People who suffer from chronic breathing conditions such as Emphysema and COPD should be careful when buying an air filter system. These conditions are serious life threatening health problems that can be aggravated with the use of inferior poor performance air filters. A good air filter should clearly remove indoor allergens such as smoke, odor, gas, dust and mould through quality filtration. An excellent air filter is that which is well equipped and capable of cleaning the air in the room efficiently, and at record time. There are very expensive air filters, but they are worth their price because they are very efficient for cleaning your indoor air.

Some air filters are equipped to decontaminate air up to 50% better than less expensive makes. These high-end air filters produce excellent filtration plus, they are equipped with filter cartridge change indicators. Note that in spite of what the manual says about cartridge longevity, a cartridge’s life span will depend on air quality

There are different types of filter cartridges. There are gas filters and carbon filters. An air filter’s performance level is dependent on the filter cartridge. The finer the filter, the better air quality it will produce. The best filters are the ones that can capture very tiny particles as small as 0.3 microns.

Hepa rated air filters are regarded as the most efficient, yet gas molecules are too small for most Hepa air filters, if they are not equipped with activated carbon or charcoal that is capable of trapping gas molecules.

Most Hepa rated air filters are either pleated media or electrostatic filters, they work very well to remove fine particles from the air, but the collecting plate requires frequent cleaning for sustained good result.

When I explain to someone that there are several lines of vehicle air filters available that are environmentally sound I usually receive a quizzical look back from that person. For some motorists the idea of environmentally compatible automotive parts is a foreign concept to them. Yet, when you think about it many parts that come standard on just about any vehicle qualifies for that title. A catalytic converter is one part that everyone knows about, even if they don’t understand exactly how one works. So, exactly what is an environmentally sound air filter? Let’s take a closer look for all the details.

As you probably know the air filter that comes with your car is made predominately of paper with plastic molding holding the filter together. If you change the air filter at recommended intervals – once a year is common – you can easily go through 3, 5, or even 10 or more air filters depending on how long you keep your car as well as how many miles you put on your car. All of these air filters end up in your trash and then go straight to the dump. The paper in the filter will probably disintegrate quickly, but the plastic sits in place perhaps for thousands of years.

If this sort of thing disturbs you then take heart. Thanks to race car technology, manufacturers have developed reusable air filters for many production vehicles. If you purchase one for your vehicle it likely will be the last one you ever need. How is that? Because a reusable air filter can be cleaned and put back in your car over and over again. In fact, quality reusable air filters are designed to outlast your car with many guaranteed to last 500,000 miles or more, even up to one million miles!

A reusable air filter costs more, with prices running approximately 2-4 times the price of a standard air filter. If you keep your car for any length of time you will get that money back, but if do not you are still helping to show environmental responsibility by keeping our landfills free of unnecessary throw away parts.

Two additional benefits of a reusable air filter — the type that K&N and other top manufacturers produce — is that it will give your vehicle a boost in horsepower as your engine will run more efficiently. Furthermore, a more efficient engine burns less fuel so your fuel economy goes up too.

So, what is there not to like about a reusable air filter? In reality, not much! By installing a reusable [or performance] air filter you help the environment, realize a noticeable gain in horsepower, and you burn less fuel. A true win-win-win proposition, don’t you agree?

For the sake of fuel economy, it is not hard to see how easy it would be to overlook the air filter as a way to save gas, but save gas it does.

Air filters are devices which strain air through a membrane to separate particulates from the air that normally goes into an internal combustion engine. This is to prevent these particulates, such as dust, fiber, pollen and such to contaminate sensitive and hard-to-reach parts of the engine.

Air filters are judged according to two types of attributes: filtration and flow.

Filtration is the ability of the filter to separate particulates from the air. Flow is the ability of the filter to let air move through the filter element with minimal restriction, including the piping that guide air through the air filter and beyond.

Filtration elements are normally composed of paper, cotton, foam, and cloth components.

Paper. This is the most common and cheapest form of filter available. They are efficient, idiot-proof and costs less than other types of filters. The filter is normally a wide, round cylindrical shape about 3 inches in high. Particulates are easily spotted on the pleats of the air filter and can be cleaned off for further use. Paper filters have a shorter use life and are considered easily disposable.

Foam. Foam filters are oil-damp polyurethane elements. These are usually used in rally-type environments with the capacity to trap lots of dust.

Cotton. Oiled-cotton gauze filters are usually found in performance after-market air filters. Employs multiple layers supported by a metal mesh to trap dust and particulates.

Cloth. Cloth are oil-wetted as well and are considered on the same level as cotton-gauze filters.  They also employ the same layering as cotton-gauze and are reusable to the point of just washing and re-oiling them.

When air flow is considered, the “plumbing” of the air filter system must be observed. What manufacturers usually attached to air filter systems is a complex set of pipes that flow up and down to slow down air flow somewhat. The purpose of this is to reduce ambient noise, sometimes at the cost of fuel efficiency.

After-market performance components have solved these problems by doing away with the plumbing system entirely and going for a more simplified straight or curved piping system topped with the filter element. This immediately shows better performance over the plumbing-type system but these do not filter out particulates as well.

Some after-market performance filter components usually include cone-shaped filters for cotton and cloth filters, mushroom-shaped filters for foam elements, and some two-stage hybrid filters, which clean out air much more efficiently but at the cost of some air flow.

What else can I do to immediately improve performance?

If all else is held constant, what you can do to improve performance would be to improve the quality of air that is drawn through the air filter.

The best value for money-addition to a factory installed or improved-air filtration system would be to add a hydrogen-on-demand (HOD) generator to be drawn in through the air filter.

HOD generators are devices that produce hydrogen and oxygen as electricity passes through an aqueous medium. This gas is more known as “oxyhydrogen” or Brown’s Gas or HHO. This gas is generated on-demand only (i.e. when the engine is turned on) so there is no hydrogen stored in its pure form to cause a risk to life and limb.

What does an HOD system do?

Hydrogen when compressed an introduced to an internal combustion engine:

-Releases more energy than ethanol-based mixes, maintaining the overall power of the car

-Completely burns the fuel which gives cleaner emissions

-Raises the octane level of the fuel, preventing knocking, making the engine quieter

-Lowers overall engine temperature slightly

-Requires the engine to use less gas per cycle

Cost?

Fairly inexpensive. Parts can be sourced from everyday parts found in hardware shops and basic electronics stores. Total cost for a basic unit can range between $70 to over $200 USD.

What’s offered by most HOD enterprises are plans for do-it-yourself systems, with offers to build the system for the consumer if they so wish. This way the customer can opt to build it himself or to buy a unit once the concept is understood after obtaining the plans to prevent fraud.

For more information on HOD systems, increasing fuel economies, and support, please visit the url below.