When it comes to improving the air quality in your home, a portable air purifier is enough for a single room. But if you want to clean the air throughout your entire house, a whole-house air cleaner or air purification system is the way to go. A whole house air purifier installs directly into your existing HVAC system. When the HVAC system is turned on, the air cleaner works to remove contaminants like pollen, dust, VOCs, and more.
There are several types of whole-house air purification systems, each purifying the air in a slightly different way. Regardless of the method, they all follow a general pattern. Whole house air purifiers are very useful for general removal of pet dander, dust, pollen, and other large air pollutants throughout the home. For larger particles, they provide the necessary ACH over a much wider area than portable air purifiers and are worth considering. Whole house air purifiers require professional installation and will only filter the air when your air conditioning or heating system is turned on, or when the fan is running.
According to the EPA Home Air Cleaner Guide, HVAC systems only operate about 25 percent of the time during heating and cooling seasons. Running the fan or running heating and cooling longer can increase electricity costs. Whole house air purifiers can also extend the life of your HVAC system by reducing the amount of dust moving through the system. A cleaner HVAC system offers greater long-term efficiency, so be sure to maintain its maintenance throughout the year. At Willard Heating, Cooling & Plumbing, we recommend whole-house air purifiers for allergy sufferers as these devices do much more than just an air cleaner or portable air purifier. If you decide to go ahead with an air purifier, your first decision is whether you need a portable or whole-house model.
If you have a duct network and forced air system, a whole house system will work. Homes with radiant heat and without air conditioning will have to resort to portable autonomous models. Air purifiers directly address the problem of indoor air polluted by a number of irritants, including dust mite allergens, mold spores, pollen, pet dander, VOCs, smoke, and other toxic gases. As much as you can get a whole-house air purifier that can deal with gas and odors, if you want the best performance for these types of pollutants, go for a portable air purifier. The ozone by-product released in the home is the number one safety concern when it comes to whole-home air filtration. Any air leaks as a result of a poor installation will frustrate the purpose of your air cleaner, regardless of how it is installed in your HVAC system.
That's why AprilAire air filters are the Proud National Partner of the American Lung Association*, and they play a key role in the fight to improve lung health and prevent lung disease. Remember that even after the fire ends, smoke can remain in the air for several days, so it's important to take precautions until outdoor air quality is considered healthy. With this in mind, whole-house air purifiers can be said to reduce the need to have multiple portable air purifiers throughout the house. Once you leak air in your HVAC system, not only will your HVAC not pump air through your home properly but lean air will leak through the cracks and gaps between your air purifier and your HVAC system resulting in poor air quality anyway. The advantage of electrostatic air purifiers is that they have low running costs since there are no filters to replace. If you want to do your best there are units with multiple filters to capture particles in the air plus an activated carbon filter to eliminate odors. Combining that with an AprilAire ventilation system and media air filter will not only continuously move air throughout the house and throughout the system but also clean it not just recycle it. If your home has a duct system but doesn't have HVAC you can get a standalone air purifier that connects to the inlet of your duct system and draws air in and out of your home through your air cleaning unit.
If you live in a small space such as a bedroom or apartment or if your home simply doesn't have a whole-house air purifier consider using a room air purifier to supply additional bursts of fresh air throughout the house. To get fresh air in your home, according to EPA guidelines in addition to ventilating your home with clean outdoor air and reducing sources of pollutants, using an air purifier can actually help improve air quality.
