Air purifiers are devices marketed to remove pollutants and improve the air we breathe, but are they really doing the job?
With growing concern about air quality in indoor spaces such as offices, homes or schools where people spend most of their time, it is essential to know whether air purification is working.
What are air purifiers and how do they work?
Air purifiers are devices designed to remove air pollutants such as dust, pollen, mould spores, bacteria, viruses and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from the air using different technologies such as HEPA filters, activated carbon filters, UV light purification or ionisation.
Although these devices can help reduce the presence of certain pollutants, their effectiveness varies depending on a number of factors and it is impossible to determine their effectiveness without baseline data on air quality before and after installation.
Do they really improve indoor air quality?
One of the main problems faced by users of air purifiers is the lack of visible or measurable evidence of their effectiveness. Most purifiers do not include sensors to measure air quality before and after use, which means that users simply ‘trust’ that the device is doing its job.
This raises a number of questions such as: how do I know if the air quality has really improved; in which areas of the indoor space is an improvement being noted; what specific pollutants were present and has the purifier succeeded in removing?
Lack of monitoring sensors in air purifiers
One of the main reasons we fail to see the effectiveness of air purifiers is the lack of built-in sensors to monitor air quality.
Air purifiers tend to operate continuously, without adjusting their filtering capacity according to actual pollution levels. In other words, they remain in continuous operation with no control or way of checking whether they are actually improving the air or whether certain areas of the room need more attention.
This leads to inefficient operation because without an air quality monitor, the purifier will continue to run even when the air has already reached an optimal level of cleanliness, wasting energy and therefore money.
Depending on the size of the room or the source and concentration of pollutants, some air purifiers may not be fully effective, leaving areas where air purification is not achieved.
In addition, there is a lack of objective evaluation of their effectiveness as the air quality before and after the installation of the air purifier is not known.
The importance of air quality monitoring in conjunction with cleaning systems
To overcome the above drawbacks, the use of indoor air quality monitoring sensors has become an essential tool.
Before considering the installation of an air purifier, it is important to know the actual condition of the air in the indoor environment. For this purpose, sensors are used that can measure various pollutant parameters such as suspended particles (PM1, 2.5, 4 and 10), volatile organic compounds (VOCs) or carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide, among others (CO2 and CO).
By knowing the specific and real-time levels of these pollutants in indoor air, users can determine if the installation of an air purifier is necessary and which type of purifier is most appropriate for the pollutants present. By using a network of strategically distributed sensors, it is possible to identify the ‘hot spots’ where most pollutants accumulate and allow more effective positioning of the purifier.
By providing continuous information on air quality, the use of these sensors allows users to adjust the use of the purifier as needed. For example, during periods of low pollution, the purifier can be run at lower power or even switched off, and vice versa during periods of high pollution.
Having air quality data before and after installation helps to provide an accurate comparison to assess whether the air purifier is working properly, and even facilitates more efficient preventive maintenance.
In summary, while air purifiers can be effective in improving indoor air quality, their true effectiveness can be difficult to assess without proper monitoring tools.
The integration of sensors to monitor indoor air quality is essential to ensure that the air purifier is operating effectively and energy efficiently.
