Aire Technologies Donates Louvers to the Rostraver Township Historical Society

Posted on December 15, 2022 by Caitlin Painter

Earlier this year, Ductmate Product Line Manager Rich Plavchak discussed the potential for a local project that he was personally connected to and asked for the assistance of Aire Technologies.

The Rostraver Township Historical Society, located at 800 Fellsburg Rd in Rostraver Township, Pennsylvania, is in a historic church building originally founded in 1792.  Earlier this year, the building suffered damage during a storm that destroyed one of its four old, rotting wooden louvers in the bell tower.  Water damage was also an ongoing issue, and this beautiful historic building needed a long-term solution.

To solve these problems, Aire Technologies donated four new extruded aluminum 245 Stationary louvers powder coated white by Broken Arrow Powder Coating in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma.  They were installed Wednesday, December 7, 2022, just in time for the holidays.  Each louver measured 36” wide by 55” tall.

These louvers’ design, quality, coating, and appearance will last many years.  Aire Technologies is proud to have donated these to the Rostraver Township Historical Society to help preserve this historic building and church.

For more information about the Rostraver Township Historical Society, CLICK HERE.

Developments in Aire Technologies

Posted on November 18, 2020 by Aire Technologies

Aire Technologies evolved into a new level of manufacturing and sales growth recently via an asset acquisition of Leader Industries in Nashville, Tennessee in 2018. Leader Industries had a vast offering of steel dampers, louvers, penthouses, aluminum gravity ventilators, and extruded aluminum dampers. This provided much needed larger sized dampers, new configurations and extruded aluminum products new to Aire Technologies to propel our business into the larger, engineered, bid and spec market with a much broader range of product offering. We are poised for continued aggressive growth.

Providing Solutions to the HVAC Industry

Aire Technologies is a progressive and innovative manufacturer of air management, air control, and HVAC life safety devices.  We have developed a unique CRD frame design. We have heavily incorporated automation for manufacture of subcomponents, and we rely on lean six sigma continuous process improvement.  Our commitment to provide an unequalled customer experience and craftsmanship in our products is the drive that makes us who we are.

Aire Technologies’ continued success in the multi-family, commercial, and Industrial HVAC segments will be based upon the continued development of progressive, engineering focused, air management and life safety solutions. These include such innovative capabilities as Rev-it 3D BIM capabilities, and a new web-based pricing program. A completely new Aire Technologies extruded aluminum product category emerged including commercial and severe duty (Miami Dade County) rated louvers, penthouses, and aluminum gravity ventilators have emerged in our Wagoner, Oklahoma facility. The motorized leakage rated damper line (combination fire & smoke dampers) has grown to include larger single-section sizes, multi-section dampers, corridor, and out-of-wall dampers that include many options such as smoke detectors, and blade indicator packages for automation.

The DMI Companies Wagoner, Oklahoma facility houses Aire Technologies newest equipment and manufacturing capabilities along with shared resources, warehousing, and shipping for Aire Technologies. The extruded aluminum product manufacturing was operational in December of 2019. Insulated CRD Boots (57IB’s) were relocated from our Pennsylvania facility to Wagoner in July of 2020 to free up space and capacity for continued growth in PA. We now manufacture the products in the region in which they are most frequently used, effectively reducing transit time and shipping costs. This represents a significant growth and performance opportunity for Aire Technologies and our customers.

Aire Technologies is currently building redundancy of the heavily taxed CRD (True-Truss, wood truss UL classified devices for multi-family) manufacturing by initiating a large-scale resource taxing project intended to double CRD manufacturing capacity for Aire Technologies for 2021 and beyond. Production capabilities will add much needed redundancy to our current highest volume product lines. This will aid in building momentum in our efforts to expand much further west. It will improve our turnaround times and even enable us to reduce our lead times to a highly competitive region. We will leverage our capabilities to reduce transit time and shipping costs from Pittsburgh by manufacturing the desired products regionally.

Dynamic CRD’s – DEBUNKED!

Posted on September 16, 2020 by Aire Technologies

Aire Technologies has been approached by industry partners regarding a dynamically rated ceiling radiation damper that has recently emerged. We wanted to take this opportunity to dispel misinformation being propagated about dynamically rated UL floor-ceiling assemblies and specifically those CRD’s that are claimed acceptable in all wood-truss assemblies. Keep in mind that the greatest means of success is fully understand building codes, fire ratings, local jurisdictions and most importantly UL263 wood truss assembly ratings.

1. Dynamic ceiling radiation dampers are required in dynamic HVAC systems

a. TRUE. IBC 2015 requires that ceiling radiation dampers that are used in dynamic wood truss systems must be rated for dynamic systems AND dynamic fire-resistance-rated assemblies.

2. IBC 2015 requires all ceiling radiation dampers to be dynamically rated by an NRTL.

a. FALSE. IBC differentiates between static and dynamic ceiling radiation dampers but does not require one or the other on all projects. Dynamic dampers must be used in dynamic systems. Static dampers must be used in static systems. “Ceiling radiation dampers shall comply with the requirements of UL 555C or shall be tested as part of a fire-resistance-rated floor/ceiling or roof/ceiling assembly in accordance with ASTM E119 or UL 263. Only ceiling radiation dampers labeled for use in dynamic systems shall be installed in heating, ventilation and air-conditioning systems designed to operate with fans on during a fire.” (IBC 2015 717.3.1 item 4).

