Unique Industries • Custom HVAC/ Environmental Control

A government contractor, in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), developed an automated inventory control machine called the Remstar. Measuring 8 ft. x 8 ft. x 20 ft., the Remstar is a large machine that manages many small, delicate, and expensive electrical components within manufacturing facilities. When a technician enters the part they need, the machine retrieves and dispenses the item, while keeping track of its internal inventory.

The components stored inside the Remstar are highly sensitive to humidity and require a controlled environment to stay secure. The contractor’s original method of maintaining a safe, dry storage environment was to flood the machine with nitrogen. However, this method posed several risks, including oxygen displacement and the risk of nitrogen leaking out of the machine, causing harm to persons in proximity. To mitigate these risks, the contractor approached us for a solution that could achieve a low relative humidity (RH) environment without the use of nitrogen.

Air Innovations created a safer and more effective system that relied on air instead of nitrogen. It met the contractor’s RH goal more efficiently and addressed their other requirements, including wall mounting and compacting the system into the smallest possible footprint.

Air Innovations has years of experience working with government agencies and their subcontractors. We understand how to best design advanced environmental control systems that comply with even the strictest regulations.

Air Innovations collaborated with an in vitro diagnostics equipment developer, to produce a custom environmental control unit for a blood analyzer and diagnostics machine. The machine needed to analyze blood samples, determine blood type, identify diseases, and provide other types of critical information to patients. For this machine to operate correctly and to provide accurate information, the reagents, powders, and liquids used in the machine required specific humidity and temperature conditions that had to be maintained constantly.

In addition to these environmental requirements, Air Innovations had to design an ECU that was able to fit within a highly constrained area no larger than the space below a typical office photocopier. The limited space posed a unique challenge when designing a system that could interface with the reagent storage vessel while maintaining air circulation and sealed connections. Our team created an innovative solution that met all these requirements within a very small space. We compacted the unit with components small enough to fit the configuration while operating continuously for maximum reliability.

The medical diagnostics industry definitely isn’t the most common industry we work with, but our experience developing environmental control systems that can be compacted into very tight spaces has enabled us to work with any demanding industry.

Air Innovations collaborated with Derrick Corporation, an oil and gas technology manufacturing company, to address a critical problem related to explosion-proof environmental control. Derrick had a variable-frequency drive that controlled a large motor in offshore drilling operations. The goal of these operations was to sift through seawater, gasses, and rocks from the drilling slurry to recover valuable components. However, volatile methane gas was present in the slurry, posing a safety concern that was especially troubling in the wake of a previous rig accident.

Derrick Corp approached us for assistance cooling their electrical equipment in a non-volatile environment: they needed a custom explosion-proof air conditioner. We designed a steel enclosure box with an air conditioning system capable of maintaining the desired internal temperature. The most essential part of this project was ensuring the air conditioning unit itself was explosion proof to prevent potential hazards.

Our unique design consisted of components that would not spark or cause an explosion, even when exposed to ignitable gas. Our solution enhanced the environment’s safety and allowed Derrick to continue its operations with greater reliability.

Our expertise in developing custom explosion-proof HVAC systems makes us well equipped for tackling projects in the oil and gas industry or in any other industries with explosion-sensitive materials. Learn more about our capabilities in creating explosion-proof systems.

While many of the projects we take on today involve designing cooling units for critical processes, our roots actually started with producing HVAC systems for floral display cases in grocery stores.

When fresh cut flowers are prepared for sale or displayed in retail environments, they require carefully regulated temperature and humidity levels. Due to their delicate nature, flowers must be kept chilled but with adequate airflow to prevent wilting or damage due to overcrowding. However, stores determined people purchased more flowers when they sat in the open air instead of within a closed case. Air Innovations was originally called Floratech, and we developed several patented Always Open® refrigerated floral display case designs that maximize flower freshness. The designs came in many size and color options for diverse end-use environments, such as high-volume warehouses, supermarkets, and small point-of-purchase displays.

To this day, we still produce Floratech units every year. Even if the project you need cooling and humidity control for isn’t a demanding application, our team is still capable of developing a solution for whatever unique set of requirements you have. In fact, we have an entire division of our company that is focused solely on producing HVAC systems for cooling wine rooms.