What In The World Is A HEPA Filter?
As I am learning more and more about indoor air quality and how to improve it, I’m also coming to this realization. I’m probably not the only one who is pretty clueless about it. So I’m going to do my best to provide you with what I believe to be helpful information.
I’m a fixer by nature so I decided to start the education with finding out more about air purifiers. What makes them good. What makes them not so good. Of course, I kept coming across this word or, more appropriately, acronym HEPA filters. What in the world are they? How do they work? What makes one version better than another? First of all HEPA stands for High-Efficiency Particulate Air (filter). After that I decided to leave it to some experts. Here is some quality info from Amaircare.
There are four main types of air filtration: | ||
Electrostatic filters attract particles to a statically charged filter or screen. Filter efficiency declines rapidly, making these the least effective filters. | ||
Electronic Air Cleaners charge airborne particles to be captured by a series of metal plates. These plates become covered and, therefore, ineffective very quickly. | ||
Ionizers charge airborne particles causing them to adhere to nearby surfaces such as walls and floors where they can be reintroduced into the air. | ||
Media filters “strain” suspended particles from the air. The best media filter and, in fact, the best air filter of all is the HEPA (High Efficiency Particulate Air) filter. | ||
HEPA filtration is the most researched filtration method available in the world today! It’s documentation in a wide range of applications assures the user of it’s effectivenessWhat Is HEPAHEPA is a filtration standard created by the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission. HEPA filter media is proven to be 99.97% efficient @ 0.3 microns. Due to their extremely high efficiency, HEPA filters have become widely used in medical, electronic and industrial applications. HEPA filters are composed of a various sized borosilicate fibers, which are pressed together to form a netlike structure with openings large enough for air to pass through but too small for most particulates.What Sets Amaircare® HEPA Apart From the Competition?
Americair manufactures its own Amaircare® brand HEPA filters. The filter media comes off a roll and is pleated for optimum surface area. Filament is bonded to the filter to provide structural support and even pleat spacing. After the pleating process, the filters are enclosed in protective screens and cast in food-grade plastisol at both ends for a 100% air seal. Each finished filter is tested for 99.97% efficiency, with a laser particle counter. Measuring in Microns Airborne particulates are measured in microns. One micron is equal to one-milionth of a meter, or 1/25000th of an inch |
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To put things into perspective here are some daily items and their approximate micron sizes. |
Hope you found this informative and helpful. Call today if we can help improve your indoor air quality.
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