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Swegon presents a concept air handling unit in wood

As the environmental impact of the building industry increases in focus, the call for sustainable innovations has never been more pressing. Swegon is therefore proud to present its first wooden air handling unit that could redefine the industry’s approach to reducing carbon emissions. 

When the GOLD air handling unit was launched in 1994, it was an all-new concept that transformed industry standards. With its Pioneering design and innovative features, it set a new benchmark for energy efficiency and performance. Now, three decades later, embodied carbon is increasingly in focus, and the first wooden concept air handling unit is presented. 

So far, two functioning prototypes of wooden GOLD air handling unit, size 005 have been built, where the traditional casing of conventional steel has been replaced by cross-laminated timber (CLT). By replacing the steel, Swegon managed to reduce the CO2 footprint by 40 percent. For a larger air handling unit, the saving would be even greater. 

"By rethinking material choices and challenging industry norms, we are driving the future of sustainable building solutions and this concept is an important step in testing the limits for the industry," says Martin Ottersten, PhD, Innovation and Knowledge Centre at Swegon. 

“We have already introduced recycled steel inside our GOLD units to minimise environmental impact. With this concept wooden air handling unit we take a significant step further, in line with our ambitions within the RE:3 concept to be in the forefront of reducing embodied carbon of products", says Annika Sedwall, Head of Product Management, Kvänum. 

The unit is a concept product that is not on the market for sale, but will be evaluated and used in discussions around future alternative materials.    

 

For more information 
Annika Sedwall, Head of Product Management, Kvänum
+46 512 322 00 

 

About RE:3 

RE:3 is a Swegon concept, based on the key principles of circularity, which consists of RE:duce, RE:use and RE:vitalise. This unique approach is believed to contribute significantly to the industry and simplify for a wide audience to make conscious and long term decisions in regards to lowered embodied carbon levels in buildings. A RE:3 solution is an alternative to our conventional products, systems and services, an alternative which is reduced, reused or revitalised. We ensure a notably lower level of embodied carbon, built-in CO2, and let these solutions wear our RE:3 symbol. Learn more here.