Like Tree14Likes

Is it worth the money to buy an air purifier?

Closed Thread
Page 5 of 5 FirstFirst ... 2 3 4 5
  1. #41

    Join Date
    Aug 2006
    Posts
    11,884

    More initial tests using the particle counter that kimwy66 linked to in another thread.

    Concentrations of 0.5-2.5 micron-sized particles per cubic meter this morning were:

    • Outside air: 26,475,000
    • Small room using a standard Sharp on medium: 1,023,700
    • Small room using a small Austin Air on high: 4,942000
    • Large room using an IQAir on low: 4,236,000


    My conclusions so far are:

    The Sharp is good. It's running at an acceptable noise level and brings particulate concentrations down to 3% of outside air.

    The Austin Air either needs a filter change or there's major air leakage past the filters.

    The IQAir running at low is not anywhere near as effective as I had thought it would be. It just doesn't generate enough airflow for the size of the room.

    There are some caveats or notes to this quick and dirty testing:

    Inside air is supposed to be lower in particulates than outside air anyway. I haven't yet established a baseline for non-filtered, inside air.

    Counting particles doesn't translate directly into any sort of air quality index number as gas pollutants are ignored by a particle counter. And PM2.5 recommendations are based on a different unit of measurement (weight instead of particle count) and a conversion is impractical.

    Still, I consider these figures better than no information.
    Last edited by jgl; 08-01-2014 at 11:03 AM.
    Kfay likes this.

Closed Thread
Page 5 of 5 FirstFirst ... 2 3 4 5