Air conditioning systems, fans? No! Air cleaners!
Which devices really provide protection from virulent accumulations of aerosol in the room air?
Do fans or air conditioners enhance the distribution of droplets and aerosols in the room?
Not only in times of Corona, dangerous superficial knowledge, untruths and recommendations about air conditioners and air cleaners spread like a wildfire in social media. Air conditioners are blamed to be virus spreaders. And simple fans are hyped to provide protection from infectious aerosols in the air. No matter whether the window is open or closed. What is right? What do you need to know about air conditioners and fans with regard to Corona virus?
How are room air and the Corona virus linked with each other?
Virologists agree with each other: The Corona virus mainly spreads by breathing, only a small amount is distributed by smear and droplet infections. When breathing through the mouth and when talking, thousands of aerosols – tiniest particles of saliva – are emitted into the room.
These particles are invisible to the naked eye. They spread further than the recommended minimum distance of 1.5 - 2.0 m, remaining in the room air for several hours. If a person is infected, these floating particles are contaminated with viruses or bacteria. If infectious aerosols are inhaled, viruses deeply penetrate the pulmonary alveoli via the respiratory tract.
Respiratory masks with particle filter offer protection from aerosols in closed rooms, as well as high-frequency air cleaners as the TAC V+ from Trotec. However, protective masks do not protect from inhaling infectious aerosols. They only keep away large droplets.
Are inside and outside air equally dangerous?
Outdoors, aerosols emitted when talking are distributed and diluted by natural air movements. For this reason, the risk of inhaling other people’s aerosols when they talk is relatively small. However, in closed rooms with no air exchange, the concentration of aerosols increases with every additional person. Undiluted accumulations of aerosols float throughout the room, and the danger of inhaling infectious viruses from the air is comparatively high.
How does an air conditioning system affect the danger of infection?
Air recirculation devices only cool down the room air, but there is no fresh air supply from outside. Besides, commercially available air conditioning systems are not equipped with a special HEPA filter – which is part of the air cleaner TAC V+ or TES 200 with H14 HEPA filter that allows to filter airborne viruses or bacteria. Present viruses in the room air are extensively distributed in the room air with the air flow. This is why “virus spreader” is a word.
- Air conditioning systems with air recirculation do not offer protection against viruses such as the Corona or influenza virus. Accumulations of aerosol are not diluted or filtered out.
- Aerosols carrying viruses are distributed through the blown-out air of the air conditioning system into the farthest corner of the house. Even if you stick to the distancing regulations, you'll inhale the aerosols.
Does a fan protect from an infection if the window is open?
Some virologists recommend placing a fan in front of the open window to transport the germ-laden room air to the outside.
In theory, this is right. The air current produced by the fan sucks in room air and blows viruses out of the window. In practice, however, this is quite unrealistic! In summer, an open window with the fan switched on may be quite pleasant.
But what do you do in winter, when it's freezing outside with temperatures below zero? And how are you able to concentrate on your work in the office, if traffic noise booms through the open window? In retirement homes and treatment centres, it cannot be recommended either. Elderly people in retirement homes have an increased need for warmth. An open window may have severe consequences.
- Indeed, a fan in front of an open window does reduce the risk of infection. The reason for this is the dilution effect which results from the fresh wind of outside air.
- However, this kind of protection from infection is not quite practical and cannot be realised in the cold season and for older people.
- If the outside temperature is equal to the inside temperature, the outside air cannot flow into the room.
Does a fan protect from an infection if the window is closed?
In closed rooms, a fan provides the same infection protection as an air conditioning system with air recirculation. No protection at all! Without a supply of fresh air from outside, the room air will be merely moved, but not diluted. Moreover, fans don't provide any kind of filtering effect.
- Therefore, a fan in a closed room does not provide protection from Corona virus. Accumulations of aerosol are not diluted or filtered out.
- The opposite is true! Aerosols carrying viruses are distributed through the blown-out air of the fan into the farthest corner of the house. Even if you stick to the distancing regulations, you'll inhale the aerosols.
How reasonable is cross-ventilation in terms of protection against infections?
Cross-ventilation will always allow air changes in the room. The air contaminated with germs is drawn to the outside and fresh air flows into the room. However, airing rooms like this always carries risks. Infectious aerosols always spread through the entire room before they escape to the outside, especially in offices or restaurants where many people stay. All persons remaining in the air current will inevitably inhale these aerosols.
An efficient protection against viruses in the room air can only be provided by a high-frequency air cleaner, such as the TAC V+ that offers HEPA filtration and high air flow rates
The mobile air cleaner TAC V+ purifies room air as effectively as air purification is carried out in hygiene-sensitive hospital operation theatres.
