Types Of Air Filters

The Environmental Protection Agency constantly monitors the levels of pollution in the air and their studies suggest that we are actually more in danger from indoor air pollution, than from that outside our homes. One way of alleviating these problems is to keep our homes as clean as we possibly can and to invest in an air filtration system. We need air that is as hygienic as possible if we are to develop less allergies such as asthma and remain healthy. There are four major types of air filters these are, mechanical filters, electronic or electrostatic filters, gas phase filters and hybrid filters.

Air filters clean the air that we breathe by removing particles of dust and pet dander, smells and gas fumes. This is done in different ways, by filtration, by ionization and by electro-static precipitation. How successful filtration systems are depends on how much of the debris they can remove from the air, a lot of this is due to particle size - but it also depends on particle density and the rate that the air flows through the system. You can get different types of air filtration systems. Some people prefer to have a system that is attached to the furnace and is designed to filter the air throughout the building. Other people prefer to have a portable air filtration system that they can move from one room to another depending on their needs. It just depends on whether air quality problems exist throughout your home or are mainly localized to one or two areas. Some experts however, question the efficacy of whole house air filtration systems.

Mechanical filters work by forcing air through a screen and trapping fibers and other pollutants. The HEPA air filtration system works this way and has become the most highly recommended air filtering system. Gas phase filters are designed to rid your home of odors, paint fumes and harmful gases. However, these filters are not meant to remove polluting particles from your home.

Electronic or electrostatic filters work by means of an electrically charged plate which is designed to attract the particles and remove them from the air that you breathe. Hybrid filters are a combination of electrostatic and mechanical filtration systems. They are primarily intended for removing contaminating particles from the air rather than gas and fumes. In addition to this there are ozone filtration systems which use ozone to purify the air - - but an increasing number of experts are pointing out the dangers of using ozone in this way.