EPA Challenges Schools to Reduce Energy Use

Camfil Farr, a leading manufacturer of air filtration for schools and commercial buildings, has developed a simple system to help building managers select high quality air filters that also reduce the amount of energy used in heating and air conditioning.

The system is the ECI – Energy Cost Index. It is a five-star award system, with the higher the star value, the greater the annual energy savings. A 5-star filter is in the top 20% of the range of all tested filters. ECI is calculated using energy cost, divided by the filter’s average efficiency at 0.4um – the most common particle size found in indoor environments.

ECI is an important rating tool that reveals a filter’s true “lifetime” value. It is a way to compare similar filters under identical conditions. It provides an objective gauge of filter performance based on science, rather than gimmicks. And it shows how schools and other buildings can immediately and significantly reduce their energy expense, while producing substantially higher quality, more healthful, indoor air.

Camfil Farr’s Energy Cost Index can be an important component of any school’s effort to put more dollars into classrooms, and fewer dollars into utility bills. It can be an important contributor to EPA’s goal of reducing energy consumption in our schools. But equally important, it reduces energy use while creating healthier, more productive learning environments.

Camfil Farr’s ECI Award Program is a far-reaching, national program for publicly recognizing school administrators and building managers who demonstrate a long-term commitment to maintaining quality indoor air and saving energy, and who make air filtration decisions based on energy conservation. For details on the ECI award program, call (866) 4CAMFIL. Documentation regarding schools and universities who have generated substantial energy savings, as well as savings on labor and filters, can be found here:
www.green-air-filters.com/pdfs/homewood-schools-case-study.pdf 
www.green-air-filters.com/pdfs/university-lowers-hvac-energy-costs-24%25.pdf 
www.green-air-filters.com/pdfs/university-documents-$46,000-annual-savings.pdf

For more information regarding this release, contact Lynne Laake, Camfil Farr, (513) 324-8346 or laakel@camfilfarr.com
http://www.camfilfarr.com

Sign up your school for the Energy Star Challenge: http://energystar.gov/challenge
See map of Energy Star qualified schools near you: http://www.energystar.gov/buildinglist

Camfil Farr is a world leader in the production and development of air filters and clean air solutions, with 24 production and R&D facilities. Camfil Farr is a member of the US Green Building Council -USGBC – a non-profit community of industry leaders committed to making “green” buildings universally available within a generation.


Background: According to US EPA, one in five Americans spend their days in K-12 schools – and half of those 120,000 schools have indoor air quality problems.

Today, indoor air quality is a greater concern than ever, with the threat of H1N1 adding to already-serious concerns about seasonal flu.

The vulnerability of children and teachers to flu and other respiratory illnesses is always higher when indoor air quality is poor. Now, Camfil Farr, a leading manufacturer of air filtration for schools and commercial buildings, has responded to a challenge by US EPA to improve energy efficiency in every school that chooses to participate, while substantially improving the quality of indoor air.