Made possible by the extremely high air flow rate and the innovative H14 HEPA virus filter. The room air is sucked in near the ground, cleaned from bacteria and viruses by means of the HEPA filter and finally released into the room as germ-free air.
Depending on the room size, the room air is circulated and cleaned up to 20 times per hour. The result is that suddenly occurring accumulations of aerosol are diluted with clean air in the area of your head to such an extent that the virus load and risk of infection will be remarkably reduced!
No installation, no complicated connection. Simply plug in and provide for the maximum infection protection possible!
High-frequency air purification protects both personnel and patients
If the room air is kept free from germs and viruses, the airborne risk of infection will be minimised likewise. Trotec high-frequency air cleaners such as the TAC V+ are exactly designed to perform this task for they efficiently and quickly reduce the intensity and time aerosol accumulations and suspended matter stay in closed rooms, creating zones with an extraordinarily reduced risk of infection for both patients and personnel.
Directly at the installation site, the mobile air cleaner TAC V+ creates a “clean zone area”, flooded with purified air and filtered from viruses. Within this zone, the surrounding air nearly completely stays free of airborne germs and viruses because the TAC V+ is able to take in large volumes of contaminated room air and to carry out effective H14 HEPA filtration. Moreover, the device is able to purify room air zones in a flexibly adjustable manner with clean air that has been filtered from viruses and aerosol particles.
Effective against bacteria and virus accumulations
Trotec high-frequency air cleaners are equipped with HEPA filters of class H14 which filter out more than 99.995 % of all fine suspended particles larger than 0.1 µm with a transmittance of only 0.005 %. Or in other words: No more than five of 100,000 particles pass the H14 filter. Thanks to this unique feature, these kinds of high-performance filters are also used in operation theatres or comparable hygienically sensitive areas in order to produce clean air. This way, you create optimum conditions to keep room air and breathing air in waiting and treatment rooms free from germs and viruses in times of spreading epidemics.
Well-known viral strains such as SARS-CoV or MERS-CoV have a particle size of 0.005 to 0.1 µm. Most of the time, they form accumulations with other particles (such as saliva or suspended matter) which increases their size up to 0.4 µm or 0.5 µm. These accumulations are referred to as germs and will be filtered out reliably by the Trotec H14 air cleaning filters.
All H14 HEPA filters by Trotec fulfil the highest quality standards that are obligatory for bacteria and virus filtration.
- Each H14 high-performance filter is tested individually and is assigned its respective serial number
- The test report is enclosed as certificate in duplicate with each H14 filter
- The original test certificate can be filed with the documents for the device. If required, the copy can be attached to the air cleaning device.
- HEPA high-performance H14 filters are tested in compliance with EN 1822 and EN 60335-2-69.
Also suitable for any TAC air cleaner with H13 filter
You can also insert a H14 HEPA filter by Trotec into your TAC air cleaner if you already possess a TAC device. The H14 filters are available as an accessory, e.g. for the professional air cleaners TAC 3000, TAC 5000 or TAC 6500. Simply replace the H13 filter in the filter compartment with a H14 HEPA filter.
High performance air cleaner TAC V+. Effective protection against aerosols and viruses in the air.
This product video will tell you all about the virus protection effect, the function and the advantages of the TAC V+ high-performance air purifier from Trotec. According to the current state of science, the coronavirus is transmitted in over 80% of cases by aerosols in the room air. The aerosols contaminated with viruses are produced when speaking, coughing or sneezing and often remain in the room air for a very long time. Inhaling the infectious aerosols can infect people in the room with pathogens. Trotec offers the solution for this: The TAC V+ high-performance air purifier filters the air with an efficiency of 99.995%, which corresponds to the air quality of operating rooms. The room air contaminated with aerosols is diluted, pressed to the floor, sucked in and filtered. In the vicinity of the air purifier, aerosol and virus-free clean air zones are created. The viruses bound in the filter are automatically killed by heat, so that the filter remains hygienically clean for a long time. By using the TAC V+ air purifier from Trotec, you will protect your employees, customers and guests. Ideal for, for example, restaurants, fitness studios, hotels, open-plan offices, medical practices, shops, and supermarkets, etc. So that finally more people, customers and visitors can stay indoors again without the risk of infection.
