At Althoff Industries, Inc., we’re up to the challenge of helping commercial and industrial facilities with their indoor air quality troubles. And this is definitely a challenging job: many harmful particulates can find their way into a commercial space and create an environment that can range from unpleasant to unhealthy.
When it comes to commercial indoor air quality in Hillside, IL, we offer many different solutions, such as air filtration systems, humidifiers and dehumidifiers, and ventilation and exhaust upgrades and repairs. Today, we want to talk about one of the most powerful commercial indoor air quality devices—an air purifier that uses needlepoint bipolar ionization.
The Limits of Air Filtration
First, we need to address why air purifiers of any type may be necessary for a facility. Air filters have limits, something that building managers often don’t realize. They think they can use hospital-grade air filters in their rooftop units to keep out contaminants such as microbes and volatile organic compounds. But commercial HVAC systems are not designed to handle filters that are this thick, such as the HEPA filter. A filter that’s too powerful for the HVAC system will block airflow, preventing the movement of conditioned air. It also places stress on the HVAC system that can lead to damage to the components and even cause the system to shut down.
We recommend you have air filters installed, but you’ll need professionals to find and install filters that aren’t too strong. To handle the particles that are too small for a filter to catch requires using an air purifier.
Needlepoint Bipolar Ionization
Needlepoint bipolar ionization (NPBI) is a powerful air purification system that uses the natural process of creating ions within the HVAC system. An ion is any molecule or atom with a positive or negative charge: it’s either lost an electron (positive charge) or gained one (negative charge). Ions naturally pull toward other molecules to surrender or gain an electron to become neutral.
The way this works to clean the air in a building is that the NPBI air purifier releases negative and positive ions into the ventilation system where all the air circulated through the building must pass. The ions move toward particles in the air and bond with them, a process called agglomeration. Particles start to clump together, and this makes them large enough that a filter can easily trap them.
Needlepoint Bipolar Ionization at Work
An NBPI air purifier can help remove many unhealthy, harmful, and irritating particles from the air of a facility. It affects dangerous pathogens such as bacteria and viruses, odor-creating molecules, volatile organic compounds, smoke, and chemicals. NPBI also produces no harmful byproducts like ozone, which is a problem for other types of air purifiers. In addition to stopping harmful particles, an NPBI air purifier helps a commercial HVAC system work at higher efficiency and doesn’t create electromagnetic interference with any nearby precision equipment.
If your commercial facility is struggling with poor indoor air quality, work with our specialists to find out if NPBI will do the job. We are in the business of solving problems.
Talk to Althoff Industries, Inc. to learn more about bipolar ionization and other options for indoor air quality in your commercial facility. Challenges accepted!