In May of 2003, the Allentown Morning Call described the case of the Geroulo family in Northampton, Pennsylvania. The Geroulos’ son Tyler was three and a half years old at the time and suffered from serious allergies and asthma. He was on respiratory medication, including nebulizer (medical mist) treatments. The Geroulos installed a whole house air purifier in October of 2002. Since then, Tyler’s mother said, “he hasn’t had to have the treatments near as much….Before, we were giving him treatments as many as four times a day. Now he goes weeks or even months without one.” Unfortunately, Tyler is not alone in his ailments. According to the American Lung Association, over forty-eight million people suffer from asthma and allergies in the United States alone. While allergists say most of these people can be helped by simply closing windows and turning on air conditioning, whole house air purifiers are the most effective method. They’re also the most costly. While portable room purifiers cost anywhere from fifty to a few hundred dollars, the Geroulos’ Nutech Lifebreath TFP (Turbulent Flow Precipitator) system cost about fifteen hundred dollars installed. Whole house systems can only be added to homes with forced air heating.
A typical model, the HEPA Shield 600HS from Pure Air Systems Incorporated, appears in the diagram above. These systems are obviously complex and attack the problem of air contaminants on a number of fronts, but their effectiveness still seems to vary depending on the allergen in question. Allergist Howard Israel says, “If you’re allergic to pollen, you’re better off just closing the windows.” Whole house purifiers are weak on pollen and dust mites, but far more effective on pet dander and smoke. Anecdotal evidence for the overall effectiveness of whole house purifiers is very strong, especially for models that use replaceable electrostatic filters. Actual scientific evidence is somewhat lacking, especially given the costs involved. Whole house systems generally require installation by professional heating contractors, and they can also add hundreds of dollars to annual household energy bills. Given these considerations, it’s important to choose proven systems. Companies that manufacture whole house filtration systems include Amaircare, American Air Filter, Eviron, Honeywell, Lennox, Precisionaire, Purolator, Research Products, 3M, Trane, and Trion. Let’s take a look at some of these products now.
Sorting the Systems
Allergy Buyers Club (AllergyBuyersClub.com) is fond of the Amaircare 10000 HEPA filtration system, giving it four and a half stars out of five (“very good plus”). It cleans up to four thousand square feet of airspace and includes a three-stage HEPA system with odor control. There’s also an optional heavy duty VOC (Volatile Organic Compound) cartridge to help reduce chemical gases and radon. No harmful by-products are released, including ozone, and it can run independently of furnace operation. It carries a five year limited warranty on the motor and fan, a one year warranty on filters. It ain’t cheap, folks: $1799 for the system itself, $135 for the annual filter replacement kit. The VOC filters come in a three-pack for $274.95. What a bargain!
The Honeywell F500 Whole-House HEPA Air Cleaner (pictured right) is quite a bit cheaper, at $874.25 for the standard cabinet model. The F500 connects to the return air duct of a forced air system. It includes a HEPA filter, a two-inch pleated pre-filter, and a carbon-odor filter. It also comes with a wall-mounted “Airwatch” indicator that lights up when new filters are needed. Replacement HEPA filters cost around $190 each online.
Research Products, sometimes branded as AprilAire, makes the Space-Gard 2400 AirCleaner, a far more affordable solution at $280. (We found one on sale for $243.50 at OnTimeMall.com). The product attaches directly to the existing forced air heating or cooling system, but it’s not a full purifier with its own blower and so on. Rather, it simply acts as a filter on existing airflow. The good news is it doesn’t use any electricity, and replacement filters are only $39.95 each. The Space-Gard claims an effectiveness rating of 99% for particles larger than five microns. For smaller particles of less than a micron, the filtration rate is said to be anywhere from 60 to 95%. These claims are questionable, to be sure, but we have to admit the price is exceptional when compared to other models with similar specs.
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