Insights from the Eurovent PG-FIL Chairperson

Marc Schmidt is the Chairperson of the Eurovent Product Group ‘Air Filters’ and Vice President of Technologies Europe at AAF International. In this interview, he gives us an insight into the activities of the PG-FIL.

Could you tell us how you got involved in the HVACR industry?

I was fascinated by fluid mechanics during my studies in chemical engineering and came to filtration by specialising in mechanical process engineering and particle technology. The subject never really let go of me since then. My first job was in the chemical industry, specialising in particle technology. I later worked in the non-woven industry in sales and technical functions in Germany and China. This brought me into contact with the production of air filters and filter materials. Eventually, this led me to my current position as Vice President of Technologies Europe at American Air Filter.

In hindsight, it may look like a straight and well-planned path, but it didn’t always feel that way. There were also coincidences and being in the right place at the right time.

What are the main focus points of the Eurovent Product Group ‘Air Filters’ (PG-FIL), and could you tell us the current challenges in the sector?

The Product Group ‘Air Filters’ (PG-FIL) is a very active Product Group. It is an honour and a pleasure to serve as Chairperson of this group composed of top experts from all over Europe.

One focus is providing our customers with company-neutral recommendations for making informed decisions when selecting air filters. In recent years, we have published a whole series of Eurovent Recommendations, whether in the course of the introduction of ISO16890 or with regard to energy assessments for the operation of air filters. Later this year, we will issue a Recommendation for the selection of gas phase filters. These are absorption filters, e.g. made of activated carbon, which absorb harmful gases. Currently, there are no generally recognised selection criteria for this.

We are also involved in international standardisation committees and support European legislative procedures whenever the expert opinion of the European filter industry is required.

Could you elaborate on how the recent indoor air quality social media awareness campaign was initiated, what it focuses on and its impact on the intended audience?

The activities described above are generally aimed at people who are professionally involved in air pollution topics. We at PG-FIL are and were well positioned in this area. However, at the beginning of my work as Chairperson of PG-FIL, I wanted to add a new aspect to this.

The importance of clean, healthy air has been made all too painfully clear to us by the pandemic. I have also noticed among my family and friends that the end consumer is remarkably uninformed when it comes to clean, healthy air and what is needed to achieve it. This is somewhat astonishing, as clean, healthy air makes a decisive contribution to health and well-being. In this sense, clean, healthy air should be regarded as “food” in the truest sense of the word.

As the topic suddenly hit the headlines due to the pandemic, it was important to use the ‘evil of the hour’ (one really can’t speak of the ‘favour of the hour’) to bring the importance of air filtration closer to the end consumer. Up to now, the end consumer has had no voice on this issue, even though he/she benefits directly from clean, healthy air or, on the contrary, suffers from polluted, unhealthy air.

Yet, given the choice, an informed end user will undoubtedly prefer an environment with clean, healthy air. Under certain circumstances, this can become a decision criterion, for example, when choosing a hotel, school or even a workplace.

IAQmatters

You can read Marc Schmidt’s article titled ‘Filters are around us’ on the IAQmatters website and follow more posts about Indoor Air Quality on the Facebook page. IAQmatters is a joint initiative of heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) manufacturers in Europe and the Middle East, which provides solutions to ensure a healthy indoor climate.