An estimated 11% of ALL U.S. Households have an Electronic Air Cleaning unit in their home.  This market continues to grow steadily each year.  270,000 EAC units were replaced/upgraded with new units in homes in the year 2000 and 283,000 are estimated for 2001.  These replacements are in addition to new purchases.    In the ongoing battle for clean indoor air, an electronic air cleaning system is a pretty powerful and costly weapon.  Professionally installed in the ductwork of the ventilation system, the unit is highly effective at attracting and removing up to 95 percent of harmful airborne particles as small as 0.01 (not visible to the naked eye) microns.

                 Electronic air cleaners are specifically designed to remove small particles from the air.  However, many of the most common allergens (mold, pollen, pet dander, lint and household dust) are fairly large particles averaging 10 microns and up in size.  Particles enter the system via air flow, enter an electronically charged ionizing field of charged positive and negative ions that bombard the airborne particles.  This enhances and often adds a charge to these particles, which are then attracted to the positive and negative metal collector plates.  As larger particles build up on the metal collector plates, the air cleaner rapidly loses its efficiency and must be frequently cleaned to maintain peak performance.  In addition, larger particle deposits can break off and be blown through the air cleaner instead of being captured by the unit.

                 Permatron has come up with a way to extend the life of electronic air cleaning systems – a permanent/washable electrostatic prefilter and an activated carbon afterfilter.  The ¼” electrostatic prefilter utilizes a combination of impingement filtration and electrostatic (natural static electricity) charge to attract and hold the larger particles before they can break off and be blown through the air cleaner.  Large particle buildup leads to arcing within the high voltage system, which produces a snapping sound in the ductwork.     They continue on to charged collection plates, which attract and hold smaller particles until washed clean.  A ¼” activated carbon afterfilter slides into the track on the down stream side of  the air cleaner.  An afterfilter is recommended to adsorb odors/fumes being recirculated through the home, and to capture particles which did not take an electrical charge.  Organic odors, stale air or musty odors and smoke are removed from the air, not masked with another odor like aerosol sprays.  The carbon’s adsorption action also removes ozone emitted from the electronic air cleaning system, a by-product of the high voltage snapping that occurs when dirt builds up inside the unit.

         Independent testing shows that using a higher efficiency, electrostatic prefilter can significantly enhance the working efficiency (43% average efficiency increase) of the electronic air cleaner, without affecting the ventilation system’s air flow requirements. It basically allows the unit to function at a  higher operating efficiency for an extended period of time between cleanings.   Permatron’s upgrade kit is made to fit all the popular electronic air cleaning systems including Honeywell, Trion, Carrier, Bryant, 5Seasons, Goodman, White Rogers, Trane and Lennox units.  The activated carbon replacements come in 4-packs (approximately 1 year worth) for continued sales.

 As a cleaning service professional your recommendations are important to homeowners needing to alleviate the results of poor indoor air quality.  Upgrading the performance of their electronic air cleaner will decrease cleaning maintenance requirements and reduce wear on the EAC unit’s sizeable investment.  

Permatron Corporation,  1180 Pratt Avenue, Elk Grove Village, IL 60007 

Telephone 847-434-1421   FAX 847-434-1429

Send mail to gmatthies@permatron.com with questions or comments about this web site.
Copyright © 2007 Permatron Corporation
Last modified: April 19, 2007