The COVID-19 pandemic has brought with it an increased awareness of human respiration and its role in the transmission of disease. The enclosed environments of vehicles used to transport people now pose a health risk to operators and passengers alike. Work crews in transit to jobsites, emergency personnel in ambulances, commuters using public transportation, and their respective drivers all face an elevated risk of infection simply by breathing in close physical proximity to one another.

Until now, HEPA-14 filtration systems have been large and unwieldy, and there were no retrofit units on the market that would universally fit existing ambulances, transit vehicles, school buses and crewed work trucks. With their high-velocity, twin-axial fan motors, Webasto’s new air cleaners have rapid air exchange rates that can meet or exceed WHO, CDC and ECDC guidelines for ambulances. The HFT 300 delivers up to 5 cubic meters of purified air per minute or 300 cubic meters per hour. The HFT 600 can process and clean up to 10 cubic meters of air per minute or 600 cubic meters per hour.

“Webasto’s HFT 300 and HFT 600 high-efficiency air cleaners provide fleet operators with a practical, immediate and reliable solution for vehicles in service and on the road today,” said Matt Wheeler, head of HVAC Light & Medium Duty for Webasto North America. “Our HFT units don’t impact a vehicle’s existing HVAC system and can complement other pathogen mitigation systems that come up short in meeting CDC, WHO and ECDC air-change recommendations. Their compact size, quiet operation, robust design and ease of installation enables them to be rapidly deployed, providing prophylactic air purification protection for large populations of vehicles – today.”