Air & Energy Products - Requirements for Healthy Indoor Air

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the American Lung Association agree that proper ventilation, humidity control and air filtration are vital for healthy indoor air.

The HealthyAir DVA System addresses each of these vital areas PLUS offers the additional protection of HEPA Filtration and GUL (Germicidal Ultraviolet Light) technology.

The most common allergy producing organism found in the home, dust mites, and the greatest heath risk in the home, mold, can be restricted through humidity control.

High humidity not only supports dust mites and mold, but can also increases the release of VOC’s from building materials. As you can see from the chart below, a humidity level between 40% and 50% is the ideal range to control allergy producing organisms in the home.

Energy saving construction techniques may cause contaminants to be trapped in the home and become concentrated. Ventilation is required to dilute these pollutants. According to ASHREA, the nation’s most recognized authority for ventilation, air conditioning and heating, the air in your home should be exchanged a minimum of 8 times per day.

The HealthyAir System mixes fresh outside air with the home’s existing air to increase oxygen levels while diluting the concentration level of pollutants.

Below is a partial list of the pollutants found in the indoor air. Mechanical ventilation is a crucial step to improve indoor air quality.

There is a lot of confusion regarding air filtration systems, air filter efficiencies, and air filters capabilities.

The American Lung Association and EPA agree that a whole home system, one that is connected to the homes ductwork system, is the most effective type of system. As they state, regardless of the filter’s efficiency if air does not pass through the filter, it will not remove the pollutants in the air.

Air filters are ranked using the Minimum Efficiency Reporting Value (MERV) rating system. MERV uses a single number to establish a filter's performance over many different particle sizes. A higher MERV indicates better filter performance. As of January 1, 2002, the MERV rating should be printed on the filter casing.

The highest possible MERV rating is 20. Only a TRUE HEPA filter has a MERV rating of 20.

Filters Can:

	Capture viruses and bacteria (see GUL)
	Capture mold spores
	Remove particulates from the air.
	Capture dust mite fragments and fecal matter

Filters Can Not:

	Kill viruses and bacteria
	Kill nor rid your home of mold
	Kill nor rid your home of dust mites
	Rid your home of radon

“HEPA filters were originally developed during World War II to prevent discharge of radioactive particles from nuclear reactor facility exhausts. They have since become a vital technology in industrial, medical, and military clean rooms.

Particles of 0.3 microns diameter represent the respirable size most likely to reach and be deposited in the alveoli of the lungs. A HEPA filter has a minimum particle removal efficiency of 99.97% for all particles of 0.3 micron, which means that a "true" HEPA filter must allow no more than 3 particles out of 10,000 to penetrate the filtration media.” American Lung Association

“Another advantage of HEPA filtration is that the efficiency actually increases with use. So, for example, HEPA filters with 99.97% efficiency for 0.3 micron size particles approach 100% efficiency at other particle sizes.” American Lung Association

The sun is a source of electromagnetic energy including radio waves, infrared, visible light, ultraviolet, x-rays, gamma rays, and cosmic rays. Each band has its own characteristic wavelengths and properties as a result of the wavelength.

The ultraviolet spectrum is made up of UV-A, UV-B, and UV-C. We are exposed to each of these almost every day. UV exposure can be harmful or harmless depending on the type of UV, the type of exposure, the exposure duration, and the individual's unique response to UV.

The difference between harmful UV and harmless UV has to do with the ability of the UV ray to penetrate body surfaces. UV-C has extremely low penetrating ability and is nearly completely absorbed by the outer, dead layer of skin. UV-C, the germicidal wavelength, damages the nucleic acid of microorganisms by forming covalent bonds between certain adjacent bases in the DNA. The formation of such bonds prevent the DNA from being unzipped for replication, and the organism is unable to reproduce.