Best Home Air Purifiers
So, how do you select the best home air purifier for you home?
That depends on many factors. The two most important are the size of your room or home and which air pollutants you want to get rid of.
Let's start with the types of things a home air purifier can filter out of the air.
Airborne Particles
You may suffer from allergies from airborne particles like dust, pollen, mold spores, or pet dander. These are considered particulates.The best way to clean the air for these allergens is with a HEPA filter. This is because they have the highest efficiency in filtering them from the air as they pass through the air cleaner. This is important since the particulate matter that you will breathe in and cause a reaction are those that are the smallest and stay suspended in the air the longest. So, the higher the efficiency of the air filter the better it will be at removing these smallest of particles.
Gases, Chemicals, VOCs
Things like odors, chemicals or volatile organic compounds present a challenge as they are so small they will pass through the fibers in a HEPA filter.So, a different solution is needed. We suggest the use of activated carbon since it is effective for a wide range of gases and does not have the downside of creating indoor air pollution in the form of ozone that you can get with some electronic filtering technologies. This is why we only use activated carbon.
With some substances like formaldehyde, carbon on it's own is limited. To overcome this we treat our carbon to fill in these gaps to provide a complete and safe solution in our mod models.
Smoke Removal
Cigarette and wildfire smoke removal presents a complex challenge since smoke is make up of a vast mix of airborne particulates and gases.The best solution for smoke is an air purifying device that combines a high-quality HEPA filter plus treated activated carbon. Our most popular model for smoke removal is the mod since it does precisely this.
How can you choose the right size home air purifier?
Besides having the proper air filters it is also important to make sure there is enough air flow. Otherwise, the air in your room won't be clean.To help you know how much clean air is coming out of room air purifiers, a standard was developed. This is the CADR rating. It stands for Clean Air Delivery Rate and represents the volume of clean air that an air purifier puts out on the highest fan speed.
We list the CADR numbers for each of our products however several brands do not give this information, making it quite hard to know what you are getting.
To learn more, see this guide on how to choose the right room air purifiers based on room size.
A Close Look at the Best Home Air Purifiers
Best Choice: mod Air Purifier
The mod HEPA filter has a MERV rating of 17 and has been tested to remove 99.4% of all particles measuring 0.02 microns and larger.The mod has a real HEPA filter and an activated carbon filter that can remove many gases and odors. Our carbon filter was improved to give it 50% more carbon surface area, so it is extremely effective for removing a wide range of gases.
Having more filter media allows the air purifiers to last longer and give more effective results. It also means that the motor does not have to work as hard, as most of the air is effectively clean in one cycle. This allows the motor to spin at a slower speed, which not only reduces overall energy use, it also means that it can operate at a quieter noise level.
Will a Home Air Purifier Improve Your Health?
Air purifiers use many different technologies to clean the air, but the basic principles are the same. These appliances use a motor to suck in air, then pass that air through a filter, which can be made from many different materials. There can also be a UV-light chamber, which may destroy organic airborne matter. Once the air is cleaned, it is sent back into the room, filling a home with clean, healthy air.Air purifiers use a variety of different technologies, but one of the most common is a HEPA filter. Standing for High-Efficiency Particulate Air, these filters need to meet a high level of performance. They force air through a fine mesh that traps the harmful chemicals in the air, and they can be effective for smoke, pet dander, odors, dust, dust mites, and many other forms of air pollution.
A carbon filter is another technology used by air purifiers. This are highly-porous materials that can trap some of the smallest, most microscopic organisms, and they are commonly used for the removal of chemicals like VOCs and gaseous pollutants.
UV-C light is used in a few air purifiers to neutralize organic matter. UV light disrupts the DNA of cells, so when bacteria pass through a UV light chamber, they may be left ineffective.
There are many benefits of having a home air purifier, including the removal of allergens, limiting mold growth, and improving the indoor air quality of a home. But it all comes from one important benefit: the filtration and removal of air pollution.
This brings an essential question, however.
Will a home air cleaner improve your health, or is it simply a nice appliance that removes odor and particles, but doesn’t bring any improvements to health?
While an air purifier certainly can’t guarantee excellence, there are studies showing that having an air purifier in the home could cause improvements to your overall health.
An important overview of studies from researchers in India looked at the impact of air pollution and the benefits of using an air filter to improve indoor air quality.
The report issued by researchers started by identifying the potential hazards of air pollution, particularly air pollution caused by outdoor sources (industry, traffic, smoke) that have seeped into the home.
They identified numerous pollutants, including particulate matter, ozone, and VOCs, all of which have been linked to numerous health concerns.
These health concerns include both short and long-term effects, such as irritation in the nose and throat, headaches, dizziness, and nausea. In the long-term, respiratory issues include pneumonia and bronchitis. The researchers, who looked at 45 total studies to complete their overview, found that numerous studies suggest “that reduction in particulate matter and allergens results in reducing symptoms and in certain cases, preventing disease progression.”
In other words, if you use an air purifier in the home, you may experience fewer symptoms. The evidence was particularly encouraging for preventing and easing respiratory diseases like asthma. The study then concluded that cleaner air can be “achieved successfully through efficient air filters,” and that using filters in the home results in “significant health benefits.”
A single study from the Netherlands highlights the importance of air purifiers in a home. This study focused on exposure to dog and cat dander and the potential benefits of using a filter in the home. After a three-month period using air purifiers, it was found that “substantial amounts” of pet allergens were captured by the machine, bringing significant improvements to a child’s ability to breathe healthfully.
What to Look for in an Air Purifier for the Home
People looking for an air purifier will find many different options, but there are a few specific aspects that make the best home air purifiers.According to the American College of Allergy, Asthma, & Immunology, if you need an air purifier for a single room, you should have a product that uses a HEPA filter and a Clean-Air Delivery Rate (CADR) that is large enough for your space.
While industrial areas, and many commercial spaces, can get by with a noisy air purifier, the best home air purifiers will be quiet. Look for an air purifier that uses a powerful, efficient, yet quiet motor that won’t fill your space with loud, bothersome noise.
Having a quiet air purifier is especially important if you will be using it in a bedroom, as you certainly don’t want to sleep next to a loud, clamorous air purifier.
Although the purifier needs to be quiet, it also needs to be powerful. Air purifiers, especially the models intended for large rooms, need to have enough power to pull in lots of air from the surrounding area.
The Erik 650A, for example, is perfectly-suited for large areas as big as 1,500 square feet thanks to a powerful German-engineered motor that brings a max air flow rating of 413 on the Clean Air Delivery Rate. Combined with some of the most reliable HEPA and carbon filters you can find in the market, this makes it one of the most powerful while maintaining efficiency and noise reduction.
Above all, however, the home air purifier needs to be able to remove a wide variety of particles, as your home can have airborne mold spores, dust, bacteria, VOCs, pollen, and countless other forms of air pollution.
Your air purifier can’t simply clean one or two types, it needs to clean them all. To be fair, some are excellent for one specific type.
For example, the Finn, with its UV-C light, is excellent for cleaning mold spores. However, this purifier remains effective for pollutants such as dust and pet dander, so it remains versatile and effective.
You can often find air purifiers that list the noise levels, which makes it easy to select the right option.
Get an Outstanding Air Purifier for Your Home
You deserve an air purifier that will give you tremendous performance, reliable filtration, and efficient energy use.Whether you need to purify the air in a large office area or a small home, contact Oransi today to get the best home air purifier for your specific needs.