Effective air purification technology for clean breathing air
The aerosol accumulations are invisible to the naked eye and spread several metres into the room, flowing through interior spaces as swathes of fog do – see the following real-time video: The TAC V+ sucks in large volumes of potentially contaminated air near the ground, filters out nearly all viruses and suspended matter within minutes and generates clean air filtered from viruses which is guided back into the room. The result is that suddenly occurring accumulations of aerosol are diluted with clean air in your breathing area to such an extent that virus load and risk of infection will be significantly reduced! Just as the room is entirely foggy at the start of the video to be completely fog-free after the treatment in the end, the TAC V+ can also free your room air from particulate matter, fine particulates or aerosol accumulations carrying viruses.
Why commercially available HEPA air cleaners are not sufficient for virus filtration in most cases
Large clean air capacity – high-performance filtration – filter decontamination – filter regeneration – noise level with large air volumes – versatility
Well thought out to a detailed level, unparalleled in its entirety: Because of these 6 advantages the TAC V+ – as is scientifically proven in several studies – ensures a technically effective and economically attractive solution to reduce the risk of infection by aerosols in closed rooms.
Large clean air capacity by high pressure and an optimum flow geometry
Only the TAC V+ has “the power to dilute”
The most important factor for reducing the risk of infection is the quick and effective dilution of infectious aerosol clouds directly at their place of origin, e.g. by a “Superspreader” – and draught-free and silently, in order to disrupt the operating procedure as little as possible! For this purpose large quantities of clean air, a high air pressure and an optimum flow geometry are required.
The TAC V+ offers all this: With a clean air volume of up to 1,600 m³/h, an optimum flow geometry and a flow pressure that is more than high enough, a circulation is established in the room within a very short time, ensuring that all the contaminated room air is effectively filtered.
Only air change rates that are sufficiently high minimize the risk of infection, this is scientifically proven. Where the effective treatment of the risk of infection by aerosol is concerned, high air change rates (exceeding a factor of 6) and therefore large volumes of clean air are indispensable, despite promises to the contrary made by other providers who advertise single to threefold air change rates per hour as sufficient.
Scientific studies have proven that the prerequisite for effective virus filtration is that the air cleaner used ensures a sufficiently high volume flow for the air change rate required, as is guaranteed by the TAC V+. In this context, the air change rate does not refer to a complete exchange of the air, but to the proportion of virus-filtered clean air that is supplied, relating to the room volume per hour.
High-performance filtration with a high filter efficiency
Only the TAC V+ is able to “effectively exterminate”
Only H14 HEPA high-performance filters like those used in the TAC V+ can even filter the small-sized virus-carrying aerosols (0.1 - 0.2 µm) from the room air, and this at a rate of 99.995 %. Therefore the filter efficiency of H14 HEPA filters is 10 times higher than that of H13 HEPA filters with 99.95 %, as used in most air cleaners!
99.995 % or 99.95 %? This may not sound like a lot, but exactly these two decimal places make the big difference between H13 and H14 HEPA filters! Virus-carrying aerosols are extremely tiny. And “virus filters” are designed to “filter viruses”. That’s why the TAC V+ not only filters the large, but also the small-sized, highly infectious aerosols from the room air which are not even filtered out by FFP2 and FFP3 respiratory masks and therefore don’t offer genuine protection. Maximum safety is only ensured by H14 HEPA filters!
Scientific studies, however, qualify that a filter performance beneficial to the decay rate pursued can only be confirmed if the volume flow of the air cleaner and the flow speed in the particulate air filter are sufficiently attuned to one another by an adequately dimensioned filter surface, a property which at present cannot be achieved with any other mobile air cleaner than the TAC V+!
Yet, H14 HEPA filtration alone still does not provide hygiene protection to a full extent. After all, the viruses have not disappeared, they are only caught in the filter, but still active and still infectious over a longer period of time. At the latest when the filter has to be changed during ongoing operation, an extreme health hazard is posed to the staff, customers, guests, employees, etc. Therefore indispensable: Thermal filter decontamination …
Thermal filter decontamination – 100 °C for 100 % safety
Unique technology – Trotec exclusive
Only with the TAC V+ and TES 200 the special, fully encapsulated H14 high-temperature lamellae particulate air filter is thermally treated and heated to over 100 °C at regular intervals. Specially for this purpose, the filter has been developed and provided with heat-conducting metal lamellae.
This thermal filter decontamination technology is available exclusively at Trotec and offers you several unique benefits at the same time! By heating the filters, the proteins of the viruses filtered out, which are relevant to the infectiousness, are denatured, and the viruses are practically destroyed. Therefore infectious viruses can no longer enter the ambient air from the filter, for example by improper handling Furthermore, bacteria, germs and other microorganisms are additionally destroyed.
