Is Your Air Purifier Broken?

Air purification technology can be a real help in improving your home’s indoor air quality. But how do you know if you’re getting the benefits your air purifier is supposed to deliver? How do you know when it’s not working as well as it should, and that it needs some maintenance?

There are a number of different types of air purifiers/air cleaners, designed to clean different airborne particulates. Short of having extensive air quality testing done in your home, you can usually only guess at the level of pollutants present in the air. However, by checking and changing filters, you can have some assurance the air purifier is doing its best. You can also call for maintenance on the unit to get some assurance it’s running right.

Here are three popular types of air purifiers.

Ultraviolet Germicidal Irradiation Bulbs

These bulbs are installed in your HVAC system and are designed to kill mold, mildew, fungus, bacteria and other organisms. The bulbs must be burning brightly to be effective. They need changing when they grow dim, usually within a year.

Activated Charcoal Filtration

This type of filtration treats various gases, including cigarette smoke and volatile organic compounds. The filters start looking stiff after a year and will need changing. While VOCs are invisible and sometimes odorless, if someone smokes in your house, the filtration should help diminish the odors if it is working right.

Mechanical Filtration

This is the most common type of air cleaning technology, and ranges from simple air filters to super-dense HEPA filters (requiring modifications to the HVAC system to work right). You can tell the filtration is working by checking the filter within the manufacturer’ designated time span. The filter should be dirty if it’s working right.

Air quality monitors can help you track the presence of many pollutants, including carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, radon, moisture and VOCs, and will help you assess if your air purifier is working properly.

For more on air purifiers, contact Rinaldi’s Energy Solutions, serving Orlando and the surrounding area.

Our goal is to help educate our customers in Orlando, Florida and surrounding areas about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).