Phenomenal Aire Bipolar Needlepoint Ionizer Just Installed in Home
Was the cold plasma purifier ever installed? If so, what were the results?
Less than 24 hours ago, we installed a Phenomenal Aire bipolar needlepoint ionizer in our heatpump cabinet. The unit is located in the airflow: Media Filter -> Phenomenal Aire -> coils -> blower.
Background in Brief
Location: Southeastern US
We installed this after exhausting other options to eliminate the source of my wife’s mold allergies. After crawlspace mold remediation (from storm damage), encapsulation and installing a Santa Fe dehumidifier in the crawl, things were fine in the house in heating mode during winter. Then the heatpump changed to cooling mode. The damp coils must have created the perfect environment for organic matter to start growing again. Cleaning the coils was risky because during mold remediation one company might have used Sporicidin on the coils, which, according to the company that manufactures Sporicidin, should not be mixed with anything containing chlorine bleach, which at least some coil cleaners might contain.
We’d tried a UV light, but no matter where the light was placed, it reacted with something in air handler cabinet creating the odor of a hot beach ball.
After a lot of online research, we decided to avoid the PCO devices citing *possible* implications in creating formaldehyde, ozone, and ultrafine particles produced as the titanium dioxide catalyst breaks down. We decided to try a bipolar ionization device. The other option was to replace this 5-year-old HVAC, though we couldn’t confirm that the air handler was the source of the problem. (We had also had our 50-year-old metal ducts cleaned and the insulation removed during the mold remediation & encapsulation.)
Results
Though only anecdotal, in under 24 hours the Phenomenal Aire seems to have reduced household odors, so much so that I thought it had effected my sense of smell. When I opened a couple of windows I didn’t notice an immediate “fresh air” sensation but could smell the fragrant flowers of honey suckle.
My wife says there is a slight improvement in the odor coming from the vents. It’s probably too early to tell if this will work. (I would describe the odor from the vents that we’re trying to eliminate as a little like a sharpie marker, slightly medicinal, slightly sour. It’s very faint, so much so that most HVAC techs shake their head and say they don’t smell anything.)
Our Dylos 1100 Pro particle counter was giving very low particle counts this morning until I opened the windows. I don’t have a VOC detector, so I’ve got no clue there.
The Phenomenal Aire didn’t add any discernible odor to the airstream—no ozone-like odors.
Concerns
Calibration
How are these things tested to ensure the negative and positive ions generated are approximately the same?
Long-term Health Effects
Cons
Price. This thing is expensive and nothing about it looks expensive. There is something to be said for research and development, and for quality control, but I have no idea how many ions this produces or how balanced the productions of negative vs. positive ions is. My guess is that these are a really money maker for HVAC companies.
Warranty. The Phenomenal Aire has a 2-year warranty. This seems very short for a device that is so expensive and so new on the market.
Pros
The only maintenance required is to have a tech clean the needles (which actually look more like small wire artists paintbrushes).
Low energy draw.
Generates no noise.
If this works, I’ll scream its benefits from the mountain tops or just report back here.
Disclaimer
It’s probably apparent, but I’m not a scientist, health professional, or HVAC pro and some of the info I’ve posted here might be erroneous, in particular the info I’ve read about PCO devices.
I’ll report back here after this thing has had more time to run and any placebo effect has at least diminished.
Frank
PS
Might also be of interest to people trying to avoid producing ozone in their homes:
PCO to Glass & Needlepoint Ionization Ozone and Ion Output Comparison on YouTube. Test conducted by Global Plasma Solutions. (They sell needlepoint ionizers.)
Search YouTube for Global Plasma Solutions / PCO to Glass & Needlepoint Ionization Ozone and Ion Output Comparison. If the audio is very buzzy, you've got the right one.