HVAC Covid-19 Vaccines
While the COVID-19 pandemic did affect the HVAC industry in more than one way, some sectors of the business still thrives under the uncertain circumstances. In fact, the U.S. industrial OEM Evapco, which produces packaged low-charge ammonia (R717) systems, expects the business to significantly grow as the effects of the pandemic subsides in 2021. According to the company’s Vice President Kurt Liebendorfer, the numerous large capital projects that have been postponed due to COVID-19 are likely to be taken off hold once things start returning to the new normal.
This will be not much of a surprise since the HVAC industry does play a major role in ending this crisis. Now that vaccines are already getting distributed across the world, many will demand for the industry’s services when it comes to storing and transporting the vaccines.
For instance, Stirling Ultracold in Athens, Ohio has developed a novel cooling technology for freezers, so they can accommodate the Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna vaccine, both of which require specific temperatures to maintain efficacy.
The five-year-old Austrian engineering and manufacturing company Mirai Intex has also chipped in their expertise and will be accommodating the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine in their ultra-low-temperature systems that utilizes air (R729) from the atmosphere as the refrigerant and delivers temperatures as low as -110°C (-166°F).
On top of this, cold chain systems are also relevant in helping end the pandemic. Fortunately, the SolarChill project is already in place with at least 100,000 vaccine cooler units installed in locations without reliable power supplies. The units utilizes the power from solar energy and hydrocarbons (isobutane/R600a) as their refrigerant to maintain temperatures between 2°C (36°F) and 8°C (46°C), enough until the jabs are administered to individuals.
But of course, while the vaccines are still underway, HVAC units will still play a role in preventing the spread of the virus in indoor spaces.
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