Recently, there has been a lot of talk about introducing more fresh air (read outside air) to replace the indoor air pollution. Initially, this seems to make sense, since the EPA says that the indoor air is 2 to 5 times more polluted than outdoor air. Bring in the better air! What is assumed is not necessarily true. The outside air is not always clean air. Reports around the nation show that up to 35 days per year in our large cities, the air is deemed unhealthy or very unhealthy. One more thing to consider, in this new anti-terrorism environment, is airborne chemical and biological attacks. These applications would most likely be sprayed. Maybe bringing in that outside air is not such a good idea after all.
Conditioning that outside air
The other aspect of outside air to be considered is the energy it will take to warm or cool all that air that you were trying to escape by coming inside. Not to mention the wasted energy of the conditioned air that is being exhausted to make room for that newly introduced air. There are heat exchangers and energy recovery ventilators to help capture the heat or cold from the exhaust air and help warm or cool the incoming air, but those take a lot of energy to operate as well as being very expensive to purchase.
Recycle, Reuse Right?
Cleaning the air, rather than diluting it, can save energy and money. According to heating and cooling specialists, particulate makes up 70 percent of indoor air pollution. High efficiency air cleaners operate at 97-99 percent efficiency down to 0.3 microns and generally payback within 4 years of operation just in energy savings. Operating a smoke air cleaner will save energy and give your customers healthier air to breathe. Compare this with the operating cost of heating or cooling 4,500 cubic feet of air per minute! A heat loss calculator will show that you are wasting as much as $5,000 per year in heating and cooling costs.
Air quality standards
The American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) has introduced standards for maintaining an appropriate level of indoor air quality. The standard is ASHRAE 62 and it is loosely based on the amount of carbon dioxide and body odor in a room to determine the level of indoor air pollution. Indoor air cleaners, like the units found at www.smoke-eaters-supply.com, are capable of removing smoke, odors and dust from your bar, private club, office or home. These indoor air cleaners meet and exceed the benchmarks set forth in the ASHRAE 62 standard.
John Hendrickson writes to clear the confusion in an over-marketed and over-solicited air purifier market. Find more information about John and indoor air cleaners at www.smoke-eaters-supply.com
