Healthy Air For One Of India’s Big Four Banks

Safeguarding indoor air quality has become a top priority in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Johnson Controls worked with a leading Indian bank to improve the indoor air quality of its Chennai’s branch office, and made it safe for the employees. 

To prevent the spread of the virus in India’s commercial buildings, guidelines from a local COVID-19 task force recommend increase in fresh air intake to dilute indoor air, in addition to low level of air drafts. Safe environment solutions from Johnson Controls include filtration options to provide better air quality, optimal temperature settings to slow the flow of airborne pathogens and the use of ultraviolet C (UV-C) lighting solutions to kill viral organisms.

The bank wanted to ensure the office was safe for its employees when offices re-opened following the nation-wide lockdown. The management was initially prepared to replace the existing fleet of 16 AHUs with electronically commutated (EC) fans, a type of direct drive fans, that had been installed onsite just 18 months earlier. Johnson Controls conducted a detailed site study on the client’s current system and recommended an alternative cost-saving solution. 

The recommendations involved an engineering approach that reduced the entire AHU static pressure from 100 mm to 85 mm, while ensuring the hourly air changes and other key AHU parameters were maintained or standardized. The implementation involved redesigning and retrofitting the existing air handling units (AHUs) at the location. The 3-month retrofit project was awarded to the Company’s team in India in August 2020.