Downtown Air and Heat Blog : Posts Tagged ‘Air Cleaners’

Healthy indoor air is important to your overall health, and with the winter months coming, you may have additional concerns about biological contaminants. While an air filtration system can capture a number of contaminants in your home, it may not be able to capture the biological contaminants you want it to. This is because biological microbes are very small particles; many of them are smaller than 0.3 micrometers, which is the smallest size an air filter can capture. But there is a solution when it comes to biological contaminants: UV germicidal lights. UV germicidal lights are geared to specifically target biological contaminants, and when combined with an air filtration system, you can have a great air cleaning combination for your home. Want to find out more? Read below, and then schedule an appointment with a Downtown Air & Heat indoor air quality expert!

How Do UV Lights Work?

UV lights emit UV-C radiation. This type of radiation destroys the DNA of biological cells as well as their life-sustaining proteins. This results in two things: first, the cell cannot replicate and second, the cell cannot sustain life. As such, not only do UV lights kill existing cells, they eradicate them. UV germicidal lights are over 99% effective at destroying biological contaminants.

There are a couple of things to note about UV lights. First, they do not draw particles to them. Contaminants need to come within reach of the radiation to be affected. Second, UV lights do not capture or trap particles, so contaminants like dust, dirt and pollen are not affected by UV lights. This is why it’s recommended that UV lights are paired with an air filter or electronic cleaner.

How Are UV Lights Installed?

Placement of UV lights is pretty flexible, but recommended areas are within the ductwork and over the evaporator coils. This is because these areas are more prone to the development of growth such as mold and mildew.

Do They Need to Be Replaced?

UV lights have a lifespan of about 12 months, so they should be replaced annually to ensure they are effective.

When you pair UV lighting with your air cleaner, you and your home can see significant benefits for your indoor air quality. Call Downtown Air & Heat to schedule air cleaner services in Orlando, FL today!

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Posted in Indoor Air Quality | Comments Off on Why Consider UV Lights?

A well-insulated home is sheltered from many air pollutants present in most outdoor environments. However, even inside you are not fully protected from contaminants that can reduce your air quality. That’s where air cleaners can be a great benefit to you. Below, we’ll outline some of the different types of air cleaners and the benefits they offer.

Ionization Cleaners

An ionization cleaner operates by creating a small electromagnetic field around itself. As particulates in the air pass through this field, they receive a negative magnetic charge themselves. Within most ionization cleaners are one or two metal plates, which possess a positive charge. The negatively charged particulates in the air will seek out and stick to these plates, which can then be removed and washed. An ionization cleaner is good at removing all kinds of contaminants from the air around it, including fumes and gases. It does have its own drawbacks, however. Primarily, it produces ozone as a byproduct. Ozone is considered a pollutant in its own right by the EPA, and can be harmful in large amounts.

HEPA Filters

HEPA stands for “High Efficiency Particulate Air.” A HEPA filter is a special, high quality air filter that is usually installed in a home’s ductwork. The randomly woven fiber mesh that makes up the filter is very good at capturing contaminants, even those as small as viruses and bacteria. Because of this, HEPA filters can often be found in hospitals. Unfortunately, it does nothing to impede the progress of gaseous contaminants.

UV Purifiers

UV air cleaners operate by exposing the area around them to streams of ultraviolet light. It may seem like this does nothing at all, but there are actually a number of organic contaminants that are adversely affected by this. Several strains of bacteria, viruses, and mold are sterilized or killed by overexposure to UV rays. The UV purifier is designed to destroy these organic contaminants to reduce the transmission of disease. Since it doesn’t actually restrict airflow in any way, however, dust and other inorganic contaminants are unaffected by it.

If you’d like to know more about air cleaners, call Downtown Air & Heat. We provide air cleaner installation throughout Orlando, FL.

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Posted in Indoor Air Quality | Comments Off on The Benefits of Air Cleaners

You’ve probably heard of air cleaners, appliances designed to improve the air quality in your home through one method or another. You may have even heard terms like “ionization” thrown around in relation to these air cleaners. How much do you really know about them, though? We’ve assembled a list to help you make an informed decision when it comes time to select the right air cleaner for you.

HEPA Filters

HEPA stands for “High Efficiency Particulate Air,” and applies to air filters with a particularly high rating for filtering out particulates. HEPA filters range in quality, from typical home use to hospitals and even nuclear power plants. A HEPA filter is a great way to improve the quality of the air in your forced air system. Just make sure that your system is designed to work with such a high quality filter.

Ionization Cleaners

Ionization cleaners are another popular option for home air cleaning. An ionization cleaner uses an electrical current to charge a metal plate within itself. As air passes through the cleaner, this plate will pass on a negative charge to particulates like dust and bacteria. The particulates then stick to the filter in the air cleaner, using a principle very similar to static electricity. Ionization cleaners are often used in areas that are extremely sensitive to particulate contaminants, like server rooms.

Ultraviolet Purifiers

Some microscopic living organisms are sterilized when exposed to UV light. This includes viruses, bacteria, and mold. Ultraviolet purifiers take advantage of this by bathing the air in UV light as it passes through them. This prevents harmful organisms from multiplying and causing sickness quite well. However, it doesn’t do much for non-living contaminants like dust. Obviously, this kind of thing is often found in areas that require a sterile environment, like hospitals.

These are just a few of the air filters available on the market. We hope that this list has helped to give you some idea about the way air filters work, and which may serve you best. If you’d like more information, call Downtown Air & Heat. We install air cleaners all over Orlando, FL.

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