This means that 100 % employee protection can be ensured during operation and also when the filter is changed!You could say, this is the “virus airbag” for more safety. It is there when you need it – and as long as nothing happens, you won’t even notice it.
Without thermal filter decontamination an air cleaner quickly becomes a virus spreader, this is also confirmed by research
Scientific studies substantiate the mandatory prerequisite of thermal filter decontamination to ensure effective virus filtration. In fact, Prof. Dr. Christian Kähler explicitly points out this mandatory provision in his study: “To prevent the room air cleaner from becoming a virus spreader, the H14 filter should be heated to approx. 100 °C every day for about 30 minutes, in order to destroy the viruses in the filter and prevent the formation of biofilms, bacteria and fungi without using harmful chemical additives or UV-C radiation.”
Thermal filter regeneration – hygiene protection, also from inside
No filter humidity, no filter mould and at the same time a much longer filter lifetime
Aerosol separators and virus air cleaners take effect where many people are present in narrow spaces over a longer time and exhale larger quantities of aerosols. Aerosols, whether virus-carrying or not, for the greater part consist of micro droplets – pure water, that is. Customary H14 filters may be able to “catch” these humid aerosols, however, they also catch additional problems. Since the increasing humidity in the filter causes it to start fouling more quickly. As a result, the filter resistance increases, constantly reducing the amount of clean air emitted and thus significantly reduces the filter lifetime. The fast fouling of filters at high loads of aerosols has been scientifically proven by field tests.
Moreover, the constantly high level of humidity favours the formation of filter mould or biofilms. Instead of eliminating a hazard, others may therefore be created. For example, a decreasing flow rate, shorter filter lifetimes and mould on the filter. Because the filter is heated to over 100 °C regularly, the entry of moisture, fast fouling and filter mould are not a problem with the TAC V+. Since the humidity is fully discharged again in the course of the thermal regeneration cycle, not only drying the filter at regular intervals, but additionally regenerating it again via its self-cleaning function.
With this innovative procedure the filter resistance remains low and the clean air flow remains at a constantly high level for a considerably longer time. Consequently the lifetime is much longer than that of other filter systems without thermal regeneration and decontamination. This is also confirmed by current studies, providing the following summary that is based on the analysis of the TAC V+ and its H14 HEPA filter with self-cleaning function: “Therefore it is to be expected that this filter can have a lifetime of several years, depending on the load.”
Hard to believe, hardly to be heard
The TAC V+ is an an air cleaning revolution of the silent kind
The task of qualified high-performance air purifiers is to make the utilization of interior spaces possible again – and not to make it more difficult! Nevertheless, without large volumes of clean air, the risk of infection cannot be minimized!
When aerosols are separated or viruses are filtered out, high air change rates between 6 and 12 are required, and in the medical sector up to even 20 times. Without these large air circulation rates, spontaneously occurring aerosol clouds cannot be diluted and filtered out safely and quickly. Therefore, depending on the safety requirement, even in smaller rooms of 45 m² you already need amounts of clean air from 700 m³ to 1,500 m³, which requires a fan with a correspondingly high ventilation power. In addition to the required filter efficiency and long filter lifetimes, however, an acceptable noise level, in spite of the large air volumes, is desirable.
The TAC V+ is the first and so far the only room air purifier on the global market that has been explicitly designed for the filtration of virus-carrying aerosols in interior spaces! That’s why a long filter lifetime and low noise generation were two of the key priorities of the design. For noise-sensitive areas, the TAC V+ can be equipped with an optional sound protection hood, if required, reducing the subjectively perceived noise by almost 50 % yet again!
Virus protection on the spot
The TAC V+ is flexible, mobile and can be used everywhere at any time
Its unique design makes it possible to use the TAC V+ everywhere it is needed and without any installation effort. Flexible, mobile and with its modular design, exactly as many TAC V+ can be provided as required by the hygiene concept. Variably adapted to the staff density, security level, type of application and room size. With the optionally available hose adapter, the TAC V+ can also be connected to existing air distribution systems.
Recommended by scientists: Only sufficiently dimensioned air change rates ensure protection against a risk of infection
Where the effective treatment of the risk of infection by aerosol is concerned, high air change rates (exceeding a factor of 6) and large volumes of clean air are indispensable, despite promises to the contrary made by other providers who advertise single to threefold air change rates per hour as sufficient. To meet these requirements, the virus air cleaner not only has to be able to provide corresponding volumes of clean air, but it must also be flexibly placeable directly in potential hazard zones.
