Air Purifier Types

HEPA, Activated Carbon, Oxidation, Ionizers, Ozone... Confused? Don't be. Now days, having an air purifier may be essential for a healthy living, especially for those of us who live in big polluted cities.
 
There are different types of air purifiers (AKA air cleaners), so in this post I'll be writing about the different types of air purifiers available. I don't plan to go into complicated details, but an overall understanding of air purification technology is good to have, especially if you are planning to buy one but don't know which one to choose.
 
Filter Based Purification
 
Filter based air purifiers work by "filtering" particles and allergens by size. Air is pushed from a fan through the filter and this one traps small particles.
 
HEPA (High Efficiency Particulate Air) filters are said to remove 99.97% of air particles, 0.3 microns or larger in size. Filter based air purifiers usually have a pre-filter that helps prolonging the life of the filter by capturing larger particles like dust. Pre-filters can be washed and be reused.
 
Air purifiers that use filters are good at capturing allergens, but lack the ability to trap smaller particles, like chemical gases, odors, smoke, etc.
 
Activated Carbon Air Purifiers
 
This type of air purifiers are highly effective at capturing chemicals fumes and odors. Activated carbon filters are made of a highly porous material that chemically react to particles, these filters don't trap larger particles, but using them along with HEPA filters can be a great combination.
 
Ionizers
 
Ionizer air purifiers work by electrically charging the air with positive or negative charges and then capturing the previously charged particles with collector plates that have opposite charge. Most ionizers are fanless and noiseless, but because of that they move much lower amounts of air through the collecting plates, making them less efficient at cleaning the air. Even though they don't kill viruses and airborne bacteria, they can capture most particles. These units don't remove smoke or other chemicals.

hepa vac

Hepa

Air Purifier Types

Hepa