You don't have to suffer from asthma or allergies to benefit from an air cleaner. Air cleaners improve the air quality in your home by removing dust and dust mites, pollen, odors, mold, mildew, bacteria, viruses, pet dander and household cleaners from the air, so that everyone breathes easier.
Whole-house air cleaners remove particles from the air before it enters your home, while portable room air purifiers remove particles from the air that is already in the room. Additionally, whole-house systems cost less to operate. It’s easy to see the advantages of having a whole-house system, which installs directly into your ductwork, and works in concert with your HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) equipment. A brief look at the technology behind air cleaners may help you choose the right system for your home. Most residential air cleaners remove pollutants from the air inside your home by using these technologies:
Air cleaner filters are given a minimum efficiency reporting value (MERV), which ranges between 1 and 20. The higher values are given to the most efficient filters. HEPA filters have a MERV between 17 and 19. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), filters with a MERV between 7 and 13 are almost as effective as HEPA filters. Homeowners in the Chesapeake and Hampton Roads Peninsula area should contact Russell's Heating and Coolingfor more information about ways in which to improve your home's air quality. Our expert technicians can explains your choices with respect to air cleaners, and help you choose and install one that's right for your situation. Our goal is to help educate our customers in Chesapeake, Virginia and surrounding areas about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about air cleaners and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide. Image courtesy of Shutterstock