How Portable Air Purifiers Work

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Three Strategies to Improve Indoor Air

There are three basic strategies to improve indoor air. These are source control, increasing ventilation and the use of air purifiers.

When there is an obvious source of indoor air pollution, especially gaseous compounds, such as from a malfunctioning gas heater or smoking indoors, source control is, naturally, the most sensible solution. However, when the initial source of the problem is polluted outdoor air, there is no way to effect source control.

And, in the case of certain allergens, there is no practical method of source control. For example, dust mites are practically impossible to eradicate and even though the recommendation of most doctors when a member of the family is diagnosed with pet allergies is to remove the pet from the environment, less than 10% of families can bear the trauma of such a radical solution. And there is no way of controlling the source of other naturally occurring allergens such as pollens.

The second strategy of increased or improved ventilation also makes good sense. Remember that one of the issues concerning polluted indoor air is the concentration of outdoor pollutants indoors. Therefore, diluting indoor air with outdoor air is a smart strategy and is done by opening windows and operating fans when weather permits. It is also a good idea to operate properly installed bathroom and kitchen exhaust fans to expel contaminants and moisture from the home as they are produced.

Increased ventilation has two major drawbacks. The first is the cost of heating or cooling outside air brought into the home. The second is that, in the case of allergy sufferers, outside air may contain many of the allergens that cause the problem in the first place.

The third strategy is the use of air purifiers, also known as air cleaners. Air purifiers fall into two classes; whole house systems that are typically incorporated into the forced air heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) system and portable models that are designed to purify the air in a single room or group of rooms.

The principles employed in whole house and portable air purifiers are basically the same, although the way those principles are applied may differ in order to address the technical challenges of each application. This article will focus on how portable air purifiers work.

If your home has a forced air heating and/or cooling system, an air purifier that is attached to this system can be quite effective. However, in order to be providing air purification, the furnace blower (fan) must be operating. Because most forced air heating and cooling systems operate the fan intermittently in order to conserve fuel costs, the air is not being purified when the fan is not running.

In addition, whole house air purifiers are able to reduce contaminants in indoor air, but not to the degree that portable units can. And, whole house units that perform well may be quite expensive. Although helpful, whole house air purifiers have their limitations.

Because portable air purifiers can deliver much higher levels of clean air into a defined space, they may be used as an excellent companion to a whole house air purifier, for example, in bedrooms or other rooms where the home's occupants spend most of their time. In homes that do not use forced air heating and cooling, portable air purifiers are the only option.

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