Now it is possible to have HEPA-level air filtration without the headaches.
The Covid-19 pandemic has led to an increased awareness of the need for and importance of good indoor air quality (IAQ). With widespread media coverage, government funding programs and a newfound willingness to listen to IAQ advocates, one term you have likely repeatedly heard is HEPA. But what does that really mean?
Since the term is most commonly heard as part of “HEPA filtration” or “HEPA filter(s)”, it would be understandable if HEPA was believed to be referring to a particular type of air filtration technology. However, that is not the case. Rather, HEPA is actually an acronym that stands for High Efficiency Particulate Air and it refers to the U.S. Department of Entergy’s standard measurement of efficiency of particle filtration. To qualify as HEPA, an air filter must be able to trap at least 99.97% of all particles that are 0.3 microns in diameter. It just so happens that most filters that meet the HEPA standard are physical filters comprised of a mat of dense fiberglass that trap particles moving through it. These filters are generically referred to as HEPA filters throughout the IAQ industry.
While HEPA-level physical filters may be the most commonly recognized and recommended type of air filtration, they are not without their issues. For example, given the required density of physical filters to achieve HEPA-level filtration, a great deal of fan power is required to move air through them which can lead to significant pressure drop in HVAC/air handling systems that weren’t designed to include that type of filter. In order to overcome this pressure drop, more power is required for the HVAC/air handling system fan which means more energy costs and premature wear and tear on the fan motor. Similarly, in many cases, in order to incorporate HEPA-level filtration it is necessary to undertake expensive upgrades to HVAC/air handling systems including replacing the fan. Further, given how HEPA-style filters work (i.e., trapping particles), they require frequent replacement which is an additional expense often not factored into building maintenance budgets. These financial and logistical headaches can often pose too tall of a hurdle for building owners to overcome causing them to continually ignore IAQ.
Fortunately, there is now an IAQ solution that provides HEPA-level filtration without the need for traditional high resistance fiberglass filters. VFA Solutions’ patented ASPRA® electrostatic precipitation and filtration technology offers HEPA-level particle filtration in a system that is seamlessly integrated into existing HVAC/air handling systems because of its compatibility with existing fans. Moreover, because it has little or no static pressure drop, it has very low energy consumption relative to conventional physical filter systems and does not put such a strain on building operation budgets. Perhaps the most important difference between ASPRA® and typical HEPA-level physical filters is that while those filters have the ability to trap bacteria, viruses and other airborne pathogens, they do not destroy them which can be problematic when changing out the filters. ASPRA® actually deactivates biological particles, such as viruses, prior to collection on the system’s proprietary collector filter so there is no contact with still active biological contaminants.
As VFA Solutions’ North American partner, Byers Scientific is excited to bring ASPRA® air filtration to commercial and educational buildings looking to have healthier IAQ for all occupants and visitors without the necessity of outdated physical filter systems.
