Learn More About Filters

QCC Air Cleaners: Breathe Easier - Now!

Every forced air system needs at least some basic form of filtration. Clean air for your system is like clean oil for your car. It is the one maintenance for your equipment that cannot be stressed enough. Ninety percent of equipment failure is tied to dirt! From a simple issue of a dirty limit switch to a costly frozen air conditioning system, a filter can separate you from a lot of costly repairs.

There are other reasons to filtrate the air in your home besides equipment maintenance. Higher forms of filtration can reduce dust around the house, tobacco smoke irritants, dust mites, pollen, asthma, mold, pet dander, bacteria, and allergies.

Did you know that the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) ranks indoor air pollution among the top five environmental risks to public health? And that indoor air is typically four to five times more polluted than outdoor air? Worse yet, children, who are more vulnerable to indoor air pollution, breath half again as much air per pound of body weight than adults. Here is a comparison of different types of filtration systems, but before they are introduced some basic terminology must be understood. Clean Air Delivery Rate (CADR)

CADR is a measurement of the appliances ability to reduce smoke, dust, and pollen particles in the 0.10 to 11 micron size range in the air. The higher the CADR the faster the unit delivers air.

Microns

The micron is a unit of measurement used in this case to measure very small things such as air particles. A simple comparison in the size of particles a particular filtration system can catch AND suspend will show the difference in performance. It is important to note that the electronic air cleaners, HEPA, and Clean Effects all have the same micron/particle rating but at different efficiency levels. In other words all three can achieve better than a 0.3 micron rating but not at their peak efficiency (I.E. 99.98% of the time Clean Effects achieves a .3 rating versus 89% on a Whole House Electronic Air Cleaner).

Standard Filters

Standard 1" Throw-away Filter

This type of filter traps particles 25 microns and larger. It can remove plant spores, hair, and sneezes from the air. Since it cannot trap microns as small as 11 microns it is outside the scope of measuring its CADR.

1" Pleated Filters

This type of filter traps particles as small as 5 microns. In addition to the standard throw-away filter this filter can remove mist, pollen, and some bacteria with a CADR of 12.

5" Media Filter

Trapping particles as small as 1 micron this media captures all that the previous filters can and in addition can suspend diesel soot, animal dander, skin flakes, mold, and most bacteria with a CADR of 240.

Electronic Air Cleaners

Whole House Electronic Air Cleaners (WWEAC)

These units are capable of trapping microns as small as 0.3 microns in size at an 89% delivery rate. Utilizing both a pre- filter as well as an electronically charged cell WWEACs actually "zap" dust particles as they pass through. Able to remove up to 99% of all air borne particles the WWEAC is superior to HEPA in two ways: 1) It filtrates 100% of the air in your home, and 2) HEPA filters have to greatly dampen air flow to achieve their 99.98% particle filtration. It is interesting to note that the average HEPA room air cleaner has a CADR of 150 while a WWEAC has a CADR of 660.

Clean Effects Electronic Air Cleaner

We are proud to introduce a brand new technology brought to us by Trane as of 2006. Clean Effects utilizes an upgraded technology allowing it to match HEPA (0.3 microns at 99.98% efficiency) in performance while actually having 100% of your household air pass through it. Because of its advanced pre-filter and ionizing field Clean Effects is able to do all of this while not making a sound. As with the WWEAC all filtration parts are washable so there is no need to replace parts ever again. Best of all this unit achieves and astonishing CADR of 1200!

If you are interested in more information about how you can make your home a healthier, cleaner environment don't hesitate and call for your FREE clean air report today!