Electronic air cleaners help homeowners attack air-polluting particles in the home, and complement the work of other filtering devices. Your furnace’s air filter can trap particles, even small ones depending on its efficiency, but only if they move through the furnace system. Learn how electronic air cleaners work to eliminate air-polluting particles – without having to rely on the movement of air through the system.
Air-cleaning systems are specifically designed to target very small particles, or those that are too tiny for a furnace filter to trap. While some high-efficiency furnace filters can trap tiny particles, these filters usually restrict airflow so much so that they can’t be used with residential HVAC systems. Electronic air cleaners, however, go a step further.
There are two main types of electronic air cleaners: electrostatic precipitators and ion generators. Both types of systems give particles a positive charge, and then attract them with a negative charge. Electrostatic types draw the charged particles into the system, where they stick to collector plates. Ion generators charge particles in the air, and then they fall to the surfaces around the home. The significant advantage these systems offer is the target-seeking charge released into the home’s air, instead of having to passively wait for the particles to move through the home’s airstream to be filtered. The tiny particles that air cleaners target are so small, they generally remain suspended in the air. The charge bypasses this problem by either drawing the particles into the electrostatic unit or causing the particles to drop from the air. With both systems, running the furnace fan more often will help the air purification process.
For more information about the types of electronic air cleaners that can work in your home, please contact us at Mowery Heating, Cooling and Plumbing today. We’ve served homeowners in greater Indianapolis since 1970.
Our goal is to help educate our customers in Brownsburg, Indiana and surrounding areas about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).
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