The effectiveness of an air purifier depends on a filtration surface area, resistance to airflow and a reduced pressure drop as well as on the volume of air being filtered. The volume of air filtered depends on the size of an air purifier. The size of a room should match a purifier‘s capacity to clean the amount of air in the room. Therefore the size of a coverage area should match the capacity of an air cleaning device. The most effective air filters , called HEPA, come in a non-portable form. They are very large in size and hence cannot be installed into residential HVAC systems. Since they are so big in size, they have a great capacity in cleaning the indoor air and hence can be used in large commercial areas. However, this type of air filters is also available in a portable form and then their size should be considered before choosing them.
Air purifier size
Most air purifiers are available in various shapes and forms. Therefore a customer should consider what size would be the best to fulfill one’s needs. A bigger room generally has a larger volume of air to be filtered and hence it is obvious that a greater filter is then needed to reach a better quality of indoor air. There are several aspects to be considered in order to choose an air purifier of a proper size to suit in the room. First, a customer should check the square footage of a room. Every air purifier has the square feet listed under “product details: room size”. A customer should know the square footage of a room, where an air purifier is intended to be placed. If the square footage listed matches with the size of a room or is a little bit larger, then such an air purifier is suitable for the room size. Second, a customer should compare room air changes per hour. This indicates how often the air in a room is cleaned.
This is important to know, since the indication shows how frequently an air purifier is able to exchange all the air in a room. The number shows how many times per hour all the air in the room is eliminated from the airborne particles and exchanged with clean air. It also gives the number of times per hour the air is exchanged in a certain size of a room. The best effect is reached when the size of a room listed on an air purifier matches with the size of a customer’s room. Specialists recommend at least 2 room air changes per hour. Some manufacturers list air flow performance ratings when the fan is not switched on. This is an important consideration, since there is an increased resistance to the airflow when the filter media is installed and hence room air changes per hour can decrease even up to 60% of the no load air volume. And finally, a customer should compare clean air delivery rates which indicate how efficiently the air is being cleaned by a certain air purifier.
Clean air delivery rates
Rates are given for the most common pollutants and basically show how efficiently they are removed from the air by an air purifier. Clean air delivery rates are calculated for tobacco smoke, pollen and dust for each air purifier. The higher the rates, the more efficient an air purifier is against the airborne particles. The bigger the air purifier, the more efficient it is against certain allergens. These three factors should be considered before choosing a certain air purifier of a proper size for a room. If an air purifier is too small for a certain room, the quality of indoor air decreases immensely. Hence, special tests should be applied in order to find out whether the size of an air cleaning device suits the room completely and cleans the air in the room from various pollutants. Some customers might consider buying a smaller air purifier that is not appropriate for the room as the smaller the air purifier the cheaper it is. However, saving money on buying unsuitable air purifiers is no good as there is no use of having an inefficient air cleaning device.
