UVC Whole Home Air Purifier?

[sleemo]

Does anyone know anything about those UVC Whole Home Air Purifiers made by Swordfish? Do they work or is just a waste of money?

[congo]

I'm curious too. I've searched a lot on the net and can only find sites for companies that sell them. I can't find anything relating to studies or their effectiveness to disinfect the air.

Here is a Wiki article that covers a bit of it:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultravi...al_irradiation

Congo

[57]

I believe Consumer Reports did a study of Air Purifiers, including this one, but it was a long time ago. I'm not sure how far back their archives go.

[wgauci]

I've serviced a few customers who have simular UV lamps installed. To me my personal opinion is that unless you have an existing health issue that might improve then it might be worth it. Otherwise, using a good pleated filter replaced at least 4 times a year and having your ductwork cleaned and disinfected every few years is adaquete for most households.

Even their own site only claims 85% efficiency of eliminating/killing whatever they're claining to reduce. Keep in mind that's probably under ideal conditions.

[dr dave]

I appreciate the HVAC guys input, however from another point of view,bacteria, viruses and fungal spores proliferate the environment ,particularly in enclosed spaces. The high temperatures in a heating cycle make it difficult for most bacteria to multiply. Viruses in moving air tend not to survive in the longer term, needing some host medium to multiply.Fungal spores are always present.

In winter ,humidifiers support the growth of all. In summer ,air conditioning supports all. The moisture inherent around these devices can be problematic.You will all remember legionaires' disease from stagnant water in evaporator coils. Humidifier drums are known sources of allergens .

UV light is a proven method of sterilization ,particularly in water purification, so a UV light source should be helpful in a moving air situation. I am familiar wth the Swordfish and I believe Honeywell has a model but cannot speak to the effectiveness of either.Wattage is the key and I would assume that the manufacturers have adequately spec'd their products.
These units will not protect from illness which usually results from direct/indirect contact with others but should ease the effect of allergens in the home.

These units run continuously so your fan has to operate in a continuous mode to be effective.

[bear123]

From my research, the best whole house air purifier is the IQAir perfect 16. It is tricky for a furnace purifier to do a good job and not reduce air flow too much where it hurts the performance of your furnace. I'd say a lot of them don't do much better than your current filter on the furnace, but the IQAir unit is worth checking out.

[ported]

I've read that these introduce excess ozone into the home?

[txv]

You will all remember legionaires' disease from stagnant water in evaporator coils. Humidifier drums are known sources of allergens .

Drum humidifiers are just plain nasty - if you (for anyone reading this) have one, scrap it. Flow through units dry quickly when there's no call for humidity and there's no standing water.



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The primary purpose of residential HVAC equipment is to heat, cool, control humidity and in some cases provide ventilation. (systems with HRVs)

The purpose of the filter is to keep the equipment clean, not improve IAQ. Furnaces move don't really move enough air for filters to have a dramatic impact on IAQ.

Ventilation (as required) and source control (reduce use of chemical cleaners, candles/incense -> if feasible, use a central vac which vents outside) is the best strategy to maintain good air quality. Filtration (if required) is probably best provided by separate room air cleaners.

[capoone]

After some research I seem to be in the minority here, but I've noticed a strange smell emitting from our Health Pro Plus unit? Similar to a car's air conditioning when the engines off, and the air is circulating inside - a fusty like smell. At first I thought it would go away but several weeks later this wasn't the case and even though i tried to get used to the smell, after a day out of the house and being outside, coming back home every night, the annoying smell would just hit me again.

I called my local dealer but they had never heard of this problem before, even though I had with a quick 5 minute google search. Yes i know the manual suggests any strange smells that emit from the unit aren't un-common, it also states that they will go away after time.............well i waited 4 months.

This all hapened to me over a year ago now and since then i've purchased an Austin Air and couldn't be happier. The IQAir health pro pus does look better and has won more awards, but if you ever experience a strange smell, be worried! or buy nose plugs

More information on the small can be found here
http://www.healthproplus.net

[TKG26]

sounds like you where smelling OZONE... Some units emit more then others, in the homes where i have been able to smell it, the furnaces where running on constant low speed...

[joewag]

Hi guys
Haven't had much luck with the health pro either the smell I had was a lot of ozone and too much I read is bad for your respitory system. I just bought an air oasis induct 9" unit for my house and had the health pro shut off and the smell is gone and here I am 3 months in and my dust levels are down and my sons allergies are better too the healt pro I think has too much ozone coming off of it the air oasis is only .2ppm not bad when most lights have 200 ppm or more

[hugh]

Filtration (if required) is probably best provided by separate room air cleaners.

TXV, Thanks for that tip. I am investigating the IQ Air which is about $1,000 as my daughter has begun to suffer significantly with allergies.

Is this something you`d recommend or is there an alternative. Since you don`t recommend one attached to a furnace, does it make sense to perhaps buy several standalone units for a home.

I`m assuming that one unit would not be enough for a relatively large home and you might need one on each level to adequately process the air.

Interested in your thoughts.

[TKG26]

There are stand alone hepa filtration systems that attach to the furnace but run independent of the heating or cooling cycles. Im not expert in how good they they are. But these are designed for whole house.