon, and the pleated media captures particulate matter, removing fine particles, odours, and gaseous pollutants, improving passenger and airport staff comfort while reducing maintenance requirements for HVAC equipment.
Air Purifiers for Targeted Zones in Terminals
CamCleaner targeted air cleaners can be used in high-traffic or sensitive areas of airports (e.g., control towers, food courts) to supplement filtration efforts and further improve air quality or reduce airbourne virus transmission.
Return on Investment: How Camfil Delivers HVAC Energy Savings Canada
Camfil’s Life Cycle Cost (LCC) software encompasses all costs throughout the filter’s operational life, including energy consumption —a major expense for airports. The LCC uses real-world data, filter efficiency, lifespan, labour, disposal, and energy use to determine how much can be saved at an airport facility.
Airport HVAC systems operate 24 hours a day, and the energy required to overcome high-pressure drops from inadequate filters significantly increases energy costs. Camfil’s LCC can demonstrate which filters can reduce energy use, extend filter life, and lower maintenance needs (labour), resulting in the best long-term operation savings overall. LCC can help improve air quality for the health of passengers and staff, reduce operational costs, and support sustainability goals.
Copenhagen Airport Case Study
Copenhagen Airport upgraded its HVAC with a two-stage air filtration system with Camfil molecular (carbon) filters, and ePM1 60% particulate filters. The system removes harmful airborne contaminants from aircraft emissions and ground vehicle operations and produces the best indoor air quality in terminal areas.
The Airport sought to reduce humidity and prevent corrosion and filter damage from extreme weather events. To do so, the Airport installed CamVane to capture moisture and airborne droplets before they enter the HVAC system. The success of this installation demonstrated the high efficiency of Camfil’s moisture control technologies and led to Copenhagen Airport expanding the use of these systems to other facilities.
Summary: Partner with Camfil Canada for Cleaner, Greener Airports
Camfil provides tailored air filtration solutions that improve indoor air quality, reduce maintenance costs, provide the lowest average resistance to airflow, extend filter life, and ensure environmental standards are followed across airport facilities. These solutions are critical in managing the complex pollution sources present in Canadian airports, protecting passenger and staff health, and creating operational efficiency with lower operating costs.
Camfil supplies and supports Canadian airports across the country, including Vancouver, Calgary, Winnipeg, Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, and Quebec City.
Frequently asked questions about air filtration for Canadian airports
Q1: What air quality challenges do Canadian airports face?
Airports contend with particulate and gaseous pollution from jet fuel, vehicle exhaust, and operations, leading to harmful ultrafine particles and gases that pose health risks.
Q2: How do inferior air filters affect HVAC energy consumption and air quality?
A2: They require frequent changeouts, have higher pressure drops, and may collapse or bow, resulting in decreased air quality and increased energy costs to compensate for the higher pressure drop.
Q3: What makes MERV 13A air filters suitable for airports?
A3: MERV 13A filters capture over 85% of fine particulates, improving indoor air quality and reducing health risks from PM1 and PM2.5, airbourne viruses, and allergens for airport passengers and staff.
Q4: How do high-efficiency air filters contribute to energy savings?
A4: They lower energy consumption due to reduced average pressure drops over the entire life of the filter.
Q5: What Are the Best Air Filters for Airports?
A5: A minimum filtration level of MERV 13 is recommended to deal with particulates such as PM2.5, with MERV 14A preferred, along with molecular filtration to effectively capture gaseous pollutants present in Canadian airports such as nitrogen oxides (NOx), sulfur oxides (SOx), carbon monoxide (CO), and other volatile organic compounds (VOCs).
Contact Camfil Canada
Camfil’s air filtration experts can help you improve your indoor air quality (IAQ) by addressing regional challenges and operational needs. Whether you seek to control hazardous emissions or improve the IAQ in your workplace, Camfil can help. To find a local rep, use this contact form, and someone will reach out to you. Contact form
About Camfil Canada Clean Air Solutions
For more than 60 years, Camfil has been helping people breathe cleaner air. As a leading manufacturer of premium clean air solutions, we provide commercial and industrial systems for air filtration and air pollution control that enhance worker and equipment productivity, reduce energy consumption, and benefit both human health and the environment.
Media Contact:
Phillip Ilijevski
Camfil Canada Inc.
Sources:
Transport Canada
ASHRAE
Health Canada