October 2019

The quality of air that we breathe has never been more polluted than it is today. This is especially true if you live in a big city or are regularly around highly trafficked areas of automobiles. One of the biggest culprits adding to the pollution and causing poor air quality is consumer and industrial motor vehicles.

While it is true that we live in a time where electric car usage is on the rise, the ratio of carbon fuel powered vehicles is still vastly outnumbered by their gas guzzling counterparts. It is important for even the average motorist to maintain a proper air filter for their vehicle, but it is absolutely crucial for anyone working in or employing people in the transportation industry. Breathing clean cabin air may help drivers be more alert so they can finish their routes safely

Air and fuel filters are just as important to keep contaminants at bay. But, if you’re like most drivers and equipment operators, changing a dirty cabin air filter may not even be on your radar. Most people probably don’t even know that a cabin air filter is in their car tells us filters are generally ignored and rarely mentioned by service advisors during the service walk around.

As an industrial transportation company, it is your duty to make sure your employees are either educated on this matter or that your vehicles are properly maintained for health safety. AC performance will be degraded and inside air filtration will suffer if the filter is not serviced.

Cabin Air Filters

Protecting cabin air quality and the health of workers is crucially important for manufacturers of off-road vehicles and heavy machinery. Dangerous emission pollutants usually range in size from 2 to 10 microns in diameter and can severely aggravate the lungs when inhaled. A working cabin air filter will easily catch these and keep them from going into the passenger cabin to be inhaled by those who are in the vehicle.

Cabin air filters clean outside air before entering the operator’s cabin protecting him or her from dust, volatile organic compounds and potentially harmful particulate matter. In addition, cabin air filters also clean recirculated hot or cold air, based on a 60/40 split of outside to inside air.

On average, Americans drive nearly 14,000 miles per annum with an average of one hour and 40 minutes on the road. As traffic levels continue to rise, the air quality on highways and surrounding areas is drastically deteriorating. Dust, pollen and other industrial pollutants are threatening the health and safety of all people on the road.

A little-known fact is that the levels of harmful pollutants are as much as six times higher inside an industrial vehicle than on the outside, especially if there is not a proper air filter installed in the vehicle. To combat this, install a proper cabin air filter such as the ones made by EFS. These types of filters can prevent harmful pollutants such as spores, pollen, gasses and other volatile organic compounds from entering the cabin, keeping your driver safe and healthy.

Cabin filters work much like a standard HVAC system. These filters can trap up to 99% of airborne contaminants before they enter the interior through the heating or air conditioning system. There are three main types of cabin filters available on the market: particle cabin filters, activated charcoal carbon filters, and anti-bacterial filters.

Particle Cabin Filters

Particle cabin filters serve the primary function of filtering out pollen, diesel soot, dust, and dirt from the interior of the vehicle’s cabin. A proper particle cabin filter must be designed with a maximum filtration surface area in order to trap all particulate matter without slowing the free-flow of air into the vehicle’s cabin. These filters capture the largest grade of pollutants and as such, must be cleaned or replaced on a regular basis. Certain transportation industries will require maintenance on these types of filters more often than others based on vehicle usage.

Activated charcoal carbon filters offer enhanced capabilities to ensure the flow of clean air into the vehicle’s cabin. This type of filter is very successful in terms of keeping the cabin a safe and healthy environment for your driver. Much like a basic particle cabin filter, these commercial air filters capture large particulate matter from the airflow, but they also trap harmful gasses through the use of an activated charcoal layer built into the filter.

Fumes from burnt fuel such as nitrogen dioxide, and carbon monoxide, and sulfur dioxide are completely eliminated through the use of this type of filter. One other positive fringe benefit of these filters is the removal of unpleasant odors from the cabin air flow. This can also help prevent mold buildup in the ventilation system.

Antibacterial Carbon Filters

Antibacterial filters with activated carbon are essentially a three-stage, filtration system. The first layer of the filter will separate and remove larger particulate matter from the air (dust and pollen larger than 10 microns). The second layer traps gases and prevents the buildup of mold. The third stage is an antibacterial and antimicrobial that prevents any harmful volatile organic compounds that may have slipped through the first two layers. When it comes to choosing the highest-performing filter for your industrial transports, look no further than an antibacterial carbon filter with activated carbon.

Battery Cooling Air Filters

If you happen to be in the commercial public transit industry, you are probably using large buses. These vehicles require the consideration of not only the driver’s health, but the health of all potential passengers that use your vehicle. A special type of battery powered air filter has been designed for these vehicles than can drastically improve the indoor air quality on your bus. These filters are mounted to the roof of the transit bus. These filters can remove particulate matter as small as .05 microns without causing a significant pressure drop to the air flow or comprising optimal operating temperatures.