When it comes to purchasing a whole home air cleaner, you may think that it’s too expensive to justify the cost. After all, how dirty can the air inside your home really be? Indoor air quality is of increasing concern as homes become more airtight to increase heating and cooling efficiency.

While an airtight home is great for energy savings, a sealed home traps more than conditioned air. Harmful pollutants like mold, pollen, dust and pet dander can be trapped as well. When you consider that 90 percent of the air you breathe comes from indoors, you can see the benefits of a whole home air cleaner.

Types of Whole House Air Cleaners

A whole home air cleaner can be integrated into almost any HVAC system. There are three basic ways to clear the air of contaminants in your home:

• Electrostatic recessed air cleaners: These are the most economical and least desired option. Electrostatic cleaners are concealed in a return air box that can be installed in a wall or ceiling and looks like any other heat register. They work by capturing particles and gases in a polarized chamber and neutralizing them. They’re then pushed through an activated carbon filter, releasing clean air into your home.
• Whole Home Electric air cleaners: These air cleaners are tied directly to the HVAC system and use a combination of ionization and MERV or HEPA filtration to trap particulates like mold, dust, pollen and dander.
• High-end HEPA or MERV filtration systems: These air purifiers work by capturing the particles out of the air and trapping them within a dense filtration system of pleats. The benefit of a HEPA filter is that it can capture even the smallest particles, down to 0.3 microns, creating air that’s hospital-safe to breathe.

Could the benefits of a whole home air cleaner work to improve your home’s indoor air quality? Contact Overland Park Heating & Cooling for more information, or for other home comfort concerns. We’re proud to serve homeowners throughout the Overland Park area of Kansas.

Our goal is to help educate our customers in Overland Park, Kansas about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). 

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