Today’s well-insulated, tightly closed homes offer energy efficiency but also will trap pollutants, resulting in indoor pollution levels much higher than outdoor air. Since eliminating all the sources of indoor pollution can be impossible, the use of whole-house air cleaners offers an alternative that will significantly improve your indoor air quality (IAQ).
Whole-house air cleaners can be installed as additions to your current HVAC system, although some units are installed separately.
Electrostatic (electronic) air cleaners use charged particles to trap particulates in the air and can be installed relatively easily into your HVAC system; ensuring tight seals during installation is critical, as leaks allow dirty air to simply recirculate in your home.
Additional filtration can be provided within the same system through high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters that feature a minimum efficiency reporting value (MERV) ranging from 17-20. The MERV scale rates the size of particulates a filter can remove, with MERV 1-4 removing only the largest particles.
Whole-house recessed electrostatic air cleaners offer a less costly alternative, as they are separate from your HVAC system. Installation is relatively easy and they can have a low profile in your home, appearing as register vents.
Since these units also utilize carbon filters, gaseous volatile organic compounds (VOCs) will be reduced. This is in addition to the particulates removed by the charged particles produced with the electrostatic component of the system. Maintenance simply involves replacing the filter every 30-60 days.
Independent whole-house HEPA filtration systems are also available and can trap very small particulates from the air without the production of ozone, a known lung irritant.
There are numerous benefits of whole-house air cleaners, including:
- Health improvements, fewer allergy and asthma triggers, etc.
- A cleaner home environment with less dust
- Energy savings and protection of equipment as the reduction in particulates will allow your HVAC system to run more efficiently
If you would like to learn more about whole-house air cleaners, the expert staff at Ace Hardware Home Services, Inc. would love to hear from you. We are a family-owned and -operated business, serving the Dayton and Springfield areas since 1978.
Our goal is to help educate our customers in Dayton, Ohio about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).
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