Swegon produces wooden AHU

SWEDEN: Swegon has produced two functioning prototypes of its Gold air handling unit in wood. 

Swegon insists that its first wooden air handling unit could redefine the industry’s approach to reducing carbon emissions as the environmental impact of the building industry increases.

While the unit is merely a concept product that is not on the market for sale, Swegon says it will be evaluated and used in discussions around future alternative materials.  

Sweden’s Gold air handling unit was first launched in 1994, now, three decades later, embodied carbon is increasingly in focus, and the first wooden concept air handling unit is presented.

So far, two functioning wooden prototypes have been built, where the traditional casing of conventional steel has been replaced by cross-laminated timber. By replacing the steel, Swegon says it managed to reduce the CO2 footprint by 40%. For a larger air handling unit, the saving would be even greater, the company insists.

“By rethinking material choices and challenging industry norms, we are driving the future of sustainable building solutions and this concept is an important step in testing the limits for the industry,” said research and innovation development engineer Martin Ottersten.

“We have already introduced recycled steel inside our Gold units to minimise environmental impact. With this concept wooden air handling unit we take a significant step further, in line with our ambitions within the RE:3 concept to be in the forefront of reducing embodied carbon of products,” added Annika Sedwall, Swegon’s head of product management.