Commercial air filtration is critical to the safety of your employees as well as the efficiency and cost savings of your machinery. In addition, it is important to handle change-outs quickly when the required time comes and having a stocking distributor on call assures you will meet your goals – as well as be ready for unplanned events.
Especially in California, one never knows when a wildfire might occur and how ash particles and smoke fumes will affect your facility. By stocking gas phase (e.g., carbon) filters in a protected area you can be ready to respond when a wildfire happens. Advanced Filtration Concepts (AFC) is able, in many cases, to deliver and/or install carbon air filters at a moment’s notice.
Perhaps there is an unplanned construction project that you have begun in an area close by that is raising dust and debris toward the intake of your high-volume air conditioning (HVAC) system. By stocking pre-filtration media, pleated filters and high-efficiency final filters, you are then ready when such an event occurs. AFC can deliver and install air filters to alleviate construction dust from entering through your HVAC air intake.
Understanding MERV Ratings
To make a good decision regarding the proper air filter, you need to factor in what you want to achieve. Does your filter need to protect air circulation equipment? Does it need to provide a clean and healthy environment for your occupants; or both?
Air filters help purify the air and make your environment safer for breathing. It is important to note that using the wrong filters can negatively affect your HVAC system’s level of efficiency meaning your environment air will not be as clean as it should be and your system could consume more power than it should to function and result in higher costs.
As a guideline, the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) recommend a Minimum Efficiency Reporting Value (MERV) for air filters. If your goal is to keep machinery and equipment clean, a standard MERV 8 filter will remove 84.9% of particles between 3.0 and 10.0 microns in size (based on ASHRAE 52.2 size).
If your focus is protecting people, especially those with compromised immune systems, microelectronics, gas turbine blades, pharmaceuticals, etc., filters with a minimum MERV rating of 13 (filters out 90% of particulates from 1 to 10 microns in size but less than 75% of particles 0.3 to 1.0 micron in size) but preferably MERV 15 and above which keep 95% of particulates from 0.3 to 1.0 microns from entering your building through the filtered HVAC system. In some instances, 99.97%-99.99% efficiency HEPA filters or 99.9999% ULPA filters may be necessary.
The ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 52.2 has many improvements over the 52.1 standard which is now retired. Two parts of 52.1 that were adopted by 52.2 are “Arrestance” for determining MERV 1-4 and “Dust Holding capacity.”
Some of the improvements in 52.2 standard include:
-Use of mandatory code language enabling the standard to be reference by other developed codes.
-52.2 expresses efficiency as a function of a specific particle size vs an overall percentage.
-72 data points are reduced into a single curve that typifies the minimum efficiency of a filter.
Activated Carbon Media for Critical Environments
Activated carbon filters and filter media can prevent unwanted odors from entering through the HVAC intake. In most cases carbon filtration media is adequate for keeping smoke fumes from wildfires since wildfires are usually under control within days. In other cases, such as lengthy construction projects, carbon V-bank filters are a good choice since they can help keep diesel or other fumes from construction equipment from entering from up to a year.
Additional options include carbon pleats and distinctly specified gas phase filtration media (i.e., carbon/potassium permanganate blends, etc.). Advanced Filtration Concepts, Inc. (AFC) stocks many gas phase filtration options to be prepared for unexpected emergencies.
Activated carbon media also prevents outside fumes that are generated from vehicles such as trucks, helicopters as well as roofing tar and cigarette smoke. If your business has air intakes on the roof, or you are near a loading dock or heliport, carbon media is a good choice.
In any case, what you do not want to experience is needing to replace a critical filter and having to wait too long for its arrival. Having a distributor who stocks multiple brands of air filters and can be counted on for immediate delivery, is often crucial. In addition, knowledgeable and experienced sales staff are key allies in choosing your proper air filters and helping to maintain a clean world for both mission-critical equipment and your valued employees.
Call Advanced Filtration Concepts (AFC), a distributor of top-rated air filters, and a company that can help you maintain your environment at peak performance.
Advanced Filtration Concepts is a
Certified Veteran-Owned Small Business.
