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Restaurants and rooms without smoke with GEA Clarifair |
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Friday, 23 February 2007 |
 Some voices have demanded a complete, strict ban on smoking in public buildings, as already implemented for example in Italy, Norway, and Sweden. Others are working toward acceptance of “smokers’ booths” in pubs and restaurants. This issue has remained in the news and has led to divisions in politics and among the public that frequent catering establishments. But: “Neither smoking bans in public buildings, nor the spatial separation of smokers and non-smokers is necessary to protect non-smokers,” says Hugo Blaum, President of the GEA Air Treatment Division. The company in Herne, Germany, presented a solution that effectively eliminates smoke pollution of the air, as well as offensive odours: the GEA Clarifair.
According to the company's press release, the GEA Clarifair as a table model for standing smokers: this version is best suited, for example, for a coffee and chat corner in office buildings.
GEA Clarifair combats smoke where it originates: at the serving counter, at the table, or in the break corner of an office building. Unlike merely providing open non-smoking areas (the current practice in many areas, such as in the German catering trade), GEA Clarifair assures greater protection of non-smokers: by eliminating the smoke. As a result, it cannot spread or mix with the air in non-smokers’ areas. This feature is not only a major plus for catering guests – it also prevents the serving staff from being exposed to passive smoking while they work. GEA Clarifair also offers a welcome additional benefit: it also removes fine dust and odours from the room air that it pulls in.
The new GEA Clarifair room unit has an open design: it functions without a booth, and yet enables practically 100% capture and filtration of tobacco smoke. Thanks to the various models and performance levels available, it successfully meets the needs for a great variety of actual room-flow conditions. The Clarifair can be mounted on the floor or from the ceiling, and through a large inlet effectively intakes room air from its surrounding area. It passes the air through a noise suppressor, and on through a pre-filter. The next step is separation of smoke and other particles in a fine filter. After the air has been cleansed of gaseous pollutants by an activated-charcoal filter, it is systematically directed back into the room.
In the area provided for smokers under the Clarifair, the system captures and removes practically all the emitted smoke from up to 12 smokers. Clarifair intakes air from outside its primarily effective zone as well, with the result that neighbouring areas profit as well. Despite its high efficiency, the operational noise of the Clarifair is hardly perceptible.
GEA Clarifair is equally effective in new buildings, or as a retrofit. It can be easily installed in buildings with ventilation and air conditioning – for example, in hotels and office buildings – without interference with existing systems. It is even possible to integrate the units into a ventilation system. In such applications, the intake air and the smoke can be directly passed into an exhaust-air duct system, in which case the GEA Clarifair functions effectively without filter components.
The market launch for Clarifair is planned for spring of 2007, when it will be available in various design models: e.g., as a table for standing users, and as a ceiling unit. The first public presentation is planned for the trade fair ISH in Frankfurt, from 6 to 10 March 2007. |
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