Well thought out to the detail, unparalleled in its entirety – the six benefits of the TAC V+ at a glance:
- Large clean air capacity: up to 1,600 m³/h virus-filtered clean air, a high pressure performance for optimum air circulation and high air circulation rates
- High-performance filtration: Fully encapsulated H14 lamellae high-temperature filter “made in Germany” with flow-adapted filter surface for virus-filtered room air
- Thermal filter decontamination: 100 °C for 100 % elimination of viruses, bacteria and other microorganisms, preventing the air cleaner from becoming a virus spreader itself!
- Thermal filter regeneration: 100 °C for 100 % evaporation of the aerosols; self-cleaning of the filter, low filter resistance, constantly high volume of clean air, extremely long lifetime, no filter mould
- Background noise: the most silent high-performance air purifier in relation to the air flow rate
- Application flexibility: suitable for mobile and stationary application, “Plug & Play” for the connection to existing air distribution systems, modularly expandable
The TAC V+ is the only air cleaner on the market with a scientifically proven virucidal effectiveness!
Recent studies have established that the high-frequency air cleaner TAC V+ effectively reduces the airborne infection risk
As the only mobile air cleaner worldwide, the TAC V+ was specially designed for the purpose of virus filtration and in this regard has been tested for its effectiveness by several scientific studies. A study conducted under the direction of Prof. Dr. Christian Kähler at the Institute for Fluid Mechanics and Aerodynamics of the University of the German Federal Armed Forces in Munich has confirmed that by means of the TAC V+ the virus load brought on by aerosols and therefore an airborne infection risk in interior spaces can be substantially reduced even with the windows closed and without a proper room ventilation system.
“The quantitative measurement results show that, with the TROTEC TAC V+ room air cleaner tested, due to the large volume flow and the filter combination of class F7 + H14, aerosol concentrations even in rooms with a surface of 80 m² can be reduced by half within 6 - 15 minutes, depending on the volume flow. In the case of rooms of 20 m² the concentrations are halved within 3 - 5 minutes, depending on the volume flow.
Therefore, room air cleaners of the TAC V+ type make it possible to easily maintain the aerosol concentration in small-sized to medium-sized rooms at a low level. … Air purification units of the TAC V+ type are therefore perfectly suited, for instance, to provide for a constantly low virus load in classrooms, shops, waiting or treatment rooms, without having to think about opening windows and affecting the well-being in the room. Furthermore, in contrast to free ventilation by means of windows they also ensure a true reduction of the virus load, something that free ventilation can often not guarantee.
In addition and compared to room ventilation systems working without or only with a small proportion of fresh air, they also offer the benefit of ensuring that the viruses are actually filtered out and that they are not spread within the building through other channels. … To prevent the room air cleaner from becoming a virus spreader, the H14 filter should be heated to approx. 100 °C every day for about 30 minutes, in order to destroy the viruses in the filter and prevent the formation of biofilms, bacteria and fungi without using harmful chemical additives or UV-C radiation.“
In an interview with the news magazine “Spiegel”, Prof. Dr. Kähler summarizes his research results on the TAC V+ as follows: »If you run this system continuously, no one will manage to generate an aerosol concentration of an infectious level in a room!«
The TAC V+ from Trotec is the only mobile air purification unit provided with a special H14 high-temperature lamellae particulate air filter with thermal filter decontamination, with which the H14 HEPA filter is treated thermally at regular intervals and is heated to over 100 °C, a procedure which practically destroys all viruses filtered out and which, by scientific expertise, is therefore defined as absolutely indispensable for effectively purifying the air from viruses! Only the combination of an effective F7-H14 filter system, a perfectly balanced air volume flow and the exclusive thermal filter decontamination technology provides for an effective protection against infections!
Air purification with scientifically proven effects
The development and manufacture of technical solutions for filtration and air purification is one of our core competencies. The Trotec high-performance air purifier TAC V+ is the world's first mobile air purifier with which dangerous aerosol concentrations in the room air can be reduced to a harmless level within a few minutes. Confirmed by two studies by the Bundeswehr University in Munich, headed by Professor Dr. Christian Kähler.
We would be happy to support you with our many years of expertise in developing an effective corona prevention strategy.
Whether for sale or for rent: Trotec offers the right air cleaners
Whether you like to rent a high-frequency air cleaner on a short-term basis or whether you prefer buying it to benefit from a long-term use – at Trotec, devices and respective filters are always available from stock. Our expert consultants are also happy to advise you with regard to integrate your device into your AC system.
Purchasing a device: If you have any questions, please contact us via email: info@trotec.de or give us a call at +49 2452 962-400. Renting a device: Please contact our TKL hiring centre directly – by email: info@tkl-rent.net or under +49 2452 962-160.
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