Can N95 AC Filters And Other Cleaning Tech Kill Covid-19?

Examining their efficacy versus COVID-19

- Eric Tipan

So you’re going to back to work and while you’ve disinfected and sanitized your vehicle, the major concern is how not to bring the virus back in the cabin.

N95 AC filter

The Coronavirus Research Center at Harvard says that COVID-19 particulates can be airborne for “up to three hours.” Unless someone aerosolizes the virus by sneezing in the cabin, or the AC is in ‘fresh air’ mode and you drive directly into airspace that’s just been coughed into by a carrier (what are the odds of that?), having one of these fancy filters may be overkill.

N95 AC filters and HEPA (high efficiency particulate air) filters are in demand right now, some claiming to filter as well as an N95 mask. Just be careful with either one. The term N95 is becoming highly commercialized just like HEPA, which has been used informally in a variety of ways like ‘Bio-HEPA’, ‘True HEPA’ on everything from air-conditioners to vacuum cleaners.

According to the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE), real HEPA filters or the ones that boast of N95 capability must have 95% filtration efficiency at the 0.3-micron level. As good as that sounds, research shows that coronavirus particulates, including that of COVID-19, can measure anywhere from 0.06 to 0.14 microns, which is why it’s still imperative that everyone wear a mask, keep a safe distance, and wash/sanitize hands thoroughly.