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The
Need for Improving Our Indoor Air Quality
Most Americans spend up to 90% of their time indoors.
Studies conducted by the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency show that indoor environments can have levels
of pollutants that are actually higher than levels
found outside. In fact, the EPA has rated indoor
air quality among the top five health risks
in the U.S. Indoor air quality can impact the health,
comfort, and well-being of both occupants and residents.
America's
air quality has deteriorated in part because of the
generation of toxic airborne waste, but also because
of the success of the building industry in designing
airtight structures. Many buildings have significant
indoor air pollution sources. These sources include
furnishings, occupant activities, housekeeping practices,
pesticide applications, and microbial contamination.
Only through installation of reliable air purifiers
can families avoid the potential health risks from
biological and chemical contaminants that occupy our
indoor air environments.
We
compare some of the popular home air purifiers
that are available today so that you can make informed
purchasing decisions:
HEPA
Filters
HEPA
filters consist of extended-media (pleated), wet laid
filter medium (typically glass fiber paper), with separators,
edge seal, sealant, and are housed in a rigid frame.
Certified HEPA filters can be very efficient in trapping
particles in their filters and cleansing the air.
The
disadvantage is that these filters may tend to hold moisture, which actually breeds mold and releases it back into the room. HEPA filters act on the principle of a window screen and often pass through accumulated dirty particles that can be forced back out into the room. HEPA filters quickly clog and become ineffective, so they must be replaced regularly. The HEPA filters are very expensive.
When
you change the HEPA filters, you can expose yourself
to extremely high concentrations of the harmful substances
the HEPA is filtering from your indoor air.
Another disadvantage is their noise level. Most HEPA air cleaners on high fan speed, which is needed for full efficiency, may be distractingly noisy.
HEPA filters must use electricity to operate, which can add up. Calculating the initial cost of the HEPA units, plus the maintenance and replacement costs, as well as the energy cost of running the unit, it may cost as much as a major appliance to operate.
O•ZONELite™ vs. HEPA Filtration
Electrostatically
Charged Fibers and Electrostatic Precipitator Filters
Some Electret-type air cleaners use
electrostatically charged fiber filtration technology
because it allows for a high initial efficiency while
allowing air to move easily through the filter. The
electro-statically charged filters attract and capture
particles.
The disadvantage of this filter technology is that it gets less efficient with use, as the fibers lose their electrostatic charge as they become soiled. This causes the efficiency of the filter to drop drastically.
Electrostatic
precipitators use ionization to charge dust particles
and then oppositely-charged metal plates or filters
to collect them. The starting efficiency of these systems
is in the middle range. The disadvantage to these is
also that when their collection surfaces gets dirty,
their efficiency drops significantly.
Air
Ionizers
Ionization by itself uses high voltage
to negatively charge airborne particles. Since pure
ionizers do not capture the airborne particles, these
charged particles are simply released into the room
where they tend to attach to surfaces like your couch,
rug or walls.
This
means that ionizers only have a temporary effect
of eliminating particles from the air. Once the
particles lose the charge, they become airborne again.
The EPA also draws attention to the fact that these
charge particles when inhaled may become harmful to
your lungs.
Air
ionizer units do not remove contaminants from your
indoor air; they simply cause them to temporarily
settle onto surfaces. In the end, you not only have
air that has not been effectively cleansed, you also
have a room that looks dirty and dusty.
O•ZONELite™ Air Purifiers
O•ZONELite™ is an indoor air cleaning system that uses light and simple, harmless chemicals to destroy the dust mites and mold spores that cause many allergies.
This
photocatalytic air purifying system has been tested
in medical and industrial settings and already
has proven successful at zapping odors and impurities
caused by chemicals, viruses and bacteria.
O•ZONELite™ uses light which reacts with the titanium dioxide-based chemical coating that creates oxidation, which in turn attacks and destroys microbes by disintegrating them through oxidation. The reaction also kills dust mites and mold.
O•ZONELite™ destroys the contaminants in the air without toxic
chemicals being employed. Allergy and asthma suffers
will find relief once mold spores and other allergens
are eliminated from the air.
The photocatalytic air purifying system that is the basis of O•ZONELite™ has been tested successfully in medical
research settings where the air in laboratories must
be nearly microbe-free. The photocatalytic system
can quickly kill off bacteria in indoor air.
The Advantages of O•ZONELite™
The advantage of O•ZONELite™ is in its simplicity — it's as easy to use as screwing in a light bulb!
O•ZONELite™ functions more effectively than many air cleaners on the market. It also works without the large, complicated and initially expensive units that other air purifiers require. And, there are NO EXPENSIVE FILTERS to clean or replace — ever!
Our simple bulb costs a fraction of the selling price of other purifiers and practically pays for itself over the life of the bulb in reduced energy consumption!
O•ZONELite™ is easy to install and unobtrusive, whereas the other air cleaners are bulky and need continuous maintenance and expensive replacement parts.
O•ZONELite™ does not make a sound, while air cleaners may be so noisy that you may have trouble getting to sleep if you use one in your bedroom.
You will need an air cleaner unit in every key room of your home or office to cleanse the air throughout your house or office building. O•ZONELite™, on the other hand, is not restricted to one area. It purifies the air wherever you need it.
You
should use air purifiers for your home and office in
order to ensure the health of your family and employees.
However, take all factors into consideration when deciding
on the unit that will best suit your needs: initial
costs, maintenance costs, the amount of energy needed
to run the unit, noise level, and the limitations of
each purifying unit.
See how O•ZONELite™ can improve indoor air quality in your office or home without damaging
your health or the environment.
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