Air-purification technology company Agentis Air will share the findings from a study on “Optimizing the Use of Room Air Purifiers in Combination with HVAC Filters for IAQ and Energy Efficiency”.

The paper explores the relationship between room air purifiers and HVAC filtration and how to optimize indoor air quality while minimizing energy use. The study determines this relationship at a variety of particulate levels, with fine and ultra-fine particles, a variety of HVAC operating conditions (such as air circulation rates and MERV ratings), and a variety of CADR levels for the subject room air purifiers.

The study has added relevance considering the new ASHRAE Standard 241: Control of Infectious Aerosols, which establishes an equivalent clean airflow (ECAi) formula that includes the use of room air purifiers, as a supplement to HVAC systems, to remove fine and ultrafine particle such as viruses and other pathogens. In the face of the serious and wide-ranging threat presented by airborne pathogens and poor indoor air quality, the HVAC-only solution—using higher MERV-rated filters—creates new problems, as these filters have backpressure that often exceeds the capacity of the HVAC systems in which they are installed. Even when compatible, high-backpressure filters also use more energy and require frequent filter changes, making them more expensive to maintain and environmentally unfriendly. As the study indicates, using appropriate room air purifiers in tandem with standard HVAC systems can reduce the energy penalty while achieving ultrafine particle filtration goals....