Central Whole Home HEPA System
True HEPA for every room, fitted to your furnace
Hospital-grade HEPA cannot go in a furnace filter slot - the media is too dense, and your furnace could not pull air through it. This is the way around that: a self-powered unit on a bypass loop off your return duct, filtering the whole house at 99.97% at 0.3 microns, with a carbon filter for the smells a filter cannot catch.
Already have one of these? Filters and service →
Why a furnace filter is not a HEPA filter
A furnace filter exists to protect the furnace. It stops the lint and grit that would foul the blower and the coil, and it has to stay open enough for the fan to pull a whole house of air through it every cycle. True HEPA is the opposite - dense enough to catch a 0.3 micron particle, which means it needs its own fan to push air through it. Put real HEPA media in a furnace slot, and you starve the furnace of airflow.
So this unit sits beside the ductwork rather than inside it. It draws a portion of the return air continuously, cleans it properly, and gives it back - adding no static pressure to the system your furnace depends on.
How it cleans
Three stages, in order
Permanent washable pre-filter
Catches the big material first — lint, hair, visible dust. It washes out rather than being replaced, so it costs nothing to run and keeps the load off the two filters behind it.
Two-inch pleated carbon
Carbon handles what a filter cannot catch by size: cooking smells, pets, smoke, and the chemical vapors that come off cleaning products and new furniture. This stage is the difference between this unit and a HEPA-only system.
True HEPA — 99.97% at 0.3 microns
Over 40 square feet of genuine HEPA media. Pollen, dust mite debris, pet dander, mold spores, and smoke particles are captured here, at the grade used in clinical settings.
Where this one is the right choice
It is not only the whole-home HEPA we fit. It is the one to pick when odors matter as much as particles, because of the carbon stage.
- You have forced-air heating and cooling
- Odors are part of the problem — cooking, pets, smoke
- Someone in the house has allergies or reacts to what is in the air
- You would rather not see the equipment at all
- A dental office or treatment room needs a set number of air changes per hour
- You want the same air everywhere, not room by room
How it compares to the other whole-home HEPA we fit
Both are true HEPA on a bypass. The difference is what sits in front of the HEPA.
RPS Whole Home HEPA
Carbon in front of the HEPA. Pick this one when odors and chemical vapors are part of what you are trying to fix, not just dust.
Platinum TrueHEPA
A TFP collector in front of the HEPA instead of carbon, which extends HEPA life. Pick this one when the job is purely particles and long filter intervals matter most.
Neither treats the air the way UV-C and PCO do. Where odor and airborne contaminants are the main concern, a HEPA is usually paired with Platinum PURE or the RPS PUV - or the MedicAir® Pro, which does both jobs in one portable cabinet.
Specifications
RPS Central Whole Home HEPA System
| Model | RPS-C3000 |
| Filtration | Three stages — permanent washable pre-filter, carbon-impregnated media, true HEPA |
| HEPA efficiency | 99.97% removal of particulate at 0.3 microns and above |
| HEPA media area | 45.2 sq ft |
| Airflow | 210 CFM |
| Configuration | Bypass — draws off one fifth to one third of the air about to pass through the furnace, cleans it, and returns it to the airstream ahead of the furnace |
| Effect on the furnace | None. The unit has its own blower, so it does not load the air distribution system or affect heating efficiency |
| Mounting | Directly on the plenum of a forced-air system. Return plenum preferred; supply side possible |
| Dimensions | 30.2 cm W × 39.6 cm D × 79.3 cm H (11.9″ × 15.6″ × 31.2″) |
| Weight | 17.5 kg (38.6 lb) |
| Power | 65 W — 120 V grounded outlet |
| Ozone | None — mechanical filtration only |
| Warranty | 10-year parts, plus lifetime service, lifetime trade-in and fire-protection coverage |
Backed by a lifetime service warranty, a lifetime trade-in allowance, and fire-protection coverage. Conditions apply — ask us for the full warranty terms.
Filters are stocked. Tell us the model and we will get the right ones to you, or fit them on a service visit.
- A tall black cabinet, about the height of a two-drawer filing cabinet, standing beside the furnace
- Three filters that lift out of the top of the unit, not the front
- The words “LIFE IS HARD · Breathe Easy” on the front panel
- An RPS logo with “Central Whole Home HEPA System” underneath it
- Flexible duct running into the return, rather than the unit sitting inside the ductwork
- Its own power cord to a wall outlet — it does not run off the furnace
Is this the unit beside your furnace?
A lot of people inherit one of these with the house and have no idea what it is or who made it. If this matches what is in your basement, you have an RPS Central Whole Home HEPA System - and we stock filters for it.
Already have one?
Pre-filter
Part no. 154101
Vacuum or wash every 90 days. Permanent — it is never replaced, only cleaned and dried.
Carbon filter
Part no. 184102
Replace about once a year. In a heavier environment — smokers, strong cooking odors, high pollution — every 3 to 6 months.
True HEPA filter
Part no. 184101
Replace every 3 to 5 years.
or call (519) 686-3595 with the model
Common questions
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It works with any central forced air heating and cooling system. It is fitted to the return duct in a bypass configuration and runs on its own power, so it does not draw from the furnace or add static pressure to the air distribution system.
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Yes. The furnace filter keeps the furnace itself clean and intercepts the largest particles, which reduces the load on this unit. They do different jobs - the furnace filter protects the equipment, and the HEPA protects the air.
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It captures the pollen, dust mite debris and pet dander the system would otherwise keep moving through the house. Those are the things most people react to, so less of it in the air can only help.
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No - but it works best if it does. RPS recommend running the air handler blower continuously, and since the unit has its own blower it keeps cleaning between heating and cooling cycles rather than only during them. If you would rather it ran only with the heating and cooling cycle, it can be installed that way.
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A filter that fits a furnace slot cannot be true HEPA and still let the furnace breathe - genuine HEPA media is too dense. That is why this is a separate unit with its own fan on a bypass loop; it can run real HEPA without choking the airflow your furnace depends on.
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Both. The carbon stage is there for odors and chemical vapors - cooking, pets, smoke, cleaning products - which HEPA alone does not capture, because those are gases rather than particles.
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The pre-filter washes and goes back in. The carbon and HEPA filters are replaced on a schedule rather than cleaned, and there is nothing to scrub out. We check it on an annual service visit.
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It draws 65 watts - about what a ceiling fan uses - and that is the whole draw, because the unit has its own blower rather than leaning on the furnace. Ran continuously, that is roughly 1.5 kWh a day. Set to run only with the heating and cooling cycle, it becomes less.
Not sure a HEPA is what your house needs?
Our technicians measure your air on-site and go through the readings with you - about 30 minutes, no cost, and no obligation. Based on the results and your interest, we show you the options best suited for your home.