04/18/2011 // Riverdale, NJ, USA // Camfil // Lynne Laake // (press release)
For one medium-size hospital in Illinois, a close examination of the total cost of the hospital air filters — and the discovery of all the savings it was leaving on the table — came as a jolt. For years, the healthcare facility — which specializes in cardiac surgery and cancer treatment — had been buying hospital air filters and other products as part of a purchasing group of 13 hospitals. Doing so, it thought, enabled it to receive the best price on purchases, including the hospital air filters designed to prevent dangerous particles — and the threat of infection — from entering critical areas. It was a reasonable assumption to make. But it was wrong.
While the initial cost of the hospital air filters — installed throughout two large buildings on the 350-bed campus — may have been low, the total cost of ownership was not. That’s because the hospital air filters, from American Air Filter (AAF), required frequent replacements: AAF’s PerfectPleat pre-filters had to be changed out every three months, while the AAF VariCel M-Pak 90 final filters each lasted one year. There was the labor cost of replacement to consider, too, as well as energy costs — no small consideration in Illinois, where energy costs had risen 37 percent. When all of these factors were considered, what seemed to be an inexpensive air filtration system turned out to be a pricey one.
Fortunately, looking at the overall cost of ownership of the hospital air filters also enabled the hospital to find a far more efficient, cost-effective air filtration solution. Camfil hospital air filters — featuring an innovative design that greatly extended their service life — required far less frequent replacement. Indeed, Camfil’s 30/30 pre-filter needed replacement just half as often as the AAF model: every six months, instead of every three months. Meanwhile, replacing AAF M-Pak 90 filters with Camfil Durafil hospital air filters doubled the life of the hospital’s final filters to two years.
At the same time, because the Camfil hospital air filters maintained their efficiency throughout their service life — instead of degrading markedly over time — they provided the filter efficiency required for hospitals by cognizant authorities throughout their entire life. Hospitals that have switched to Camfil air filtration systems typically lower their HVAC energy costs by 15 to 30 percent. For the Illinois hospital, the energy savings for one air filtration system alone — comprised of 83 filters — was $15,106. Combined with the savings achieved from reducing filter replacement by 50 percent, the hospital was able to provide the first-rate care it was known for far more cost effectively.
In fact, that care was improved, too. A true MERV 8 air filter, Camfil’s 30/30 solution provided cleaner air — more efficiently keeping dangerous particles out of the indoor environment — while increasing airflow to critical areas of the hospital. The environment won, too, as fewer replacements meant fewer hospital air filters going to the landfill.
In the end, Camfil’s air filtration system proved the economical solution, the ‘green’ solution — and the right solution.
The world leader in hospital air filters, air filtration systems and clean air solutions — for health care and other industries — Camfil provides the tools to achieve sustainability, maintain high air quality, and reduce airborne infections; all while lowering total cost of ownership. We’ve helped hospitals, office buildings, hotels, and other facilities go green without ever sacrificing performance. For more information on our hospital air filters, visit our newsroom at https://hvacairfiilters.submitmypressrelease.com, read about the Clean Air Solutions Company at https://cleanair.camfil.us, or call us at (toll free) 888.599.6620.
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