Berner International, New Castle, Pa., North America’s leading air curtain manufacturer and innovator, has developed the PureAir Package^™, an air purification system for air curtains to help buildings combat the COVID-19 pandemic while supporting sustainability goals. The Berner PureAir Package^TM complements the built environment’s indoor air quality (IAQ) and disinfection efforts by deactivating viruses, killing bacteria, and neutralizing a space’s airborne volatile organic compounds (VOC), as well as allergens and other biological contaminants such as mold spores. This is the industry’s first air curtain to include needlepoint bipolar ionization (NPBI) technology, enabling users to safely disinfect and purify the air in the space, beginning at the doorway.

The PureAir Package is currently available on Berner’s popular Architectural High Performance 10 (AHD10) air curtain, designed for separating environments at main entrances in retail, restaurants, hospitality, healthcare, education and other commercial and industrial applications. The PureAir Package includes the NPBI module; a washable one-inch-thick (25-mm) aluminum mesh MERV-8 particulate filter; a 10-speed 1/2-hp electronically commutated (EC) motor; and a factory-installed Intelliswitch^™ with Pure Mode operation.

During periods when the door is open, the air curtain operates as both an air curtain and an air purifier. When the door closes for longer than 60 seconds, the air curtain automatically transitions to Pure Mode for continuous NPBI ion distributio­­­n throughout the space with one of its lowest, quietest speeds. The Pure Mode setting distributes a minimum­­­ ion density of 787 ­­­ions/inch² (2,000 ions/cm²) within a minute for reliable pathogen disinfection of the space. On Pure Night mode, to provide optimum ion density, the air curtain runs at a powerful high speed, de-stratifying the air in the room and purifying it prior to occupancy periods.

NPBI has been third-party surface tested by Innovative Bioanalysis, Cypress, Calif., to neutralize airborne viruses, including the source of COVID-19 disease, SARS CoV-2, at a 99.4-percent success rate during 30-minute exposures. NPBI also disinfects mold, mildew, allergens, bacteria and other biological contaminants using an ionization process that’s Environmental Claim Validated through UL-2998 for zero ozone emission and byproducts free.

The ionization process creates positively and negatively-charged ions that are distributed by the air curtain. These ions attach to microscopic airborne particulates. The positive and negative ions break down gases such as VOCs and odors and also pull hydrogen out of viruses, bacteria and mold that deactivates or kills them. The polarized particles’ electrical attraction and subsequent agglomeration facilitates their entrapment in the air curtain’s intake air MERV 8 filter. Together, the combination of the NPBI technology and MERV 8 filter approaches HEPA performance and improves the IAQ.

The Intelliswitch, a programmable digital controller, which has a time clock, time delay, built-in thermostat, 10-speed fan control, and other integrated customizable features, can also be operated wirelessly through the Berner AIR^™, an advanced control technology communications platform for air curtains. The platform uses a wireless controller, encrypted at the processor level, to connect the Intelliswitch to the Berner App for smartphones, which also allows Berner factory technicians to help local contractors troubleshoot service.

Air curtain technology is ideal for NPBI, because air curtains are used right where customers, patients, employees, etc., enter and exit a building. The air curtain distributes ions from inside the space, starting right at the entrance, for an immediate effect, and it tirelessly replenishes the supply as old ions reach their minutes-long lifecycle.

Other features of the PureAir Package and AHD10 air curtain are:

• Five-year warranty on ambient, two-year warranty on heated models;
• UL-867 listing for air cleaners, as required by the California Air Resources Board (ARB), to be ozone and byproducts free technology;
• Complements ASHRAE-recommended outdoor air flushing treatments of buildings and increased ventilation during pandemic periods by both de-stratifying and purifying the air;
• The AHD10 Series air curtain is AMCA-certified; the MERV-8 filter upgrade changes the air stream performance slightly and is not part of the AMCA test;
• Saves energy and lowers energy costs;
• Energy efficient EC Motors support 24/7 operation of the air curtain;
• Berner air curtains are made in the USA;
• Factory-assembled and tested

For more information on Berner International air curtain products, please call 724-658-3551, visit www.berner.com; or email: sales@berner.com.

About Berner

Berner International LLC is a 60-year-old U.S. manufacturer and a leader in the air door/air curtain equipment engineering and manufacturing industry. Berner is a member of the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), The Green Building Alliance (GBA), the Air Movement & Control Association (AMCA), and the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating & Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE). For more information on Berner and its products, please call (724)-658-3551 or visit www.berner.com