The HEPA Dome

[Ogre]

Tesla posted a demo of their HEPA/ Bio Weapon Defense mode. Cybertruck is very likely to have this.

This is also one of the short list of reasons I’m planning on upgrading my Model Y. Just likely not until after Cybertruck.

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[Crissa]

Too bad they didn't show the other car in recirculate mode. Still, cool display. There's a reason I started wearing a P100 while bicycling years ago.

-Crissa

 

[Ogre]

Too bad they didn't show the other car in recirculate mode. Still, cool display. There's a reason I started wearing a P100 while bicycling years ago.

-Crissa

They did show the other car for a minute and it was pretty hazy.

 

[Crissa]

They did show the other car for a minute and it was pretty hazy.

Yeah, but they didn't make note if it was just blowing air from outside or not.

-Crissa

 

[Ogre]

Yeah, but they didn't make note if it was just blowing air from outside or not.

-Crissa

Some outside air works it’s way inside one way or another, otherwise you’d suffocate. If you drive for an hour, you end up breathing whatever is outside recirculate on or not. If I were guessing, given the time they were doing this video I would guess it was just sucking in outside air. Hard to demonstrate and explain too much in a 3 minutes video.

The Tesla system keeps positive air pressure in the car and filters all the air that enters the vehicle.

 

[Crissa]

Yes, but they didn't point out if the competing car was in the most resilient mode or not.

-Crissa

 

[HaulingAss]

Too bad they didn't show the other car in recirculate mode. Still, cool display. There's a reason I started wearing a P100 while bicycling years ago.

-Crissa

Recirculate mode would have made it take longer for the cabin to fill with smoke but the end result would be much the same. Because even recirculate mode blends some new polluted air from outside to prevent cabin occupants from consuming the oxygen inside.

Also, the Tesla, in Biohazard Defense Mode, pressurizes the cabin slightly so polluted air cannot be drawn in around door seals.

 

[HaulingAss]

The Tesla system keeps positive air pressure in the car and filters all the air that enters the vehicle.

I hope the Cybertruck has this feature!

 

[Bill906]

The recirculate question is a good one. After thinking about it and rewatching the video, they mentioned the other car had a “standard filter”. So after careful review… I think the test was more about the filters used than the ventilation mode.

 

[FutureBoy]

Gotta say that is one very large filter.

What is the cost of that filter replacement? And how often does it need to be replaced? I know, city driving versus dirt/off-road driving will be completely different.

In theory, could we just replace the outer portions of the filter more often than the inner portions? I'd think the outer parts would get clogged much earlier than the far internal HEPA filter.

Oh, and are these parts standard filters that I can buy at the local store / online? Or do I need to have Tesla-specific parts?

 

[Crissa]

Recirculate mode would have made it take longer for...

Yes, but by not showing that, anyone who isn't a Tesla nerd is going to just shrug and think they cheated.

-Crissa

 

[HaulingAss]

Gotta say that is one very large filter.

What is the cost of that filter replacement? And how often does it need to be replaced? I know, city driving versus dirt/off-road driving will be completely different.

In theory, could we just replace the outer portions of the filter more often than the inner portions? I'd think the outer parts would get clogged much earlier than the far internal HEPA filter.

Oh, and are these parts standard filters that I can buy at the local store / online? Or do I need to have Tesla-specific parts?

Yeah, it costs money to clean the air.

You can always do it the old-fashioned way, just let the contaminates stick inside your lungs. Much cheaper that way. At least as long as you don't get emphysema, lung cancer, asthma or chronic bronchitis.

Seriously though, I use HEPA floor air cleaners to keep my house cleaner since it doesn't have a forced air system with filters. I selected the units based on cost effectiveness of the replacement filters and their effectiveness. They are just standard HEPA filter material without activated carbon. A 16" square by about 1.5" thick filter costs around $20-$35 (depending upon the brand) and lasts up to a year if your house is relatively clean. We need three of these to cover a 1200 sq. ft. home. A car interior is much smaller but has much higher filtering needs since it is out on the open road, in traffic dust and fumes, etc. However, in normal conditions Tesla recommends only changing it every three years. You can buy aftermarket filters to fit the bioweapon defense system on eBay but they are large and have activated carbon in them so they are not exactly cheap. Around $200-$300 every three years or more often under extreme conditions.

If my Model 3 had a big enough filter to allow true HEPA filtering, I would pay whatever the price was. I might try the aftermarket ones to see if they were as good but, for the regular (non-HEPA) filters I still pay the extra for the made in Germany Tesla ones. They are better than the cheaper made in China knock-offs but almost double the price. A set of two non-HEPA OEM filters for my Model 3 costs $34 and I replace them early, about every two years.

Remember, the cabin air system has to be designed for the larger filters for it to make sense to put a HEPA filter in there. The aftermarket sells "HEPA" filters for the Model 3 but I know enough about air filtration to know they don't have any more surface area and so they either are not true HEPA filters or they create too much back pressure.

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