Aaon Heating and Cooling Products took home the gold award in the 2015 Dealer Design Awards Ventilation Products category for its Low Leakage Damper. The damper is factory engineered and installed in Aaon air-handling units and packaged rooftop unit equipment. Low leakage dampers save energy by controlling ventilation air and reducing ambient air leakage through the HVAC equipment into the building. Aaon air-handling units are also available with the Aaon Low Leakage Damper for chilled water or DX air-handling unit applications.
Product development began about three years ago, when Aaon decided it would manufacture its own damper instead of contracting the work out to a damper manufacturer, according to Stanley Wilkins, marketing engineer, Aaon. The manufacturer received contractor feedback throughout the design process, primarily from its west coast customers because of the regulations in California.