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Activated Carbon: Its Role in Our Air and Water Quality Product Line

Many homeowners and consumers hear the words “activated carbon” and “activated charcoal” used with regard to a variety of products, including portable and central air filters and water filters. Before we go further, please note that these terms essentially refer to the same thing. For the sake of this discussion, we’ll use the term activated carbon, or simply carbon.

Let’s take a closer look at what activated carbon is, and its value for the Denver Metro area homeowners that our team at Save Home Heat Company serves.

What Is Activated Carbon?

Activated carbon is a form of carbon that’s commonly used to filter contaminants and pollutants from water and air, among other uses. It’s created via a process that greatly expands the volume of the filtering material, increasing the surface area of carbon that’s exposed to the substances that are being filtered. Depending on the specific need, activating carbon typically involves the use of heat and/or chemicals to treat materials such as coal and certain types of wood. You may envision activated carbon similarly to the way a kernel of corn expands when making popcorn.

Put simply, carbon’s natural properties, and activated carbon in particular, are a desirable filtration material because of its ability to attract targeted molecules, ions, and atoms, and remove them from gases (like air) or liquids (like water) when placed in contact with it.

The Many Uses of Activated Carbon

In addition to the water filters and air purifiers that we’ll talk more about below, activated carbon is used in a broad range of other applications. For example, it’s used to treat certain kinds of poisoning, and also adds detoxifying properties to some skincare products – and of course, there’s those odor-absorbing shoe insoles that lots of people use.

Other common uses
for activated carbon include:

• Analytical chemistry
• Environmental treatment
• Agriculture (including winemaking and pesticides)
• Livestock feed additives and disinfectants
• Fuel storage and gas purification
• Alcoholic beverage purification
• Chemical purification

Common Questions We Hear About Activated Carbon

Since it’s such a widely used product, it’s no wonder that homeowners are curious about activated carbon. Here’s some of the more common questions that homeowners pose:

Where does activated carbon come from?

Activated carbon is often derived from waste products such as coconut husks, bamboo, waste from paper mills, lignite (low-grade coal), and even petroleum pitch. These materials are initially converted into charcoal before being put through the activation process. Activated carbon is also derived from coal and coke (not the drink! Coke is a coal-based fuel that’s high in carbon).

What does activated carbon look like?

Activated carbon may take several different forms, depending on the contaminant or pollutant issue and product application. These forms may include granular, pellet, embedded in filter fibers, and carbon powder, as well as other impregnated materials.

How long is activated carbon effective?

Manufacturers of products that contain activated carbon all agree that the benefits of the carbon component have a limited effective lifetime. The efficacy of activated carbon can range from just 3 months to two or three years, depending to a large extent on the product, its intended use, as well as the regular load placed on the product. For example, relatively inexpensive 1-inch ‘carbon’ air filters and comparably priced water filters often need replacing sooner, while products with more substantial or multiple carbon block filters tend to last longer.

Many manufacturers recommend replacing activated carbon air and water filters about once a year, but of course there are a number of variables that affect this frequency.

Indoor Air Quality Products with Activated Carbon

Several products featured in our air filtration line at Save Home Heat contain activated carbon in their design and construction. These include the following:

Lennox Healthy Climate Carbon Clean 16 Furnace Filter

Also known as the HC16, the Healthy Climate Carbon Clean 16 high efficiency media air filter from Lennox features activated carbon-impregnated filter fibers in a hospital grade filter. Our team is very careful about recommending this filter because of the additional restriction to airflow that it can add to systems.

HEPA Air Filtration System

The “High Efficiency Particulate Arrestance” (HEPA) air filtration system from Lennox that our team installs features an activated carbon filter component in one of its stages which, as expected, requires routine replacement.

This residential HEPA filter is highly effective and it carries an impressive MERV17 efficiency rating. Unlike the HC16, this filter does not pose airflow concerns because the filter media is contained in a special housing which houses an additional fan, whose sole purpose is to maintain proper airflow through the filter and back to the furnace. In the right application, a HEPA filter is a great IAQ solution.

Other Air Filter Solutions That Use Activated Carbon

Leading manufacturers such as Lennox also offer high-end furnace filters that combine activated carbon, a high efficiency media filter, and ultraviolet (UVA) light with a catalyst material, all in one product. The result is a multi-purpose air filter and purifier. The Lennox PureAir filter is a good example. While this type of product is a solid upgrade for improving indoor air quality, our more popular option is to install a separate high efficiency media furnace filter rated between MERV11 and MERV16, combined with an independent, high quality central air purifier. The REME HALO central air purifier from RGF Environmental continues to be the air purifier of choice with our team at Save Home Heat.

The REME HALO is considered to be one of the most effective, broad spectrum central air purifiers on the market. This popular central air purifier’s design uses ultraviolet light (UV-C) to create low level, airborne hydrogen peroxide molecules, mimicking the natural processes of sunlight, outdoors. The testing data and performance of this product are impressive.

 

Residential Water Filters with Activated Carbon

Activated carbon is also commonly used in several types of water treatment products that our team at Save Home Heat recommends and installs. Here’s some of the more popular ones:

Dedicated Carbon Water Filter

A dedicated, whole-house carbon water filter is typically an inline cartridge filter, sized to handle full household waterflow demands. Installed where your water supply enters the home – whether from a municipal system or a well – this water filter uses activated carbon to absorb a wide range of impurities; it also helps neutralize and break down certain chemicals.

Many homeowners have found these water filters helpful at mitigating the negative impacts of chlorine or chloramine in municipal supplies, while folks served by private wells also appreciate what activated carbon brings to the table to help solve a variety of issues.

PIONEER Pb: Superior Whole-Home Water Filtration

The PIONEER Pb, from Enpress, is frequently our go-to for high level, whole-house water filtration. This filter, which features activated carbon, is a comprehensive, high capacity, whole-house filtration system that removes lead, cysts and certain parasites, PFOA/PFOS chemicals, and more. With a filtration level of 0.5 microns, removes both particulate and soluble lead from drinking water. A great, whole-home water quality product!

The Purest Water: RO filters

Reverse osmosis (RO) water filters are highly effective water filters, and are commonly used in point-of-use applications such as kitchens, master bathrooms, and rec room bars. They typically contain several different stages of filtration, built into the easily serviced filter housing. While the RO membrane is the key filtration component in this product, RO filters often contain at least two carbon block filters, as well. FreshPoint Series, 4-stage RO filters from Pentair are the most common RO filters that our water quality team installs.

While RO filters can also be adapted for whole-home applications, the cost of doing this can be prohibitive, and the space required is significant.

Please contact me to discuss my air or water quality needs!