In this new world of pandemic concerns, businesses need air purification devices for many reasons —

• To open your business and to stay open.
• To keep your employees safe.
• To keep your customers safe.
• To make everyone feel safe.
• To meet government regulations (CDC and regional compliant).

Cleaning the air in your work environment is the new normal whether you want it to be or not. It’s just one part of getting your business running again like it needs to be, but it’s a HUGE part!

There are many air filtration systems out there, and if you want to do it right the first time, you need to look for a HOSPITAL GRADE air filtration system. Air purification products use a lot of different adjectives to describe the quality of their device, but when it comes to quality, we look to hospital standards.

Hospitals know that it’s all about ACH (air changes per hour) and the level of HEPA filtration. Not just any HEPA filter will do. Many products have HEPA filters in them, even vacuums do, but their filter won’t protect against infectious diseases like we are facing today. The HEPA filter in your air purification device needs to be able to clean your air at hospital standards. Not only that, but it needs to change the air (ACH) fast so that viruses aren’t floating around in everyone’s breathing space long enough to pass along to people working or being served in that space. Hospitals understand this and require the highest levels of ACH for their environments. Class A Operation Room regulations for air changes per hour is 15 ACH. The RECIRCULATOR II can produce an ACH of approximately 22 for a 13′ x 15′ x 8′ room. That exceeds the standards. See the CDC’s Guidelines for Environmental Infection Control in Health-Care Facilities (2003) to see the recommended ACH for your facility areas.

The Recirculator II is a hospital-grade air purification device that —

• Refreshes the air up to 22 times an hour for a 13′ x 15′ x 8′ room. Now that’s fast. 
• Uses a 99.7% effective True HEPA filter at 0.3 microns particle size.
• Allows you to move it around as needed. Portability means you can react to medical surges quickly. You can also move it as your rooms and needs change.
• Fits almost anywhere. It’s small compared to similar alternatives. 
  -Height: 39”, 40.5” including handle
  -Width: 18.5”, 18.75” including wheels
  -Depth: 13”, 16” including wheels
  -Weight: 55 lbs
• Isn’t too loud. In fact, it’s quiet (maximum noise level is 53 dB).
• Is affordable. It’s only $2800, the cheapest hospital-grade air filtration device available.
• Converts rooms into negative pressure rooms, which some businesses need.

If your business uses the Recirculator II, then you are delivering the best quality of air filtration for you, your employees, and your customers. And if they know that, then everyone will feel confident and comfortable doing business with you again.

With the Recirculator II, you will be exceeding the standards of air sanitation required of you before you can open your business.

And that’s just doing smart business.

HEPA is an acronym for “High Efficiency Particulate Air,” or “High Efficiency Particulate Arrestance.” This relates to filter devices that have been manufactured, tested, certified, and act in accordance with up-to-date HEPA standards by the CDC.

The EPA (Environment Protection Agency) defines HEPA filters as being able to “remove more than 99 percent of all airborne pollutants 0.3 microns or larger.” A micron is a microscopic particle, less than 1/25,400 of an inch long.

HEPA filters are found in household appliances such as vacuum cleaners, air purification systems, and HVAC systems. According to the DOE (Department of Energy) HEPA filters used by DOE contractors must be able to remove 99.97% of airborne particles 0.3 microns and larger, but similar regulations don’t exist for the consumer industry.

Manufactors of high-quality HEPA filters voluntarily test and certify their filters to meet the DOE standards. They are often labeled as “Medical-grade HEPA,” “True HEPA,” or “Absolute HEPA.” Those that don’t meet the DOE standards are often labeled as “HEPA-type,” “HEPA-like,” or “HEPA-style.”

ACH refers to air changes per hour. Sometimes it is called AER, or air exhange rate. ACH and AER simply refer to the number of times that air gets replaced in each room every hour. In other words, ACH is a measure of the air volume added to or removed from a space divided by the volume of the space.  Higher ACH values correspond to better ventilation.

There are standards for different work areas, particularly in healthcare facilities. See the CDC’s Guidelines for Environmental Infection Control in Health-Care Facilities (2003) to see the recommended ACH for your facility areas.

When combined with medical grade HEPA filters, ACH refers to the number of times the machine has removed 99.97% of particles 0.3 microns in diameter.

As you can see, the ACH value extremely important when determining the air purification device you need.

The Clean Air Delivery Rate (CADR) is a rating used by the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers (AHAM). By definition the CADR is “the rate of contaminant reduction in the test chamber when the unit is turned on, minus the rate of natural decay when the unit is not running, multiplied by the volume of the test chamber as measured in cubic feet.” (ANSI/AHAM AC-1-2006 directive) 

Basically, it tells us how quickly and effectively an air purifier will purify the indoor air.

