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Effectiveness of whole-house electronic air cleaners?
QUESTION:A HVAC repairman recently recommended that we install an electronic
air filter in place of our several HEPA air cleaners. He told us that
this filter could replace both our furnace air filter and would more
than take the place of the 2 HEPA filters in our rooms (living room
and bedroom). According to him, the unit is a powered unit that goes
in place of the filter and gets rid of just about anything that passes
through it.
That sounds nice, but I'm skeptical. I haven't been able to find much
about this in my web searching, and any thoughts, opinions, or
pointers to research (especially this) will be greatly appreciated.
ANSWER: In '67 I built a new house to try to accommodate my allergy problem.
The house had hot water baseboard heat. The AC system cooled the house in
the summer but as part of the AC system there was a powered Electrostatic
Air Cleaner and a Humidifier. The AC fan never shut down. In the winter
the air was cleaned and humidified. In summer the air was cleaned and
cooled.
The humidifier was connected to the water line and drain, and was self
cleaning. With air continuously moving through it there was no mold
problem. If it was not in use it was bone dry. In use it was continually
being flushed clean.
The electrostatic cleaner had a cell about 5 inches thick. It took out
about 98 % of the crud in the air and removed particles down to a half
micron is size. I usually cleaned it about every two months. The water was
black when I washed the cell.
It was the cleanest house I ever lived in. My wife loved it because she
almost never had to dust.
Keep in mind that you can get mold in the AC coils. It is a real problem if
you live in the South.
In '95 I found NAET and my allergy problems are gone (http://www.naet.com).
The heating and cooling system in my current home just has a 98 cent
fiberglass filter. With no allergies to bother me I get along just fine.
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