Skip navigation

Serving the Greater New Braunfels, TX Area

Serving the Greater New Braunfels, TX Area

Menu

Do I Need an Air Filter or an Air Purifier for My House?

pleated-air-filter

If you’re looking to improve the quality of the air in your home and remove pollutants like dust, lint, dander, viruses, odors, and more from it, you might think you’re facing a choice between getting air filtration or a type of electronic air purifier.

But you don’t need to make this type of choice, because this isn’t an “either/or” situation. It’s common for homes to use both. For your house, it may turn out that an air filter is all that’s necessary. But you may need a special air purifier in Bulverde, TX to target the pollutants the filter misses. 

Sound too confusing? There’s no cause for concern—because you only need to call our experts and let them handle the job. We can find the perfect set of IAQ solutions to make your home’s air fresh and clean. 

The Air Filtration System

Installing air filters is usually the start of improving a home’s IAQ. (It’s rare to have only an air purifier.) Air filters are mechanical: they aren’t electrically powered and instead capture pollutants in a mesh of fibers as they attempt to pass through along with the rest of the air. But filters can be manufactured at a strength level (measured as MERV rating) that stops most unwanted contaminants from passing through them. One example is the HEPA filter, which is used in hospitals and other health care facilities. 

Air filters have limits, however. Or we should say your home’s HVAC system has limits on how powerful an air filter it can tolerate. The stronger the filter, the more resistance to airflow. For a commercial or industrial HVAC system, this may be no problem. For a residential HVAC system, however, it can be a big problem, causing damage to components and cutting down on comfort. 

When you work with us for an air filtration system installation, we’ll make sure that the filters we install will not be too powerful for your HVAC system. 

The Air Purification System

If you can’t have a strong enough filter installed to stop all the harmful pollutants from circulating through your house, then it’s best to pair the filter with an air purifier. 

Air purification systems are electronically powered and do not place any resistance against airflow. They instead use processes like ionization and ultraviolet light to neutralize harmful particles or cause them to fall out of the air and onto a set of magnetized plates. 

There are different types of air purifiers, and our technicians will make sure that you have the right type to target the specific pollutants getting through the filters. 

Final Note… 

If you think that you already have an air filter, the one you regularly change on the HVAC cabinet, and don’t need another, we’re glad to tell you the truth. That filter doesn’t do much for your home’s indoor air quality because it’s not designed to. That filter does the job of preventing dust and lint from getting inside the HVAC cabinet and causing damage. It has a small effect on air quality, but it’s negligible. If you have IAQ problems currently, you’ll need dedicated air filters and purifiers from professionals. 

At Thayer Air Conditioning, Your comfort is our #1 priority! Call us—we’re already on our way!

Comments are closed.

-->