UV/Plasma Air Purifiers and Wood Dust

[Joe Pack]

I just got back from visiting a relative who had installed an in-duct Biozone UV/plasma type air purifier in his HVAC system. He and his wife both swore that the amount of dust and allergens had decreased dramatically in the 4 weeks the unit had been in place. My relative said his suffering from allergies had been greatly reduced within a couple of days of installation. Their home smelled "sweet," like air after a soft rain, and the odor from bacon and ham frying for breakfast was completely gone in less than an hour.

Supposedly independent lab results (Penn. St. University) indicated a 99%+ destruction of at least one category of bacteria when air was drawn through a table top unit.

Dust and other air-borne particles supposedly develop a negative ionic charge, causing them to clump and fall out of the air quickly.

I'm wondering two things: 1. Do these types of units actually work, or is it "snake oil?" 2. Would this help in controlling super-fine wood dust that my DC misses?

Can anyone weigh in with either personal experience or with the accuracy of the science involved?

[Jim Becker]

I know that the EnviroSept filter we put in with out new HVAC system a couple of months ago has made a huge difference in my allergies this season. It's not a UV unit, but, scrubs and incredible amount of "stuff" out of the air in our home. We chose it over some other systems as it's only an inch thin and offers very little resistance to air flow while performing better than the "thick" filter systems. The UV system are typically in addition to the filter and add quite a bit of cost, too. But they are probably useful for folks with certain health problems, etc.

I suspect it will help with your extraneous dust problem, but can't confirm...my shop is not attached to the house.

[Charles McKinley]

If it was done by a reputable school or lab they will tell you where the results were published or sell you a copy of the study if it was not published. Published article in a quality peer reviewed journal cary the most weight. Look for who funded the study and links between the study and the researcher. How the problem is "framed" greatly determines the results.

In the publish or perish research university world if it is a good study it was published.

Just $.02 from an over educated stay at home dad.

[Scott Coffelt]

I am sure they will work, I noticed a major change when I went to high quality filters for my HVAC. They cost $15 each and last 3 months. I know the electronic work even better.

Now that being said,

This will help with dust, but when working in the shop you are still breathing the stuff in the air. With this design you may save everyone else from breathing it.

What you really need to do is capture the dust at the source and not let it get into the air in the first place. My suggestion is to consider doing away with the stardard DC and look seriously at a cyclone with good filters. You have many choices available to you and their have been many discussions about this.

I have the Dust Eliminator system, currently building the blower housing so I am about a month away from being completely up and running. From the units built before mine, the results SUCK (in a good way). I will see no need to invest in something to protect the rest of the house, as I will have done that with the cyclone and a variety of atachements (i.e., down draft table).

[Perry Schmidt]

Not sure if you're looking at the same thing, but a few years ago we put in a new AC unit had a very good AC person tell me the UV/electronic filters do work very well. It's more than just a filter - it's a HW unit that works w/ the filter. Because of that they can be very pricey to install. BUT that you can get a 'normal' filter, which is pleated and about 3" thick which work almost as well as the UV/fancy filters. No extra hardware is needed at the AC unit for these - just a 3" opening for the filter. Cost difference between the two is substantial. I think she quoted me that the 'normal pleated filter' we got came within mid to high 90% of the UV units in what they filtered out. What they weren't as effective at is eliminating smells.

We went w/ the cost effective solution. Works very well. But find a filter source before it's installed. They are hard filters to find.

To their credit though the UV/electronic filters eliminate everything - can even get a lot of the smoke smell out of a house w/ a smoker in it. I don't know if this is only the high end ones or not, but I've been told by a couple people who have them they do actually work even on the smoke smell.

FYI -

Perry

[Jim Becker]

Originally posted by Perry Schmidt
BUT that you can get a 'normal' filter, which is pleated and about 3" thick which work almost as well as the UV/fancy filters.

We had lengthy conversations about different types of filters with the HVAC contractors that bid on our new system a couple of months ago. Although some were square in the camp of the thick filters, we went with the 1" thick EnviroSept electronic filter system. Where this filter came out ahead of the 3" filters from Honeywell and others was in CFM performace once they got a bit dirty. The one we have is much less restrictive, yet cleans down to .2 micron. We've been very impressed with this filter system to date and can tell the difference over our old system with a standard filter type...and the air flow is amazing. Our home now stays at a very even tempurature which is radically different than before. The replacement disposables for the EnviroSept is also very low as compared even to the "premium" standard type filters at the home centers...about $40 a year.

[David Rose]

system, but not on the replacement pads. I hate it when these places don't list prices... grrrrr! If they don't want to sell over the web why do they list an order blank (with no prices yet!)?

Anyway, enough of that. Do you know what the replacement pads cost?

David

[Jim Becker]

Originally posted by David Rose
system, but not on the replacement pads.

You can call the EnviroSept folks at 800-854-5126 for questions or replacement "collector pads" as they call them. Their address is: Aqua-Air Technologies, Inc., 7800 Airport Park Rod, Unit 21, Gaithersburg MD 21797

[Hal Flynt]

I used to suffer from allergies a lot more than I do now since I've been taking allergy shots for 7 years.

One of the worst allergens was mold. I found a web site from a Dr. in California that suggested that I use and ultraviolet lamp to kill the mold spore in the air. Supposedly it will kill close to a 100% of the airborne spores thus preventing spreading.

I went to the Big Box and bought a 15amp florescent fixture with a cord, switch and diffuser for $20-25 and I went to a specialty lighting store and bought a 15 watt Ultraviolet C germicidal bulb for $25-30. It’s the bulb that the barbers use to sterilize their tools. I put the bulb in place of the normal one, threw the diffuser away and put it in the basement and turned it on. You are not to look at the bulb directly as it is harmful to your eyes, prolonged exposure will bleach fabric just like the sun will but much quicker. It’ll sunburn plants in the direct light. After a few hours, you could smell fresh air instead of musty. I moved this to every room in the house and would [lace it under or behind something for a day. BIG Difference. Eyes and nose stopped bothering me measurably.

I then put it behind my return filter to the heat source. I left it there for a month or so and the house stayed fresh. Now I use it whenever I smell musty odors after a rainy spell or whenever I feel a need. When I was shopping for a new heat system, I saw these newfangled expensive ones. I leave it on in my workshop overnight every once in a while. I keep meaning to just wire one in the return duct and haven’t. I even got the idea to put one in an air cleaner if I ever build one.

$50 for one $100 for 2 etc. less if you already have the fixture.

P.S. No kids at home or pets to worry about leaving in a room overnight.