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Frequently Asked Questions
- Dynamic Air Cleaners
Does the dynamic Air Cleaner produce Ozone?
No. Dynamics are a non-ionizing air cleaner that does not create or
produce any ozone.
How do Dynamic Air Cleaners work?
Rather than ionizing or passively collecting particles, Dynamics work
by assigning polarity to both the particles in the air and the fibers of
the media pad. This gives each a negative pole and a positive pole,
essentially turning them into magnets. The particles are then attracted to
other particles (making them easier to catch) and to the media fibers.
Just as paper clips on a magnet attract other paper clips, the dirt
captured becomes a part of the collecting surface, giving the air cleaner
increasing efficiency as it loads.
Is the Dynamic Air Cleaner Panel hard to
install?
No. In most homes, the Dynamic will install in an existing 1"
filter slot. In rare instances, a filter track may need to be installed.
Dynamics require a 24 volt power input. This can be taken either off the
24 volt system on your furnace, thermostat, or from a plug-in transformer
supplied by PuriTec. For commercial type air handlers, the 1" or
2" panels and tandem panels will retrofit to existing equipment
orthey can be custom designed as needed.
What is involved in the maintenance of the
Dynamic and how often must it be done?
This will vary a little from house to house or business to business.
Generally, we recommend that the media be changed 3 times a year.
Conditions such as excessive dust, humidity and tobacco smoke can shorten
this time. The media pad is disposable and changing it takes only a couple
of minutes. When changing the media, you should also check for face-loaded
dust on the Panel's outer screens. If this has built up, it can be brushed
or vacuumed off to keep in clean.
Can I use any media?
No. A Dynamic will not work with standard filter medias. While our pad
may look like a plain piece of media, if you look closely you will see
that there is an activated carbon center screen bonded into it. This
patented configuration not only adsorbs odors, but also conducts the
electrical charge that creates the polarizing field. Standard media cannot
do this and will not work with the Dynamic Air Cleaner's technology.
Is the replacement media expensive?
Not really, it costs less than $5 per month to insure clean, fresh,
safe, healthy air in your home or business (per air cleaner or air cleaner
panel). And when compared to the time and expense of other high efficiency
alternatives, it is very economical. Electronic air cleaners must be
cleaned monthly, and with the presence of tobacco smoke much more
frequently. While the manufacturer may tell you to wash it in the
dishwasher, the manufacturer of the dishwasher will tell you not to. This
means you must take the cells to a car wash of have a service clean them.
The cells should also be chemically stripped each year, which generally
costs about $50. If the unit is equipped with a carbon panel for odor
control, these can cost $100 to $160 per year to replace. High efficiency
passive filters, such as HEPAs, cost hundreds of dollars to replace and
may also have carbon inserts that further add to the cost.
If I don't have allergies, why do I need an
air cleaner?
The EPA says that indoor air is on average 7 - 10 times worse than
outdoor air, even if you live in a city. Air has a direct pathway into our bodies and a direct effect
on our health and well-being. Besides allergies, poor air quality is
linked to a number of problems: fatigue, asthma, respiratory ailments, the
spread of flu and other diseases, and even cancer.
What's wrong with the furnace filters that I
buy at the store?
A furnace filter is just that: a filter to help your furnace equipment
stay clean. In fact, most filters are in heating and cooling systems to
protect the equipment not the people.
They do almost nothing to improve the air quality from a health
standpoint. Even the
"30%" filters you see at the stores are extremely inefficient in
that they are unable to capture the smallest particles most dangerous to
human health.
What is the difference between a portable
room air cleaner and the Dynamic Air Cleaner panel?
Most supplemental room air cleaners can help clean the air in a room
or two. However, by installing the Dynamic Air Cleaner in your home's
central forced air system, you will clean the air in the entire house.
Further, many room air cleaners use high-efficiency passive filters, which
require powerful - and therefore loud - fans to move the air. The portable Dynamic Air Cleaners however, are very quiet
because they utilize the same 3 methods of air cleaning that the panels
use. These allow the filter
media to become very effective without requiring much power to push the
air through the filter. This keeps noise level to a minimum and saves on
energy costs.
Why not buy one of those electrostatic
filters advertised on the radio by Paul Harvey or Rush Limbaugh, or that I
can buy at a discount store?
