More Affordable & Reliable Approach to Clean Air
Viso Cigars uses Air Purification & Ventilation
By combining room ventilation with air purification Viso Cigars in McKinney Texas gets the benefit of lower air conditioning costs and a lower cost of smoke eating equipment. The (4) LakeAir HEPA smoke eaters do a great job removing smoke from the shop. If the smoke ever gets to thick the ventilation system can quickly remove the excess smoke. This combination allows Viso to keep the temperature inside at 68 even when its 103 degrees outside.
For a busy cigar establishment achieving the 20 air change per hour goal can be pretty expensive. You probably only need the full 20 air changes when the shop is at peak capacity. Depending on your customer traffic cycle you may only need full strength air purification a few hours a night.
You can supplement air purification with up to 40% ventilation. This can save the average shop thousands of dollars in air purification equipment cost. Inversely, your HVAC bills may cost you more.
3 Steps to Clean and Affordable Air Quality in one easy to use Tool.
By taking these 3 steps you can improve the air quality in your cigar establishment. These steps include
- Determine the amount of Air purification & Ventilation you need.
- Balance air purification and ventilation to improve the air quality and reduce your operating cost
- Choose the air purifying equipment that is best for your budget and your maintenance style
Determine Amount Air Filtration / Ventilation Needed for Your Location.
The following calculating tool allows you to input most of the pertinent information about your shop. Here is a list of the things you will enter. We will explain them so its easy to understand. Experimenting with the Cigar Shop Ventilation Calculator will help
Smoking Area Size (dimensions)
(1) Enter the size of your shop. This information should be entered in the number of feet. You will enter the smoking area’s length, width and ceiling height. If the ceiling is sloped,, enter the average height. The areas square footage is shown in the right most display. If there are rooms in this area that don’t need air purification reduce the size by that amount. Don’t worry if you are a little off. This tool is to give you approximates. We can always adjust the final figures later.
Air Purification / Ventilation Split
(2) Choose a split between air purification and ventilation. A Slider is provided for this selection, the slider is broken down in increments of 5%. The more Air Purification you choose the higher your initial cost of equipment will be. There will also be a higher cost in filter maintenance. On the other hand the more Ventilation you choose the higher your HVAC bills will be. In some cases local ordinances may limit how much smoke you can evacuate to the outside of your building. in still other cases it may not be possible to vent your smoke outside at all.
Level of Cleanliness
(3) Choose a level of air purification. You have 4 choices,10-13 ACH (air changes per hour) is the default and the minimum level you should choose. This level will remove a good bit of smoke but expect a smoky haze may be present as your shop gets more busy. 14-16 ACH will remove the smoke pretty well even when your shop is moderately busy. 17-20 ACH is where we like to steer people. At this level of air purification, your shop air is clean and only gets hazy when you are very busy. 21-25 ACH gives your shop very clean air. Running your air purifiers at this level will likely make your shop the cleanest in the area.
Background Noise
(4) For some shop owners the amount of background noise created by the air purification is not an issue, others want their shops to be quiet. The 4th choice on the calculator chooses a noise level. The calculator adds a percentage of CFM to the total needed based on your choice. “Background noise not a Concern” calculates your air purification & ventilation needs based on running your equipment a full speed. This setting obviously will leave you the most (and loudest) background noise. Moderate Background Noise, calculates your required air volume +46%. This will allow you to have your desired cleaning level with 25% of the noise. The 3rd level of noise reduction adds 75% more cleaning volume to your total requirement. This amount of air purification will allow you to operate at your prescribed air quality level and provide a 50% noise reduction. The highest level of noise reduction shown in our calculator is 75%. At this level of noise reduction it will take 150% more cleaning volume to achieve the 75% noise reduction. The Calculator also provides a you with an example of this sound level in real world terms.
Choosing a Filtration Type
(5) In this section you can choose a filtration type. You will notice as you choose different filtration types you final cost goes up and down. Each filtration type has its pluses and minuses.
- MERV 15 has a lower filter replacement cost but only removes 95% of the smoke. It save you money at the cost of dirtier air.
- HEPA gives you the cleanest air but carries a higher cost of filter replacement
- Electrostatic saves you money on filter replacement costs, but it requires frequent cleaning. The cleaning level starts at 97% but that efficiency drops as time goes by. We estimate the efficiency drops 1-3% per week.
Air Flow Breakdown and Calculator Summary
The first part section provides you with information on your total air flow requirements, based on the choices made further up in the calculator. This entire section is calculated “dynamically” and provides instant results as you change any information entered above.
The summary shows you what you chose above and what the resulting choices represents in the cost of cleaning the air in your Cigar shop / lounge / bar. The summary provides an estimate on what your replacement filter cost will be based on your filtration type. This cost is based on average costs and our recommended filter replacement schedules.
Calculator Takeaways
We strongly suggest you play with the settings. Look at how performance and cost is affected by changing the different variables. If you would like help or more information about using the calculator please call 262-632-1229 for personal help.
