05.07.08
Home or Portable Air Cleaners?
The big advantage of whole house systems is that you can keep your entire living are fresh. The units are installed in an out-of-sight location and they operate silently. Whole house, like bionaire’s air purifier units require less maintenance than portable and tabletop models, with a large filter that should be replaced at least once a year. One of the drawbacks to whole house cleaners is that they are considerably more expensive and they need to be connected to the ductwork by a professional.If you don’t own your home or if your home doesn’t have central air, then a portable room air cleaner is likely to be the best choice. Portable cleaners can also be found that use HEPA filtration. Because they use a fan to move air through the filter they can be noisy, but they can easily be moved to an out-of-the-way corner of the room.Portable air purifiers are rated in terms of Clean Air Delivery Rate (CADR,) a number that indicates air flow combined with filter efficiency. The rule of thumb is to use an air cleaner with a CADR that is two thirds the square footage of the room. A 15 by 15 foot room (225 square feet) requires an air purifier rated at 150 CADR.Whether you choose a whole house or a portable air purifier, several advanced technologies can help you get the cleanest air possible. Electrostatic, sometimes called ionic, purification systems use electronically-charged air to make dust particles “heavier” and less likely to remain airborne. The downside of these purifiers is that they produce ozone, a molecule that can irritate the lungs. It’s important to make sure the model you select produces less ozone than 50 parts per billion. You can also get germicidal air cleaners that use ultraviolet light to kill mold and bacteria.
