What is the foremost reason people give for not buying a HEPA filter air purifier? HEPA filter replacements!
So, why are filterless air cleaners preferred while HEPA air cleaners have become persona non grata in so many homes?
Much of it has to do with marketing, especially by Sharper Image, which managed to gain as much as 25% of the air purifier market before going bankrupt. Their infomercials implied noise, mess, a need for tools for filter changes, and expensive HEPA filter replacements as reasons to choose their product.
Most vendors of ionic air purifiers have followed suit in promoting their versions of filterless home air cleaners. Air cleaners that rely on HEPA filter media have taken a black eye as a result.
It’s true that some air cleaner marketers have abused customers by selling a cheap air purifier only to gouge them with regular replacement of high priced filters. Some of these models are presented as being HEPA because they use HEPA filter material. The reality is their poor quality construction means that actual efficiencies are a far cry from true HEPA air cleaners.
Can HEPA filter replacements be easy?
No filters is not only promoted as being more economical but easier to maintain. No tools needed, cries the delighted infomercial actor. The reality is that most HEPA filter replacements can be done without tools and without the “messiness” they also claim you’ll suffer. It usually takes no more than five minutes, including the time to take the filters out of the packaging and the packaging out to the garbage.
Compare that to the time spent cleaning the collection plates on an ionic unit every few days. Since collection efficiency can degrade to as little as 20% in as few as three days, maintenance cleaning should be done often. How much time will you spend cleaning collection plates over the next five years, the projected life of some HEPA filters?
Which brings me to an economical feature of HEPA air purifiers: HEPA filter replacements may only be needed once every five years. This keeps your maintenance requirements low and your air purifier cost low. Both of these goals appear to be foremost on the minds of those who are considering going filterless. HEPA air cleaners that can achieve this while giving you the superior performance of HEPA filtration are surely worth considering, wouldn’t you agree?
The most economical HEPA filter replacements
Which companies offer HEPA quality air purifiers with a long filter life?
There are many excellent products available from companies like IQAir and Blueair, both of whom are often mentioned on this site.
But when it comes to overall economy and performance the top two are Allerair and Austin Air. Both of these companies offer no fancy frills air purification that emphasizes the essentials.
You’ll find high quality construction that maximizes HEPA performance combined with excellent chemical and odor control via activated carbon air purifiers. UV sterilization is also available as well as photocatalytic oxidation to further improve gas, odor and bacteriological control.
Allerair home air purifiers offer both HEPA filters and activated carbon filters with four to forty-eight pounds of activated carbon. Activated carbon air filter life is as long as 3 years. The HEPA filter replacements are recommended at three to five years, even eight years in the case of the AirMedic air purifier.
Typical HEPA filter cost for their most popular model, the 5000 Exec.. That comes to only 20 per year for each year of expected filter life.
All filters are easy to change without tools and can be replaced separately, which offers a cost savings over air cleaners that require you to replace both carbon and HEPA filters as one unit. There is even the option of replacing the carbon in bulk as opposed to a filter cartridge for further cost savings.
All are simple and no nonsense HEPA air cleaners. No filters cost more than and that is for the highly specialized MCS unit. Quoted prices reflect the cost of the HEPA filter only.
Austin Air manufactures good economy priced HEPA air purifiers that also provide VOC, gas and odor removal. Austin Air air purifiers concentrate on the essentials of air cleaning and are not loaded with fancy features.
A small drawback of the Austin Air models is they use a combined HEPA and gas phase filter comprised of activated carbon and zeolite. This means you have to replace both at the same time. However they are expected to last as long as five years and total cost is reasonable.
The typical cost of HEPA filter replacements for their most popular Healthmate model. That equates to only 36 per year for the combined HEPA and activated carbon air filter, which is quite reasonable. There are a number of specialized filters available at extra cost.