This calculator is to educate the consumer. Whether you buy your air purification system from LakeAir or another company the results are going to be fairly close. We use sound and power statistics provided by the blower manufacturer. These air volume and resulting noise levels are documented and reliable.
Lastly if you would like to have us contact you with more information add your email address and phone number in the last fields and hit submit. One of our Air Purification specialist will contact you.
The Commercial Cigar Air Purification Calculator allows you to quickly see how much air purification and ventilation you need.
Optimize your air quality with a Power Vent
Adding a power vent to remove the cigar smoke is one approach. A power vent will pull smoky air from your shop and dump it outside. Clean air from neighboring areas or outside will fill the void. Clean air from outside is the best way to clean the air in shop. However its not always the most cost effective. Depending on your location you maybe spending more when you exhaust air that you have paid to heat or cool.
In almost all instances adding clean air form outside is a good idea. By removing smoky air you are not only removing smoke, but some poisonous gases. Some of these gases like carbon monoxide cannot be removed by air purification. Finding the balance between ventilation and air purification is the sweet spot.
Choosing when to use your ventilation system is Key. The Best times to use your ventilation system are:
- When the temperature outside does not require you to heat or cool the air
- When your Air Purification System is being overtaxed by many smokers
- At the end of your day when your heating and cooling needs are lessened
- intake Vent Size 24″ x 24″
- Power Vent Dimensions 24″x 24″ x 10″
- Vent Capacity 100-1050 CFM
- Power Use 120 vole AC 3 amp
- Speed Control Variable
- Fan Noise 41-72 dB(A) @ 15′
- Duct Size 8″ or 12″
Price $985.00
Help Choosing the Best filtration type for Your Location
Through out our website we talk about what is the best way to filter the smoke from air. The truth is there is no single answer. Every location and every situation may require a separate approach. In the next section we will briefly visit the 3 options in filtration.
Purify the Air with a Smoke Eater
HEPA Filtration
- All LakeAir HEPA units have an MSRP of $2295.00
- The average annual filter replacement cost is $700.00
The Cleanest Solution
HEPA filtration offers the cleanest air in a single pass. Smoke goes in and never comes out. HEPA filtration is easy to maintain. In the busiest of cigar lounges the Filter only needs to be changed every 6 months.
The downside is HEPA filtration costs 33% more than its less efficient cousin the MERV 15 filter. It also allows 18% less air flow. However with a properly sized blower it more than makes up for it in overall efficiency.
In Comparing the HEPA filter to it’s electrostatic counterpart, when looking at clean air flow it has 25% less clean air flow. The trade-off is the need for regular filter washing (about every 8 weeks).
Overall we suggest HEPA Filtration more often than any other filtration type.
Electrostatic Filtration
- All LakeAir Electrostatic units have an MSRP of $2495.00
- The average annual filter replacement cost is $300.00
High Volume Air Purification
An Electrostatic Filter Cell offers great smoke removal along with a higher volume of air flow. The 97% efficiency exceeds all media filters. Only the HEPA filter provides cleaner air in a single pass. In a standard system the filter replacement cost is 58% less than the average HEPA/Media system.
The downside here is the average 11% higher cost in equipment and the extra work needed to remove, wash and replace the electrostatic filter cell. Figure on spending 1-2 hours a month cleaning the filter cell every 8 weeks.
When the filter cell is clean, the system achieves that 97% efficiency. We estimate that the filter loses 1-3% efficiency every week by the time 8 weeks are up the efficiency could drop to low as 73%.
MERV 15 Filtration
- All LakeAir MERV 15 units have an MSRP of $2150.00
- The average annual filter replacement cost is $560.00
Budget Air Purification
The MERV 15 filter provides shop owners an acceptable way to clean the air even if they are a tight budget. MERV 15 units cost 11% less than their more efficient counter parts. The filters remove 95% of the smoke from the air. They are easy to replace and you can always substitute a HEPA Filter at any time in the future.
The only real downside to MERV 15 filtration is the lower cleaning efficiency.
Why LakeAir?
Why should you listen to the team at LakeAir about cigar room air quality? There are a couple of reasons:
- We are the only American Smoke Eater Manufacturer that is a member of the Premium Cigar Association.
- We are the only Smoke Eater manufacturer who is a member of the Boutique Cigar Association.
- We have the Largest Line of Smoke Eaters in the USA; offering models from the floor to the ceiling and everywhere in between.
- Our Website teaches cigar shop owners to be Smarter Consumers; Offering information on current technology, proper system sizing and 1 to 1 help in Air Purification System Design
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LakeAir @ PCA 2023
LakeAir deidcates a large portion of its attention to the Cigar Industry. The Cigar Industry is important to LakeAir.
4 Different Mounting Options
LakeAir Cigar Smoke Eaters mount anywhere from the Floor to the Ceiling and everywhere in between
Customer Education
LakeAir believes an informed consumer makes the best customer. Learn about your needs at LakeAir.
There are many aspects that create the best experience for a cigar lover. First of all you need to start with a great cigar. We will leave that to you. Creating an environment where your customers can truly enjoy that cigar, that’s something we can help with.
