Can anyone offer a comparison of Honeywell F500 Whole-House HEPA Air Cleaner VS. Trane CleanEffects?
Our HVAC friend recommended that we consider the Trane CleanEffects system. We have terrible allergies (to the point of replacing wall-to-wall with hardwood) and he thinks it’s a great system. We currently use Honeywell room purifiers, however they are really loud and my husband hates it. Since Honeywell is a brand I use and trust, I am trying to find out if there are significant performance and cost differences between the two. From what I gather from the Trane marketing material is that the Trane filter is non-porous creating less pressure drop. Beyond that, I don’t know what the difference is in air quality or cost. So I guess I have three questions:
What are the performance differences?
What are the cost (unit, installation, filters) differences?
If you use either of these systems in your own home, what do you love/hate about it?
THANK YOU!
For a side-by-side comparison of the Trane CleanEffects with similar brands, go to http://www.electro-breeze-supply.com/electrostatic_air_filters.html We have always recommended to our customers to stay away from ozone, which disqualifies the Trane CleanEffects and the Honeywell system is a HEPA by-pass system that assumes that through multiple passes your indoor air will eventually pass through the filter system. We sell HEPA by-pass systems and have found them to be entirely less effective than the Electro Breeze units, not to mention the replacement filters and parts are very expensive. You will be paying extra for the electricity it takes to run the blower unit on the Honeywell, while the annual cost for electricity on the Electro Breeze units can be as low as $1.82.
Also keep in mind that the Electro Breeze PCUV or DMUV kit has an ultra-violet bulb to kill mold, bacteria and viruses. This combination of high efficiency filtration with carbon (to help with gases and odors) and the ultra-violet light will kill and capture at an efficiency of 97% down to 0.3 microns with very low pressure drop. This is the same system used in casinos and other large office buildings for smoke and odor control. I hope this helps.
these filters have their own cabinets that have to mount under a vertical installation, in a return riser that is the whole return, or on the return end of a horizontal installation. read the maintenance protocol for each, price them both, look at the static pressure specs, then do yourself a favor and put in an Aprilaire. ask any ac guy who doesn’t have a profit involved with his answer, he will agree. if you just have access to the grill get the 5 inch media with the 1 inch lip that installs in the grill.
My daughter had severe allergies. We also removed all the carpets. I’ve looked at a lot of air filter systems and talked to a lot of experts.
If your allergies are as severe as you say, your going about it the wrong way. 85% of the particles that enter your home never travel through your HVAC system. They end up on the floor, furniture, walls etc.. No whole home system has shown to dramatically improve the air quality.
The trick is to control the quality of air that gets into your home in the first place. This is done by creating positive pressure (the same method used in isolation wards and biology labs). You add a return duct to your HVAC system that draws in outside air. You put the filters in that duct. Make sure the filter housing fits tightly around the filter (air always takes the path of least resistance) Now your cleaning the air as it comes into your home. When you do things, like opening the door, air will flow out rather than in and your not constantly recycling the same air.