Americans Seek Cleaner Indoor Air to Combat Allergies and Asthma

Contact: Nikki Krueger
ndk@aprilaire.com

Whole-Home Air Cleaners Outperform Portables as Best Option

Madison, Wis. (May 26, 2006) - - With the growing number of Americans suffering from allergies and asthma, millions of consumers have purchased portable, one-room type air cleaners to remove harmful particules from the air and to maintain a clean home and improve their health. But do they really work?

Consumer feedback and industry research shows that portable air cleaners have may shortcomings, the most serious being overall performance. Some homeowners complain that the air cleaners make too much noise. Others say the units are expensive to maintain, unsightly and take up too much space. And many didn't realize that a portable unit only cleans the air in a very limited area of the home.

Whole-home air cleaners, installed on the heating and air conditioning system, extract contaminates and move clean air through the entire home. Much more powerful than portable units, whole0home air cleaners are able to clean the air in every room of the home more thoroughly while operating silently. Whole-home air cleaners also use less energy and require only periodic maintenance as compared with portables.

"A whole-home air cleaner is the most efficient, cost effective way to clean air in every room of the house," said Jon Paulos, Product Manager, Aprilaire. "Most homes require four or five portable units or more to clean the air throughout the home and still don't do as good a job. Whole-home air cleaners are the best investment for homewowners that don't want high efficiency, lower energy costs, easy maintenance and a long service life",

Homeowners Prefer Whole-Home Air Cleaners
A recent study sponsored by Aprilaire revealed that homeowners prefer a whole-home air cleaner vesus a portable air cleaner when comparing performance, installation and maintenance factors and overall cost. Still, the majority of them purchase portable units, mistakenly beieving the annual and toal cost to be lower.

An Aprilaire Whole-Home Air Cleaner costs around $800 for the first year and about $65 thereafter. The cost includes the unit, filter and professional installation. The quipment is installed in the utility room, basement or attic, where it does not detract from the home's aesthetic appeal. Typically a whole-home air cleaner requires maintenance just once a year.

Conversely, in the first year alone, a homeowner with four portable units serving about 500 square feet apiece would spend nearly $2,500 for the cleaners, filters and electricity. In addition, the units are placed throughout the house taking up living space and can be very noisy. Portable air cleaners require additionmal maintenance; filters need to be changed four times a year. In terms of energy costs, homeowners who coose portable units can expect to pay up to $200 in annual costs.

Highest Efficiency - 365 Days A Year
The Aprilaire Model 5000 is teh only air cleaner that delivers efficiences of over 98% on particles down to one micron in size, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. This makes the Aprilaire Model 5000 the most efficent air cleaner on the market removing virtually all contaminants including those that most affect health - viruses, bacteria and allergens.

The captured particles are permanently trapped with absolutely no chance of being reintroduced into the air stream and back into the home. The Model 5000 not only captures bacteria and sportes, it kills them - making it the healthiest choice in whole-house air cleaning.

The Aprilaire Model 5000 Air Cleaner also offers key features that make it one of the easiest to maintain and lowest cost to operate.

  • Only 20 mintues of maintenance once per year - no messy washing or vacuuming required, just a simple replacement of the filter which can easily be changed by the consumer.
  • It's the lowest cost to own and operate when compared to all other whole-home and portable air cleaners. The Model 5000 delivers the cleanest possible air throughout your entire home for only pennies per day.
  • Longest service life - the filter needs replacement only once per year. Because of the large surface area (more than 72 square feet), the filter has an extremely high dust holding capacity resulting in a one year service life.

About Aprilaire
Aprilaire has been a brand leader in the indoor air quality industry since 1954 when it introduced the first evaporative, flow-through humidifier. Owned by Research Products Corporation, it offers Aprilaire Intelligent Solutions for Indoor Environments - an integrated group of air quality enhancement products designed to work together with residential and light commercial heating and cooling systems. Aprilaire brand products are sold through and installed by HVAC contractors across the United States and Canada.