What is a HEPA filter?
HEPA stands for High Efficiency Particulate Arrestance filter. These filters historically have been used in clean rooms and nuclear applications, and some are beginning to show up in tabletop room air cleaners. The HEPA filter is a dry media filter that captures 99.97% of particles sized 0.3 microns and larger. HEPA filters are typically not found in whole house furnaces.
HEPA filter also known as High Efficiency Particulate Air Filter usually employs a fan drawing air through a filter. Since it uses fans to filter the air, HEPA filter is usually very noisy and the cost to replace the filter is quite expensive. HEPA air filters can only effectively remove particles of larger than 0.3 microns from our air. And most of the airborne pollutants and irritants are smaller than 0.3. Also, with HEPA filter substantial portion of the airborne particles flowing through our rooms remain unfiltered. Only the air that passes through a HEPA filtering unit is cleaned.
HEPA is an acronym for High Efficiency Particulate Air. A HEPA Filter normally refers to a filter with an extremely small pore size of 1 micron or less. As the impure air is forced through this filter, all particulate matter larger than the pore size is unable to pass through and adheres to the filter membrane. As more and more air is filtered, the amount of contamination on the HEPA filter increases and results in the pores getting blocked. This imparts a resistance to the flow of air through the filter and reduces the flow of air through it. There is no way to remove the dust from the fine pores and the entire filter assembly has to be replaced.
A HEPA (High Efficiency Particle Arresting) filter can remove the smallest pollutants from the air stream flowing through the home’s air handler. These filters are rated up to 99% efficient in the removal of indoor air pollutants. They are, though, incredibly restrictive to air flow and can severely inhibit the function of your heating/cooling system if the system is not designed to handle them. Other filters, such as electronic, electrostatic, and pleated media fabric types will filter the air at various stages of efficiency that will perform very successfully for your system without extra engineering (stay between a filtration rating of MERV 6 and 12 for the best performance with the least problems).
