What Is Hepa?



Posted: Monday, January 25, 2010

by

Lately is seems like you can't get away from the term HEPA. You can find HEPA filter air purifiers, as well as HEPA filters for vacuum cleaners and air conditioning units just by going to any local hardware or department store. None of that labeling explains what HEPA actually is, though. We'll examine HEPA air purifiers to get a grasp of what, exactly, HEPA is and means.

Why is HEPA Capitalized?

HEPA is written in caps because it's an acronym, like DARE or MADD. The acronym stands for "high efficiency particulate absorbing". Or, alternately, it could mean "high efficiency particulate arrestance", which is basically the same thing. In everyday English, HEPA air purifiers either stop or absorb particles of matter that are way too small for the human eye to detect.

How Do HEPA Air Purifiers Help People?

Although HEPA air purifiers do clean pollen and dust out of the air, there are many more particles that are not natural to our environment, and that our human respiratory systems do not deal well with. Sometimes we can detect these other particles in the form of allergens and odors, sometimes we can't. Unfortunately, there are many pollutants that our bodies simply don't recognize and don't defend against, which leaves them to damage our lungs and other inner parts. Having a device that can either stop or absorb these dangerous particulates can definitely have a positive impact on one's health.

What Can HEPA Air Purifiers Do That Others Cannot?

Some air purifiers are not as effective as others. Most anyone who rates air purifiers go by what is called the HEPA standard. This is because HEPA air purifiers are widely known to be the best at filtering air, and have been for a while now. HEPA filter air purifiers are so vaunted because they stop air particles that are 0.3 micrometers in diameter. There is a purpose behind the focus on that specific particle size. The human body's respiratory system have a hard time stopping that particular size, and they are the most dangerous to us, moreso than particles both larger and smaller.

Is There Really A Difference Between HEPA-Type And HEPA Air Purifiers?

A true HEPA air purifier is held to certain standards. Chief among these standards is the ability to filter at least 99.7% of all 0.3 micron particles that pass through the machine. This is an extremely lofty standard, and you can expect to pay a premium for this ability. Generally speaking, HEPA air purifiers are not cheap. A HEPA-type air purifier, however, is a completely different animal. It's important to realize that there is absolutely no standard whatsoever that a HEPA-type air purifier must pass. A machine with this designation could be anything from a less effective, less expensive alternative to a completely useless piece of junk. Also, be wary of putting too much trust in HEPA air purifier reviews. The best HEPA air purifier will not only produce clean smelling air, but it will also remove particulates that are not detectable with human senses alone.

Want to learn more about HEPA air purifiers? Check out HEPA Air Purifier Info.

This Article has been viewed 17 times. (Not updated in real-time.)
No comments yet.
We want your comments! If you can read this, you don't have javascript enabled, so you can't use this comment system. Please enable javascript.