The medical industry focuses more on air flow performance, using the CFM (Cubic Feet Per Minute) measurement and whether or not the device uses a HEPA filter. The CFM determins the volume of air the fan can cycle through in a minute. 

The RECIRCULATOR II is a medical grade air purification and negative pressure system that is primarily used by hospitals to create isolation rooms and to purify the air in other areas of their buildings. But it is now being used in many more industries and environments, and therefore, the CADR may be a more familiar determinator when choosing an air purification system.

You can easily calculate the estimated CADR using AHAM’s 2/3’s rule: CADR rating is about 2/3 of the maximum airflow (in CFM).

Using this equation, the RECIRCULATOR II has an estimated CADR rating of 383 (2/3 of 575).

Some air purification systems include UV light options. While UV light has been shown to disrupt bacteria and even kill it, when it comes to an air filtering system, this option is generally ineffective. Why? There are two main reasons: 1) The HEPA filters already catch and trap 99.7% of airborne particles 0.3 microns and larger, so there is little need for the UV light sterilizer. 2) Air moves through the RECIRCULATOR II too quickly for the UV light to do any damage. In most cases, you have to shine the UV light on the infected area for a minimum of several seconds. The basic function of air purifiers is to move air, and consequently, air never sits long enough to be sanitized. Therefore, while flooding an empty operating room with UV light could be useful, it provides little benefit in an air filtering device, especially a hospital-grade device like the RECIRCULATOR II, which has such a high ACH potential. It’s simply not worth the extra cost to the customer.

Having a negative pressure room can be a benefit to you, your staff, and your patients. A negative pressure room is designed to capture external respiration and filter it through the Recirculator II before the air escapes through doorways or sources of ventilation. This minimizes the risk to non-ill individuals who could inhale air from symptomatic and non-symptomatic individuals carrying a disease.

First you need to have the Negative Pressure Adapter attachment and an 8-inch flexible hose. With the hose and attachment connected to the machine, vent the hose through a ventilation source. Examples:

• You can place the Recirculator II device near a partitioned window and connect the hose to it like you would a home A/C unit.
• You can use the hose to connect to a dedicated exhaust.
• You can vent the hose through a hole in the wall with a flapper valve like a home dryer unit.

Different air purification systems perform various levels of air sanitation depending on the CFM. CFM stands for Cubic Feet per Minute and it determines the volume of air the fan can cycle through in a minute. It is the most common way to measure airflow.

(CFM / Cubic Feet of Room) x 60 = Air changes per hour (ACH)

The CFM of the RECIRCULATOR II on High Speed is 575.

1. 1. Determine the volume of the area in cubic feet (cf) by multiplying Length x Width x Ceiling Height of room in question.

      Example using the dimensions of a common patient room:

      13′ long x 15′ wide x 8′ high ceiling = 1,560 cubic feet

   2. Divide the output of the RECIRCULATOR II (575) by the calculated cubic feet.

      Example: 575 / 1,560 = .368

   3. Multiply your answer above by 60 to derive the number of complete air changes per hour (ACH).

      Example: 60 / .368 = 22.08 ACH

See also:
CDC healthcare guidelines for ACH.

We recommend you place the Recirculator II device on the opposite end of the doorway with the patient/occupants in between the doorway and the Recirculator II device.

Generally you only need one device per treatment room. The Recirculator II generates approximately 22 ACH (air changes per hour) for a room with dimensions of 13’ x 15’ x 8’ (such as a treatment room or small bedroom).

See How can I determine the ACH for my room using the RECIRCULATOR II?

We recommend replacing the pre-filter once a month and replacing the HEPA-filters when the Minihelic gauge on the Recirculator II is in the red zone, which is usually once a year.

Please refer to the User Manual for the complete process. When changing the filters, proper PPE should be worn and a biohazard approved red bag should be used for disposing Pre-filters and HEPA-filters. 

Standards are different for individual businesses and types of facilities. Hospitals generally have the highest air quality standards, with negative pressure isolation rooms being at the top. But air quality standards for most businesses fall somewhere below that standard. 

NEW CDC GUIDELINES  regarding infection control have been updated for healthcare professionals. For example, the CDC now recommends portable HEPA filtration devices like the RECIRCULATOR II for dental settings.

Look up your facility type here and read the recent changes to determine how you should proceed.

For healthcare air quality standards, find your ventilation guidelines (air changes per hour) here. 

If the guidelines for your industry are slow coming, look to the Hospital Standard. With the RECIRCULATOR II, you can meet basic hospital standards now. Why not add it to your company’s new protection protocols? Your employees and customers will thank you for it.