Whole House Air Cleaners: Anyone here have one

[petek]

The thermostat thread reminded me because I've sometimes thought of having one of those Honeywell electronic air cleaners installed on our furnace. So who else to ask but all of you. It's extremely dusty around our place, thanks in no small part to all the birds I keep and the two dogs but also because we live in a semi-arid region where it doesn't always rain very often things can be pretty dry. Add to the fact we're both smokers groan. At the moment I keep a floor console Kenmore electronic air cleaner running in the rec room where the birds are and I have a couple of those Honeywell plug in Hepa filters, one upstairs and one here in my puter room. The amount of dust and yuk they accumulate is vast. On the furnace I use 3m Filtretes but I don't have the furnace fan on continuous run. I'm just wondering if I might be better installing one of the whole house units and leaving it running continuously. Anyone here got any good, bad or ugly comments regarding these things.

 

[fnelson487]

Hey Pete

I had a Honeywell whole house electrostatic air filter a few years back in a 3 story townhouse in Chicago. We are closed up in the winter time in Chicago so air quality is a concern, particularly because I smoked and my partner didn't. I can only tell you what came out of that filter when I cleaned it and it was a black muck. I think they are very efficient and probably better than they used to be so I would highly recommend them. I have had a few projects going on around the house but will probably be replacing my furnaces (two) and install electrostatic filters on the new furnaces. I have also been considering installing a whole house air exchanger that hooks up to the furnace and exchanges outside air. This is more important now in tight houses.

If you get the Honeywell filter, I would recommend getting an old or less expensive spare dishwasher to wash the filters in. They recommend that the filters be cleaned in a dishwasher and as I said, you wouldn't believe the black muck that comes out. That may have been due to living in the city, but I really didn't want to wash my dishes in the same machine that cleaned those filters.

Fred

 

[peterh770]

I have a Four Seasons HEPA filter installed in my heating/cooling system. Can't say that I notice much difference, but then with 7 cats in 1300 square feet, anything short of a whole house attic fan probably is not noticeable.

 

[rayjay]

Hi Pete. My mom has one on her furnace. It is just a unit where the return goes into the blower and it is a large box filter. may be a HEPA. It is just usually changed once or twice a year. It does work much better than the electrostatic ones which she had one of these before made by Carrier. The 2 metal electrostatic filters were hard to cleand and messy. We were told to put them in the dishwasher. but what a mess..... foaming. had to run twice. It was easier to use the power washer. Now, if these were not cleaned regularly, it seemed the electrostatic dust went back into the house. However, she had this unit several years ago. Maybe they have improved. SHe does like the cartridge ones. The cartridge is disposable and costs around $35.00. If you have any other questions about brand or whatever, please let me know.

Ray

 

[rayjay]

PS

The washing of the filters does make a terrible mess in the dishwasher.

 

[wiskybill]

My 2 cents
Like Ray, my parents upgraded their HVAC system three years ago with all new equipment. They chose the large media filter also. About two foot square and two to three inches thick. They change it once a year for about the same price. Most of mom's allergies cleared up the first summer they had it. It's easy for them to maintain as they're in their 80's now.
I seem to remember reading somewhere that the electronic/electrostatic filters are better if smoking is an issue.

Bill

 

[lightedcontrols]

Here's what I did...

PeteK, In my last three homes including the one that I am presently living in, and in the one that I am presently building, I always have ELECTRONIC air cleaners installed in the Air Handlers. As I found out early on, the ELECTROSTATIC filters, and the HEPA filters, are better than what you get with your system, but won't even compare to what the ELECTRONIC units do. In my new home, I am installing ELECTRONIC AIR CLEANERS that have a post filter that converts the ozone (a byproduct of electronic air cleaners) into oxygen. (this is the newest thing, as too much ozone can give you headaches) I am also installing the Ultra Violet lights in all the air ducts that will destroy 100% of the virus particulate in the air. I wash the Air Cleaner cells in the dishwasher once a month, and boy ARE THEY DIRTY!!! I have terrible allergies and have to take a shot once a week. My house is the only place that I don't have trouble breathing! I highly recommend the whole house air cleaning system......and while we're on the subject, you also might want to look into a central vac system that puts ALL of the exhaust air OUTSIDE!!! Mark

 

[maytagbear]

Some day, some day.

Living as I do, in rental hell, this is one of my deepest wishes.

When I escape rental hell, this is going to be one of the first things to have happen.

My curent landlord has to be threatend (almost) with bodily harm to change the dammed furnace filter! {I do not have direct access to the furnace for my unit.}

Lawrence/Maytagbear

 

[scott55405]

We had one in Minneapolis, it had the 4" media filter rather than the ones you clean. The filters cost $25 but it's a nice unit.

 

[tlee618]

This is a very interesting thread. Mark what brand of electronic air cleaner do you recommend? Also wondering about how much these cost. Terry

 

[petek]

That is interesting Mark, I've seen the UV ducting lights but never heard of an ozone converter. I know what you mean about the cells getting filthy, My Kenmore console has one and I spray it with cleaner and just watch the black brown grunge drip off, after rinsing it I then put it in the dishwasher for a thorough clean, by itself.

 

[tolivac]

I have 2 "Fresh-Air" units by Eco-Quest in my home-GREAT UNITS!.They have a reusable air filter you clean each month-and a UV lamp that-since I have used these for about 2 years-haven't caught any flu or colds-Its true the UV light destroys virus,and their spoores-also mildew spores-I have less mildew buildup now.UV light generators are used in hospitals, and other such places to destroy Viruses,Their spores,bacteria spores and any spores floating in the air.Even HEPA filters won't trap these-so some other measure is needed to rid them.UV light is the answer.A small amount of ozone is generated from the action of the UV light on the oxygen in the air.This also ads to the sterilization process-Ozone also kills the nasties.Too much of it will kill you as well.The tiny amount generated by the UV light won't harm you.

 

[petek]

Rex. are those Fresh Air units strictly Hepa and UV or is there and ozone generator in there?

 

[peterh770]

I have the 4" box filter on the main return, but that is not HEPA. The HEPA piece is a separate box with a bypass duct going to it after the 4" box filter and a return duct to the air handler. It has its own fan to keep air going thru it. You have to keep your air handler fan on 24/7 also for the best results. The HEPA filter has a fibrous pre-filter around it, and the HEPA itself is about 18" in diameter, 10" tall and sits on top of its fan.

 

[tolivac]

Petek:The Eco-Quest units have an ozone generator in them.You can turn it off.Then the unit acts as a filter and the UV light still operates.You can get an optional HEPA filter for the machine.mine has the standard filters.They work well-clean them once a month-amazing the dust they catch.I have the ozonizer at min setting in mine.Gets rid of odors.