• Current standards for outside air ventilation can be met or exceeded with minimal energy cost impact on the building.

• Incoming outside air is dehumidified by the desiccant wheel, allowing the rest of the ventilation system to run dry. As a result, indoor humidities are maintainable well below the conditions that would favour the growth of mould, mildew and other microbial contamination.

• The need for cooling capacity that normally would be required to dehumidify and cool outside air is eliminated. This is typically 30 to 50% of total system capacity. In most cases, the cost of the energy wheels is almost less than the cooling capacity it is replacing. The first cost of a building's cooling system can actually be reduced with a wheel system.

• Many utilities charge extra for the electrical energy used during peak cooling periods. A wheel system can significantly reduce peak demand charges.

• In the winter, wheel systems can preheat and humidify incoming cold, dry air.

• As the system is capable of recovering 80% of the heating or cooling energy that is exhausted from a building, the cost of fresh air ventilation is reduced.

• Given that the cost of the system is similar to the cost of conventional heating and cooling capacity, the system has an immediate payback. In retrofit applications, where cooling capacity is already in place, payback would typically take place, in 1 to 3 years.

•The enthalpy wheels are available in several sizes and configuration and are being integrated in small compact standarized units for installation in hotels, restaurants, discotheques, bars, pubs, offices, nursing homes, as unitary systems and are being sold as energy saving fresh air preconditioners to handle smaller loads.

Cafe Royal, Mumbai - gets a breath of fresh air

Dim lights, smoke filled and jam packed with hazy surrounding typically describes the ambience of discotheque and bar. However, the ambience need not cause suffocation and pose a health threat to the occupants spending considerable number of hours there. At Cafe Royal, Bombay, the discotheque..cum bar the architect installed an Energy Recovery Ventilator along with the airconditioning system, to avoid the problem of smoke and suffocation at peak hours.

The actual tonnage required was 16 tr, However, with the incorporation of the ERV the actual tonnage was reduced to 12 tr with 600 cfm of fresh air which is pretreated by the ERV.

The introduction of fresh air made the difference to the quality of air indoors. This could be judged from the fact, a smoke generator had to be operated overtime to create the kind of ambience suited for the discotheques, as the smoke was disappering in minutes.

The Ecofresh not only provided the perfect ambience for the guests but also economic sense for the owners.