3. A dynamic ceiling radiation damper can be used in any floor-ceiling or roof-ceiling truss assembly.

a. FALSE. Static assemblies are evaluated differently than dynamic assemblies and are not interchangeable. According to UL, “…the certified ceiling damper must be directly referenced in the floor-ceiling and/or roof-ceiling design, by manufacturer and model number, in order to be used in that design. Only the dampers specified in the design may be utilized.” (UL.com. CABS.Guideinfo, 2020).

4. Ceiling Radiation Dampers listed by UL can be used in any wood truss assembly.

a. FALSE. Assemblies specify which dampers are compatible with the assembly. “Ceiling radiation dampers shall be installed in accordance with the details listed in the fire-resistance-rated assembly and the manufacturer’s instructions and the listing.” (IBC 2018 717.6.2.1).

5. A dynamic CRD can be used in a static floor-ceiling assembly like L-521 and L-587.

a. FALSE. A dynamic ceiling radiation damper can only be used in a dynamic assembly, unless also tested in a specific static assembly. Assemblies tested with dynamic ceiling radiation dampers are considered holistically to be dynamic assemblies. A dynamic assembly will state, “Ratings were developed under conditions employing air movement within a dynamic system.” (UL Product iQ, 2020).

6. A dynamic CRD can be used in a static HVAC system.

a. FALSE. A dynamic CRD cannot be used in a static HVAC system unless specifically listed by an NRTL (UL) for use in a static HVAC system on the UL Product iQ listing service. The testing procedure is different between a static assembly and a dynamic assembly, and the testing procedures are not comparable.

7. A dynamic CRD can be used in a roof-ceiling assembly.

a. FALSE. At the time of this writing, there are no tested and listed dynamic wood truss roof-ceiling assemblies, or any roof-ceiling assemblies with dynamically rated CRD’s. All roof-ceiling assemblies at the time of this writing employ static dampers.

8. Dynamic Ceiling Radiation Dampers are the most cost-effective solution to building life safety plans.

a. SPECULATIVE. Dynamic CRD’s are estimated to be approximately 30% more costly per damper than corresponding static CRD’s. The cost of the project also depends on which products are listed in the fire resistance-rated assembly (e.g. gypsum board, insulation, resilient channel, dampers). With limited options in an existing dynamic floor-ceiling assembly, the potential for a higher overall cost increases. A cost-effective alternative is to make the system static with a firestat.

9. Dynamic ceiling radiation dampers are the only code-compliant solution to modern multi-family life safety plans.

a. FALSE. Systems are made static by the proper wiring of a firestat HVAC limit switch and/or smoke detector to the local HVAC fan that triggers it to shut off upon firestat operation. Most fans are required to have a smoke detector nearby. Static ceiling radiation dampers are intended for use in systems with an HVAC limit switch wired to the fans.

Dynamic Ceiling Radiation dampers should not be considered in isolation for evaluation, specification, or approval. All relevant factors of multi-family wood truss construction and specification should be considered. What is the design rating that has been specified? Keep in mind that dynamic ceiling radiation dampers cannot be used in a static floor-ceiling assembly nor can a static ceiling radiation damper be used in a dynamic floor-ceiling assembly.

Beyond the actual price increase of a dynamic CRD over a standard static CRD, there is the increased cost of the fabrication and installation associated with a dynamic floor-ceiling system. Fabrication of a steel plenum (box) enclosure for every dynamic CRD and R-11 (required) wrap for every enclosure. Also, every CRD in the system must be dynamic – not just the one over the air handler. Therefore, that cost is then multiplied by the total number of dampers per unit.

A typical firestat installed within close proximity of the air handler in each unit will be a substantial cost-effective alternative, allowing faster completion and practical acceptance for critical life safety installations.

North and South Carolina Now Represented By The McAllister Group

Posted on October 3, 2019 by Aire Technologies

We are proud to announce that we have expanded our existing partnership with The McAllister Group to represent our product lines in North and South Carolina in addition to Florida and Georgia.

McAllister Group is a Manufacturer’s Representative in the HVAC and Refrigeration industry assembled of successful and experience sales, support and distribution, and marketing professionals.  Established in the industry for over four decades, McAllister continues to strive to provide top-level support for manufacturers and wholesalers.  We are looking forward to this partnership and new representation in the Carolinas.

Visit our Find A Rep page for more information on all our Manufacturer’s Representatives or feel free to contact us via email at atiorders@airetechnologies.com.

New Mfg Rep – The Eby Company

Posted on August 5, 2019 by Aire Technologies

We are proud to announce that we have partnered with The Eby Company to rep our product lines in Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Missouri, and Kansas.

The Eby Company is a third generation family owned manufacturer’s representative company servicing the heating, ventilation, air conditioning, refrigeration, and plumbing industries.  Eby has their Headquarters and warehouse in Ohio, but has satellite offices located in Columbus, Youngstown, Toledo, Michigan, Chicago, and Louisville.  We are looking forward to this new partnership and new representation in Eby’s territories.

Visit our Find A Rep page for more information on all our Manufacture’s Representatives or feel free to contact us via email at atiorders@airetechnologies.com.