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Considering todays many challenging sustainability targets, it is no surprise that people wonder why certain products look or work the way they do. However, when alternative solutions are explored, factors such as functionality or lifespan, often turn out to be significant showstoppers. What if someone refused to let these obstacles stifle their curiosity, and instead created a product that took on a completely new “costume”? Our expert, Martin Ottersten, Research & Innovation Development Engineer, presents a pioneering testing in this blog post.
The building industry faces a number of challenges as one of the most carbon intensive industries in the world. Minimising the environmental impact in the value chain of all building projects is crucial, which is why circularity measures like reuse and reduce are top of mind among property owners, architects, designers, installers and many others in the industry.
In this context of sustainability, it is worth revisiting one of the oldest building materials in human history – wood. Wood has lately experienced a renaissance in modern architecture as cross-laminated timber (CLT) enables construction of taller and more complex wooden structures. This engineered wood product offers a sustainable alternative to traditional building materials like concrete and steel.
Wooden air handling unit
When the GOLD air handling unit was launched in 1994, it was an all-new concept that redefined industry standards. With its pioneering design and innovative features, it set a new benchmark for energy efficiency and performance. Three decades later, GOLD remains the cornerstone of our proposition, however we are not settling here. One day, an idea sparked in our Kvänum factory: “What if we made the same air handling unit – but out of wood?”
Well, considering that wood has made a comeback as a building material not only for structural elements in buildings but also for interior walls, the concept of an air handling unit in a wooden casing actually makes perfect sense. This way, the air handling unit complements the overall architecture of modern wooden buildings while simultaneously reducing CO2 emissions.
Decreased embodied CO2
With the above said we decided to turn the idea of a wooden air handling unit into reality. The casing of an air handling unit traditionally consists of an outer and inner layer made from galvanised steel. By replacing conventional steel with recycled steel in the production of GOLD, we have already reduced not only our own, but also our customers’ footprint significantly. Yet, the steel accounts for nearly 60 percent of the embodied carbon. By building a GOLD size 005 in cross-laminated timber (CLT) instead, we managed to reduce the CO2 footprint by 40 percent. For a larger unit that saving would be even greater since the share of steel grows with the size of the unit. Wood products bind carbon throughout their entire lifespan, which helps reduce the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Currently, this cannot be credited as a negative value, but if allowed in the future, the reduction would be 60 percent compared to a steel unit.
Future innovations in material choices
So far, we have built two functioning prototypes of the wooden GOLD RX 005. These units are concept products that are not on the market, but as pioneers within the air handling unit business, this is our way to find new ways for the future. And while we continue our developments, we find confidence in the fact that the wood fiber in the now existing units enables the entire casing to be recycled – including doors and insulation. To make further advancements, we will continue to test new materials to find tomorrow's unit and redefine industry standards once again.
Learn more about our GOLD air handling unit and our RE:3 sustainability efforts.
