Although the method for air sanitization plays an essential role in the effectiveness of the equipment, there is another factor that comes into play, namely, CFM. The rate of airflow, measured in cubic feet per minute (CFM), is critical to the process of air purification because it dictates how much air the unit can clean.
Put simply, if you need to clean 100m3 of air, but your system only runs 75m3 through the filtration equipment, you will face a deficit and potentially expose employees and customers to harmful pathogens. Therefore, understanding the right amount of CFM for your system should be taken into consideration at the earliest opportunity, likely during the planning phase.
However, it is also important to understand what the right CFM capacity is for your needs. Here, the answer may surprise you. Let us take a look:
How Much CFM is the Right Amount?
In our previous example, we stated that having too little power in your air movement equipment may unnecessarily expose people to bacteria and contaminants. By contrast, the opposite is also true. If your system moves too much air too quickly, the same exposure may occur. To illustrate this, a simple example may prove helpful.
Imagine you are trying to filter water runoff for a municipality, and you have a simple grate installed to capture large detritus like leaves and other biomass. When you install the grate you see that for the current flow of water, it is doing an effective job of capturing waste, and you set a schedule for cleaning to ensure that it functions without clogging.
However, during the springtime, when there is excessive snowmelt and rivers rise, you hear that there is more contamination reaching the processing facility, which is downstream from the grate. Upon inspection of the grate, you see that the rushing water pays no heed to the grate, and as there is so much volume, the grate can no longer contain all of the biomass.
This is the essential principle at work with CFM capacity. You overwork the air sanitization system, and it can no longer effectively clean the air as the higher volume moves through. So then, what is the right amount of CFM for your commercial or industrial space? For this, a simple calculation is all that is necessary.
How to Measure the Required CFM
Our friendly and knowledgeable staff will work with you to calculate the right air purification equipment for your facility, and we can even help look at the existing plans to determine what units would be best for your space.