These are passive electrostatic filters. Their fibers have a slight
static charge. As airborne particles move through them, they can be
attracted to the fibers, the way rubbing a balloon on a sweater will make
it stick. They are a lot better than the $2 throwaway 1" filters, but
they can cause some problems in residential systems. As a passive
electrostatic filter loads up with contaminants, its fibers become coated
with particles and the "balloon effect" stops. This can happen
quickly and then the filter is only effective against the larger particles
in the air, over 5 microns. Further, in order for a passive electrostatic
filter to work, it must be dense and therefore restrictive to airflow. In
many homes this air can cause poor heating and cooling in the upper level
of the home or in the rooms farthest from the air handling equipment. As
the filter loads up, it becomes even more restrictive. This not only makes
the air conditioning equipment work inefficiently, but can actually damage
it. In fact, some electric utilities recommend their customers not to use
passive electrostatic filters. Because Dynamic Air cleaners use a high
voltage to create an active electrostatic field inside the Panel, they are
able to use a very sparse media that is not restrictive to airflow.
Dynamic Air Cleaners also improve in efficiency as they operate,
while capturing the very smallest particles in the air such as bacteria,
smoke, mold spores, pollen and many more. In a recirculating air system,
like the one in your house, a Dynamic Air Cleaner collects over 97% of the
particles that are 0.3 microns and larger.
What is a Micron and shy should I care about
small particles?
A micron is 1/25,000th of an inch. A human hair is about
150 microns; the smallest thing that can be seen with the naked eye is
about 10 microns. It is the largest particles, above 5 microns, that cause
equipment problems and are what most filters are able to catch. However,
98% of the particles in the air are smaller than 1 micron. These "sub-micron" particles are not caught by most
filters and can get through our bodies' natural defenses when inhaled.
Further, they can stay suspended in the air for days until they are
breathed in. An increasing number of studies have found these sub-micron
particles to be a significant health hazard. To effectively clean the air
from a health point, the sub-micron particles must be removed.
Dynamic Air Cleaners will remove up to 98% of these particles on a
multiple pass basis. For example, when tested by the Canadian Department
of Health in a test house, after 10 hours of operation, a Dynamic Air
Cleaner was able to remove 97% of the particles in the 0.3 - 0.5 micron
range and 98.6% of the particles in the 1 - 3 micron range. And our
efficiency actually increases as the filter loads with pollutants.
Does the Dynamic Air Cleaner create a
snapping sound?
It is possible that the Dynamic Air Cleaners may produce a few faint
snapping sounds when a new filter is put in place.
This is normal and will subside shortly as the filter begins to
load with contaminants. They do not create the constant snapping or
crackling sound that electrostatic precipitators and other electronic air
cleaners produce.
I have had an electrostatic air cleaner
before and noticed a thin coat of dust on a lot of surfaces, especially on
TV screens. Will this air
cleaner do the same thing?
No. Dynamics do not create charged particles that will cling to
grounded surfaces in the home or elsewhere. Electronic air cleaners to
date have worked by ionizing (positively charging) the particles in the
air. They then try to capture them on negatively charged or grounded
collection plates. This works fairly well at first, but as the plates load
up with positive particles, they lose their attraction and the air cleaner
loses its efficiency. The positively charged particles then will stick to
any grounded (walls and ductwork) or charged (a TV screen) surface.
I currently have an electronic air cleaner;
does it need to be removed?
No. A Dynamic Air Cleaner can fit right into where the two main cells
are. A spacer will need to be installed to provide a 1" track and the
power to the old air cleaner should be turned off or disconnected. This
type of retrofit generally takes a 20" x 25" Dynamic. To check
this, measure the size of the two cells side by side.
How do I know my air cleaner size?
Pull your current air filter out of your air handler; the size should
be written on the side. If your filter is media only and does not indicate
size, measure the media. If you have a filter that is wrapped around the
bottom of the air handler, please call for instructions.
How long has the Dynamic Air Cleaner been
around?
Dynamics have been manufactured for over 12 years and used extensively
in Canada, Japan, and commercial applications around the world. They are
used in "clean" manufacturing, casinos, hospitals, and food
processing and are now available to clean the air that is most important
to you - the air you and your family breathe. Dynamic Air Cleaner panels
come in 19 standard sizes; generally 1" thick are used in homes and
either 1" or 2" for commercial type applications. Dynamic Air
Cleaners can be custom designed and configured for almost any application.
Does the Dynamic Air Cleaner consume much
electricity and how should it be operated?
Dynamics draw only 2 watts of energy to create the 6,000 volts inside
the panel. They are very
efficient and cost effective to operate. For operation, any air cleaner
can only be effective if air is moving through it. Therefore in most
areas, for maximum effectiveness, we recommend that your thermostat be
turned to the fan "on" position rather than the "auto"
position at times when you are using neither heating nor cooling such as
the spring and fall. This will give continuous air cleaning. This takes
only a small amount of electricity, but make significant difference in the
air quality in your home or business. It will also greatly reduce the
amount of dusting required in addition to the health benefits. The only
exception to the "fan on" recommendation is in very high
humidity areas. If you live in such an area, please consult PuriTec for
operating recommendations. In a commercial establishment, your HVAC is
controlled by its current settings and subsequently, so is your Dynamic
Air Cleaner.
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