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Exploring Terminal Units: Dwyer’s Solutions for Better Indoor Environments and Optimal Performance

terminal unit cutaway

Picture this: you walk into an office building on a hot summer day. As the door closes behind you, you immediately feel the temperature change. It’s cool and refreshing, thanks to the terminal units working diligently behind the scenes. Terminal units, while often unseen and unheard, play a crucial role in maintaining a comfortable environment in various buildings, from offices to schools and hospitals. Let’s explore these components, the challenges they address, and how Dwyer’s range of products helps conquer these challenges.
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Navigating Health and Comfort in Airports

In the expansive world of modern travel, airports serve as dynamic hubs connecting people across the globe. However, amid the seamless connectivity and operational efficiency, there exists a nuanced concern—the potential health implications associated with prolonged stays in these bustling environments. From temporary discomforts to potential long-term health risks, both passengers and airport employees may encounter various challenges unique to airport spaces.  

Although the COVID-19 pandemic brought concerns about the impact of the built environment on health out of the proverbial “back room,” experts have been mulling over solutions to these problems for decades. Airports are of particularly high concern as they act as something of a mini city. Jet fuel, exhaust, and other chemicals have a large environmental impact on the outdoor air quality, while carbon dioxide and volatile organic compounds (VOCs), like formaldehyde, can greatly impact the health and indoor air quality (IAQ) of airport occupants.  Continue reading “Navigating Health and Comfort in Airports”

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Understanding Air Velocity Sensors

Dwyer Instruments offers a multitude of sensors for monitoring air velocity in HVAC systems. Some of this instrumentation has a simple construction (Pitot tubes, for example) while others are more complex, such as hot-wire anemometers.

The initial term and first “hot-wire anemometer” was developed back in 1914 by Louie Vesso King. He is also accredited for King’s Law, which mathematically describes heat transfer in air flows using a heated wire. As the air moves over the wire, it causes a loss of temperature in the wire and removes some of the wire’s heat energy. Continue reading “Understanding Air Velocity Sensors”

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Monitoring Solutions for Semiconductor HEPA/ULPA Rooms

Semiconductor Fab with HEPA/ULPA Room Highlighted

A semiconductor transistor is a part with specific electronic properties that allow it to serve as a component in microchips and modern electronics like phones, laptops, and more. As these components are small and require precise manufacturing methods, there are facilities dedicated to their manufacture.

These facilities consist of several levels including air handlers and scrubbers for exhaust, HEPA room, fab cleanroom, and subfab areas. The control of differential pressure within the facility is essential for the safety of both equipment and personnel.

Semiconductor Fab with HEPA/ULPA Room Highlighted
Semiconductor Fab HEPA/ULPA Room

The HEPA/ULPA rooms are found in the space above a semiconductor cleanroom. This area has filtration equipment that removes particulates from the outside environment. A HEPA (high efficiency particulate air) filter and/or an ULPA (ultra low particulate air) filter is used to trap small contaminants and prevent them from entering the fab cleanroom area. The fab cleanroom has to be free of particulates, as it is where semiconductor devices such as microscopic transistors are manufactured. Something as small as a molecule from a fragrance can destroy one of these transistors, making proper filtration an essential part of the semiconductor fabrication process.  Continue reading “Monitoring Solutions for Semiconductor HEPA/ULPA Rooms”

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Importance of Monitoring IAQ During Wildland Fire Season

wildfireThis June has seen record-breaking wildfires in Canada, with many fires still raging across the provinces and territories. The blaze, which has resulted in many individuals being forced from their homes and is expected to continue throughout the 2023 wildland fire season (canada.ca), has also brought with it thick smoke/smog for Canada’s USA neighbors.  Continue reading “Importance of Monitoring IAQ During Wildland Fire Season”