Consumer-grade air purifiers, how well do they work?

Not all air purifiers are created equal. While some work exceptionally well, others do little to nothing to clean and purify the air. One major distinction is between commercial and consumer-grade air purifiers. Commercial air purifiers are installed in offices, factories, and other facilities while the consumer-grade models are designed for home use.

Consumer Air Purifiers

Things can get a little bit tricky. As with any consumer appliance or product, you get the good and the bad. First and foremost it is important to understand that they are designed to be used in a room or a small office. They will never be able to compete with commercial grade purifier systems. They are generally small and portable and can be moved from room to room if necessary.

Sadly, there are many inferior products on the market that will do little to no good for the air in your environment and the air that you breathe. There are, however, some decent options that will work fairly effectively in small areas.

There are a few things to look out for if you want one that is effective. Remember, they will never live up to a professional grade units, but the good ones can help.

HEPA Filters

The first thing you want to ensure the air purifier has is a true HEPA filter. HEPA stands for High Efficiency Particulate Arresting. The reason we say “true” is because many so-called “HEPA” filters do not conform to the necessary standard. A true HEPA filter is effective against pollutants and particles as small as 0.3 microns and has an effectiveness of at least 99.97%.

There is no proof that a consumer-grade air purifier is effective against the Coronavirus although something is better than nothing. For best results and safety, stick to the CDC recommendations if you or a household member are sick or infected.

Charcoal filters

A HEPA filter helps to remove pollutants but is not that effective against VOCs (Volatile Organic Compounds), smoke, and odors. For that, you need a charcoal filter. An activated carbon air filter is porous and will absorb and capture odors and gasses in the air. Again, not all are created equal but the better ones are quite effective.

UV Lights

These can be effective but as always, you get the good and the bad. Quality UV lights added to an air purifier are effective against bacteria, germs, and other impurities in the air. They are expensive to invest in and the running costs can add up over time as the bulbs need to be replaced every year or two.

Ozone generators

Another popular technology used in some consumer-grade air purifiers is an ozone generator. The production of ozone helps to break down certain pollutants in the air. Too much ozone can be dangerous so these should be used with caution. They are not highly effective in consumer-grade air purifiers.

What does a consumer-grade air purifier do?

Whole-house air purifiers, if of good quality and correctly installed and maintained, are quite effective. This requires a forced-air system as well as ductwork. The issues are that the product, installation, and maintenance are costly.

The best consumer air purifiers use a range of technologies and multiple filters to clean and purify the air. They are generally only effective in smaller areas but the good quality ones will improve the quality of indoor air. As explained above, if they have a true HEPA filter they will be more effective and a charcoal filter will help to reduce gasses and odors.

What Air Purifiers Do Well

A good quality consumer-grade air purifier can help remove dust, allergens, smoke, and other pollutants from the air. This is provided that they are powerful enough for the room in question, used and maintained correctly, and positioned correctly. Those with multiple filters and technologies are more effective. A HEPA filter is essential if you want results.

They are not perfect and need to be used correctly but for a home environment, they do help to some extent.

What to look out for

Look at the technologies used and the number and type of filters the air purifier uses.

You also need to look at the Clean Air Delivery Rate (CADR) in relation to the size of the area you wish to use the air purifier in. This measurement will explain how often the air is cleaned. A CADR of 60 or less will be highly ineffective. A rate of 240 is considered to be very good. The faster the air purifier operates the more effective it will be at eliminating airborne pollutants.

The problem with consumer-grade air purifiers

The first issue is that they do not cover the entire house. Unless you get a professionally installed full-house system, you are not going to get air purification in all areas of the house.

The other problem is that most people do not replace the filters as often as is necessary. This reduces the effectiveness significantly. The better ones will tell you when filters need replacing but many people still ignore this warning. Using an air purifier with an old filter is pointless yet it happens regularly.

Air purifiers are also only effective against pollutants in the air. Heavier particles will settle faster and a slow air purifier will fail to trap these pollutants. They will settle on surfaces.

Other issues to be considered

One also needs to look at a few other factors. Noise is one of them. You do not want an air purifier that makes a lot of noise as this can disturb you. This is especially important if you intend to use it in a bedroom.

Ongoing costs need to be considered. While more filters will make the air purifier more effective, it will require more replacement filters. Give this some thought before investing in a consumer-grade air purifier. The filters costs can become a significant expense.

Final thoughts

There is a place for a consumer-grade air purifier and the good ones will help to some extent. It is important to be aware of their limitations and how to use them correctly.