Maintaining indoor air quality is essential for a variety of reasons. Good IAQ can promote better health, and it can also ensure that your home’s HVAC system will run more efficiently. Filtration is a standard solution, but air scrubbers are gaining in popularity. Here is a look at the problem of indoor air quality, what an air scrubber is, how one differs from a filter and some considerations that come with a scrubber.
Why Indoor Air Quality Is a Concern
Poor indoor air quality is a source of health problems and also affects your HVAC’s performance. Contaminants in the air float around. You may see signs of this problem as dust collecting on surfaces in your home or musty smells near air vents. People breathe in the contaminants, as do HVAC systems.
The range of contaminants in your home’s air is one of the biggest problems. Pollen is a common contaminant that sneaks in from outdoor air. It can trigger allergies or asthma attacks, and it also can irritate respiratory issues like COPD or a sore throat.
Mold spores develop in the more humid areas of a house. While a dehumidifier can help prevent that from happening, it’s a good idea to have a second line of defense. Bacteria and viruses also present a similar problem that’s less easily controlled with dehumidification alone.
Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are a less noticeable problem that nonetheless can be very dangerous. Many modern industrial products emit gases that contaminate indoor air. This can happen with manufactured products, such as furniture, household paints, carpeting and building materials. Also, chemicals can come out of everyday household items like nail polish and non-stick cookware.
Outdoor pollution can find its way into your house as well. For example, if you live close to a busy road, pollution from vehicles is a common problem. Likewise, fine bits of material from vehicle tires can contribute to pollution. Anyone who lives within several miles of a factory should also be aware of how outdoor air drives poor indoor air quality.
Dander and dead skin are additional sources of low IAQ. If you have pets in your household, especially ones with long hair, their shed hair and skin can end up in the air as dander. The people living in the house also contribute in the form of dead skin cells.
What Is an Air Scrubber?
An air scrubber is a more aggressive solution for indoor air quality problems than air filtration. Rather than focusing exclusively on capturing particles in a fine mesh, a scrubber uses multiple methods for treating the air.
Pre-filtration is the first step in air scrubbing. The goal of a pre-filter is to capture the big contaminants from the air, such as lint, dust, pollen and pet dander. Note that pre-filtration is a way to ensure that later stages will run efficiently and be able to focus on more specific problems.
Activated carbon filtration is often the next step. The goal is to react to chemicals in the air. If you’re worried about VOCs, then a good carbon filter will address this issue. Likewise, activated carbon can neutralize many types of odors from mold and pets.
People who want an even more aggressive solution should consider a model that uses a catalytic filter. Not only do catalytic filters react to more chemicals, but the best models can treat the air for bacteria and viruses.
High-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters frequently differentiate scrubbers from more general filtration units. To count as a HEPA filter, a system has to scrubber the vast majority of PM2.5 particles. These are the contaminants that measure down to sizes as small as 2.5 micrometers. For some reference, the pre-filter will usually target particles at the PM10 level. Some common PM2.5 particles include smoke, finer dust, vehicle exhaust and industrial emissions. Also, some finer allergens are in the PM2.5 category.
Finally, some air scrubbers use a UV light chamber. The idea is to blast microorganisms like mold spores, bacteria and viruses with UV-C light. This is the same light that comes from the sun. What UV-C bursts do is break down the DNA and RNA of these organisms, rendering them unable to work or reproduce.
How Scrubbers Differ from Filters
The biggest difference is that a filter typically traps particles on the surface of a mesh. While filters are ubiquitous in HVAC units, they often don’t specifically treat indoor air quality problems. A filter typically just cleans the air for the HVAC. Notably, many HVACs only use PM10 filtration or even something weaker. Mostly, they keep big things like dust bunnies from getting into combustion chambers and blower motors.
You will find some HVACs that use HEPA filters. However, they only treat one part of the IAQ problem. They still don’t react to odors and chemicals. Likewise, they don’t filter smaller microorganisms. An air scrubber is a broad-spectrum solution.
HVAC System Integration of Air Scrubbers
Most air scrubbers are inline systems that attach to the return air vents somewhere in a home’s ductwork. The goal is to use the air returns to capture contaminants before they get to the HVAC, which tends to blow them around the house. The main benefit of this design is that it’s easy to retrofit into an existing HVAC. HVAC technicians can typically find a corner of the air return ductwork that can readily accommodate all of the scrubber components.
A notable consideration is the impact a scrubber may have on airflow. Depending on the situation, the ductwork may require some changes. Adding airflow with an adjustable-speed HVAC fan in the system is a common solution. Adjusting the size of the ducts also frequently improves airflow. It is also a good idea in general to make sure the air ducts aren’t leaky since losses can reduce the needed air pressure to push air through the scrubber.
Long-term maintenance for an air scrubber tends to be fairly straightforward, and most homeowners can do the work themselves. You can expect to change the pre-filters, carbon filters and HEPA filters. The period between filter changes will vary depending on the type and your household’s needs, but you can expect to at least change the pre-filters every three months. It’s also a good idea to request a scrubber inspection as part of your HVAC’s annual checkup.
Clean air makes a big difference in your quality of life, and Landen Heating and Cooling can help. We serve Zebulon, NC, and the surrounding areas. Our HVAC technicians work on heating and air conditioning systems, including furnaces, heat pumps and ductless AC mini-splits. You also can inquire about indoor air quality solutions like humidifiers and dehumidifiers. We install products from trusted brands like Trane and Amana. Free estimates are available.
If you would like to learn more about how an air scrubber might improve your home’s indoor air quality, contact Landen Heating and Cooling today!
