Innovation aimed at HVAC

Development of high-quality nanochemistry is to a signiﬁcant extent aimed at semi-ﬁnished thin plate substrates within the HVAC-oriented industry, signiﬁcant emphasis is placed on ventilation-oriented installations.

Achieved development results show an increased degree of use, including the general use of galvanized thin sheet substrates with increased corrosion resistance.

Beneﬁcial use within ventilation-oriented purposes

Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems for both residential and commercial purposes are responsible for more than 60% of electricity-based energy consumption in buildings across the EU. One of the main components of HVAC is ventilation ducts. Typical channel systems based on Zn-coated galvanized steel will be able to contribute to 40% of the energy loss. In addition, the Zn-coating used in galvanized steel/ traditional ducts, can erode and corrode regularly. Because of this, as well as droplet/particle deposition, the duct system should be cleaned at intervals, which in turn leads to a reduced lifespan and increased operating costs.

NAST technological innovation has, in its development phase, aimed to meet these challenges related to Zn-coated galvanized steel channel through the use of polymer-based nanotechnology (innovations in new surface coating materials) and the use of cost-eﬀective production methodology (innovations in production and coating techniques). Key results achieved in the development show ventilation ducts with a reduced need for maintenance, better overall energy eﬃciency, and a guaranteed lifespan of 40 years (today the duct life is 25 years) for the entire system.

Moreover, already achieved results show to provide the possibility to reuse channel (sustainability) due to signiﬁcant improvement in the lifetime of the channel material.

The innovation concept emphasizes the application of nanotechnology to HVAC ducts, taking advantage of the unique properties of nanomaterials to overcome the limitations of traditional duct materials. Nano-coatings provide superior mechanical properties and surface properties, which provide signiﬁcantly increased barrier resistance, and achieve new standards for corrosion resistance, self-cleaning and signiﬁcantly increased wear resistance. The high-density value of the nano polymer's grain boundaries gives an elevated surface area to volume ratio. With the help of advanced pretreatment methods, molecular bonds are optimized and thereby extended lifetime.

The underlying concept in development is the implementation of polymer-based nano chemistry applied to the internal/ external surfaces of HVAC ducts and associated subassemblies to achieve improved eﬀective airﬂow through greatly reduced friction. In addition to improved corrosion resistance and self-cleaning hydrophobic properties. World-leading and rigorously managed chemistry for polymer-based nanocoating allows design of the necessary polymer properties as well as surface properties to achieve the targeted performance. As such, the innovation will lead to the design of a new product with signiﬁcant utility and highly optimized sustainability where semi- ﬁnished substrates in the form of Coil (R2R) or standardized plates are supplied to further processing companies.

Powder-coated ventilation ducts and parts accessories