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HEPA filters really help you get pristine air quality. Large commercial buildings and aircraft have them. More expensive cars, sometimes. For homes, I think mo
by henvic 6y ago
HEPA filters really help you get pristine air quality.
Large commercial buildings and aircraft have them. More expensive cars, sometimes. For homes, I think most people don't have it. However, I imagine it might be more popular in some colder areas with central A/C units.
I have purchased two Philips purifiers...
In October, I bought the AC3259. We use it in the bedroom. It's great, and you can use the Air Matters application on your phone to see how the air quality of your place is. At the end of March, I bought the Philips AC3829/10. It's a purifier + humidifier unit and is more practical, and I use it in the living room.
Our apartment is only about 78 square meters, so using both is a little overkill, but we have a fluffy dog, so definitely, it's making a difference to our health.
We (two people + dog) spent most of the time in the living room these days, and we have to clean the purifier in the bedroom every day, but the one in the living room only about a week or so.
I'd recommend getting a large purifier with a HEPA filter to anyone concerned about their health these days.
- ornornor 6y agoAFAIK, home air purifiers are just theatre. 1. There is no way you’re getting a right seal all the way through the purifier because if you did it would cost orders of magnitude more. So there is air being sucked in around the filter and along the way that mixes with the filtered air 2. I seem to remember virus (and smells or VOCs) are way too small to be caught by a hepa filter so they just float right through 3. Some filters have a uv light in them. But they’re inefficient because not all the air is exposed, the exposition duration is too short, and it generates ozone as a side effect (probably not great to breath in large quantities) 4. They do an ok job at catching dust particles for allergy sufferers and some of the pollen
- henvic 6y agoI'm surprised you are saying a purifier with a HEPA filter might be this bad. Orders of magnitude more? Are we talking about the same category of products? What is your source saying HEPA filter doesn't filter viruses? Do you any data to back up your claims? Regarding UV light, I agree that it might not be too effective... (but I had a great experience with using one on my aquarium a long time ago).
- ornornor 6y agoI think this page sums it up in a helpful way: https://thewirecutter.com/reviews/best-air-purifier/ https://thewirecutter.com/reviews/best-air-purifier/ Whatever you think of the wirecutter’s picks and impartiality or lack thereof, I find the parts where they explain what matters in any given product category and how they picked helpful in educating myself. I see they recently updated this particular one in light of the virus (I read this article a few years ago and there were no coronavirus concerns then)
- mhb 6y ago1. Why does this matter? It's not going in a window and the room is not sealed. The air purifier has multiple chances to filter air that has bypassed the filter the first time. 2. HEPA filters and various other filter media claim to filter viruses. So I think your recollection is incorrect. See: https://www.epa.gov/indoor-air-quality-iaq/what-merv-rating-1 https://www.epa.gov/indoor-air-quality-iaq/what-merv-rating-...
- ashtonkem 6y agoYou know, you can test how well an air filter performs; the diagnostic equipment isn’t that expensive. https://smartairfilters.com/en/blog/what-is-the-best-air-purifier-on-the-market-today/ https://smartairfilters.com/en/blog/what-is-the-best-air-pur...
- rkagerer 6y agoI recognize the meter used in that article, looks like a Dylos DC1100 Pro or similar. I own one, they're a bit better than the worst consumer ones, but not of the caliber I would expect for an article doing investigative research. You could certainly get a sense of "better/worse" but I'd be skeptical of any quantitative readings (I've seen mine be off by an order of magnitude or more)
- rkagerer 6y agoAlso cheap, consumer grade particle counters such as the one the commenter is likely using for monitoring are notoriously inaccurate. I own a mid-level, optical based counter and even it drifts without regular calibration.
- CWuestefeld 6y agodefinitely, it's making a difference to our health. I'd want to see citations showing that (absent serious allergies) there's any health benefit to "purified" air. Not only do I have trouble seeing normal ambient air (like with my windows open) as a problem, but there is some reason to think that "impurities" may be beneficial, to a degree. For example, there are some studies showing that peanut allergies may be caused by failure to expose kids to allergens early-on. And others showing that giving your immune system something constructive to do can (a) help keep it strong (this evidence is probably weaker); and (b) help with some auto-immune disorders.
- henvic 6y agoI don't have a serious allergy I know of, but I'm sleeping better, and I'm sure that at least some of the dirt I remove from the purifier regularly would be floating in the air. I don't say you're wrong, and I don't have anything against being out in the open, but not everyone lives in the middle of nowhere with good air quality (besides things such as allergies, dog fur all around, etc.).
- ashtonkem 6y agoI mean, filtering out PM2.5 would have extremely clear and well known health benefits; PM2.5 is really hard on the human lungs.