Air quality is a vital issue, particularly as conditioned spaces are built tighter to conserve energy. Carrier will provide the best in products to help spaces breathe, remove pollutants and uphold the highest possible air quality standards.

·We spend 90 percent of out time indoors, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. But the air we breathe 90 percent of the time is anywhere from two- to 10-percent dirtier than outdoor air.

·A joint innovation project between Carrier and United Technologies Research Center (UTRC) has resulted in a new technology product that, when integrated into a Carrier commercial air conditioning system, makes indoor air much cleaner to breathe.

·This new technology is called UC/PCO, short for photo-catalytic oxidation, activated by ultraviolet light. The effect is to trap airborne molecules in a catalytic filter and transform them from noxious and dangerous chemicals such as benzene and aldehydes into inoffensive elements such as carbon and water.

·Nearly 3,000of these new UV/PCO units have been purchased by French developer SARI for installation in a 41-story office building under construction in La Defense, Paris.
·As the general public becomes aware that heat and humidity allow mold, mildew and other microbes to infiltrate buildings, particularly in the education sector, Carrier has developed a wide range of products that provide better humidity control. This includes the coupling of steel air handlers and ductwork with an antimicrobial compound coating to offer a system with greater protection against these microbes.

·Antimicrobial-coated steel can be used in many HVAC system components to suppress the growth of microbes and help keep the components cleaner.

·As of March 2003, Carrier's 39M Aero™ Air Handling Unit is available with AK Coating's AgION™ antimicrobial-coated steel as an integral material for its pre-painted steel inner liner and as a factory option for all Racan-Carrier custom air handling systems.

·AgION is a silver ion-based compound that suppresses the growth of bacteria, mold, mildew, fungi and other microbes. Silver atoms are attracted with an electrical charge to oppositely charged hydrogen ions – commonly found in most bacteria and microbes – like a magnet. Once the two ions connect, the hydrogen ions are no longer available for other chemical bonds, abruptly halting the bacteria and microbes' respiration and growth.

·The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has registered the AgION compound for use in heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) applications. AgION is also U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) recognized as an acceptable food contact substance.