Electronic air cleaners or electrostatic precipitators (ESP) are mainly used to purify indoor air.
They are functionally different from HEPA filters and can be used in multiple areas in your HVAC system.
The ESP filter can be installed in your HVAC systems ducts or as a component of your furnace or it can be used as a stand-alone air purifier. When installed in the HVAC system’s duct, it purifies the air before it is released into the indoor space. Unlike other air filter installations, the ESP are designed and installed into your HVAC system’s duct by the engineering team that’s responsible for installing your HVAC system. As a stand-alone, you can move around with the ESP filter to clean your indoor air. This makes it a perfect HVAC component for a home. The ESP filter has three parts, namely the pre-filter, ionizing and activated charcoal section. All these parts work together to clean air before it gets to the room being conditioned. The pre-filter section traps large particles in the air, before sending the air to the ionizing section where smoke, odor, and other small air contaminants are removed from the air. The ionizing section has high voltage that charges particles into positive charges. It also has positive and negative plates. The positively charged particles are attracted by the negative plates and accumulate there for disposal. The air is then passed through the final filter that has activated charcoal. This final filter removes gases from the rooms. Some of the things absorbed by the charcoal include alcohols, acids, pet and human odors, and aldehydes.