Air Purifiers are often confused with HEPA air cleaners. The fact of the matter is that the two operate quite differently. Air purifiers do not clean the air by filtration as HEPA air cleaners do.There are two types of air purifiers.
First, the ozone/ionizer air purifier which uses two steps to clean the air. The ozone purifies the air by oxidation. Ozone is naturally occurring gas. It is created by nature when lightning cuts through the oxygen molecule in the air. It splits the O2 molecule into O3 which is ozone. The fresh clean smell after a thunderstorm is the ozone that has just been created. Ozone penetrates into the cellular structure of odor, bacteria and fungus molecules, rupturing the cell wall of the contaminant. After this process is complete, the contaminants and odors are greatly reduced. The second step in this system is the ionization. There are two types of ionization.
The first is needlepoint ionization where the particulate in the air directly in front of the unit is charged with negative ions. These ionic charges attach to airborne particles such as smoke, dust, pollen, animal dander, etc., forcing the particles to quickly drop out of the air in the breathing environment, down to the ground. These needlepoint ionizers usually cover a five to seven foot area in front area of the ionizer.
The second type of ionizer is called radio ionization. Radio ionization is a newer technology that uses similar principles as needlepoint ionization except that the radio ionizer uses a specialized and safe radio wave that ionizes the air for aprox 50 feet right through the walls in all directions. With radio ionization, you can actually drop particles { allergens } out of the air in surrounding rooms. One unit can often cover an entire home. These air purifiers work especially well on removing cigar and cigarette smoke and their odors.
Filtration. Air is drawn through a filter that collects dust and particulates. A common furnace filter works this way.
Electrostatic precipitation. These devices use two charged metal plates to generate an electrical field. As air is drawn through the device, charged particles are collected on the plates.
Ion generation. These devices act by charging particles in the air so that they are attracted to floors, drapes, walls and other room surfaces
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Some air cleaners may use more than one of these methods to increase the range of particles that may be collected. In addition, some air cleaners contain activated carbon and other absorbent materials that are able to remove odors.
In any of the above air cleaner types, they all have filters which the air has to pass through in order to do it's job.
Factors to be considered before purchasing an air cleaner include:
The types of contaminants which can be removed by the system.
The costs to purchase and maintain the system.
The efficiency of the system (that is, the percent of air pollution that is removed by the system).
The amount of air that can be handled by the system.
The volume of air which is to be cleaned.
No air cleaner will remove all hazards associated with air pollution or particles. In certain situations, air cleaners can help reduce indoor air pollution and provide relief from allergens and odors.
