What You Need to Know Before Renting a HEPA Air Scrubber

The wild and structural fires today are having an increasing effect on indoor air quality which can be quite severe to one’s health especially in the commercial space. Whether you’re recovering from lingering smoke particles, floods, or concerns about exposure to pathogens in the wake of a global pandemic, indoor air quality is becoming increasingly important to business owners and homeowners alike.

 “Studies have shown that the fine particles known as PM-2.5 which make up most of the particles in the wildfire smoke – can be reduced by the use of portable air purifiers. The best purifiers have a HEPA filter and a large fan that can push air through a fine mesh to trap particles.” As reported by The Washington Post. 

 At Allied Rental, we carry a variety of HEPA air scrubber rentals providing dependable indoor air quality solutions. Our air scrubbers are fitted with a new HEPA air filter upon delivery. Portable air scrubbers, also known as negative air machines are designed to allow one operator to easily move the unit around and serve as a necessary part of maintaining air quality in places like hospitals, construction sites, universities, and office buildings. Increasingly, they are being used as part of the remediation process to combat the spread of mold, which can lead to surface damage of a building and health issues for those who work or live there. 

 

Air Scrubber uses:

 

  • Assisting in the drying out an area quickly after water intrusion 
  • Stopping spores from spreading during mold remediation 
  • Increasing air filtration when regular air conditioning units are not operating. 
  • Reducing volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and other gaseous contaminants 
  • Removing odor and reducing airborne soot levels during fire damage restoration 
  • Reducing dust levels generated by construction, maintenance, or cleaning activities in data centers and elsewhere. 
  • When ducted, units can be used as a negative air machine to remove polluted air from an area. 
  • Air scrubbers can also be used a positive air machine if placed in a clean area and ducted into a space to provide clean air (confined space application) 

 

How many and what size will you need?

 

You’ll first have to “read the room” to determine the accurate number of scrubbers you’ll need. That means you need to know the size of the enclosed area you’re trying to filter. As a rule, experts say you should try to achieve a minimum of six air changes per hour or one air change every 10 minutes. Completely circulating a room six times an hour, however, doesn’t take into account large rooms like warehouses or healthcare facilities where strict air quality guidelines must be met. In scenarios like these, some math is required.

First, determine the cubic feet of the room you’re targeting. You can do this by multiplying a room’s square feet times the ceiling’s height. The air scrubber flow rate CFM (cubic feet per minute) is then divided by the room’s cubic volume and then multiplied by 60 to convert minutes to hours. So, if the room you’re targeting is 25’ x 32’ x 12’ and six air changes per hour are required, you’ll need at least one 1,200 CFM or two 500 CFM air scrubbers to achieve the correct air filtration.

Here’s how the math works:

 

25’ x 32’ x 12’ = 9,600 cubic feet
One air change = 9,600 cubic feet
Then multiply 9,600 cubic feet times the number of air changes (6) = 57,600
Then convert 57,600 cubic feet per hour to cubic feet per minute by dividing by 60
The number you’ll arrive at is 960 cubic feet per minute

 

Not sure which rental to choose after browsing our website: www.AlliedRentalCo.com. Give me a call today, I’m happy to help. My direct line is: (541) 729-5899.