By Priyanka Sambhav
Its that time of the year when we have no option but to breathe the ‘hazardous’ air. A thick smog engulfs our cities and its challenging to make out if its morning or evening because sunlight eludes. The AQI touches as high as 999 only because the meter doesn’t go beyond this. This situation pushes us to look for options that will help us breathe better. The latest gadget which has found a good demand to help us sail through these months are -air purifiers, which are no more a luxury but becoming a necessity.
But there are thousands of air purifier models to choose from and which one is right for you? While surfing for air purifiers on Amazon, I came across around 350 pages filled with roughly around 9500 types of air purifiers. Too many choices do not just give you the option but tend to confuse you as well. So here is a buying guide that will help you in selecting the right air purifier –
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Size does matter- You have to figure out the size and space of the room in which the purifier will be kept. Must evaluate the room space and the coverage capacity of air purifier. The bigger the room larger the coverage capacity should be. If you buy a small air purifier and your room size is large, then it may not be able to clear the air effectively, and you may have to clean the filters frequently.
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Clean Air Delivery Rate (CADR)- This is one of the most important aspect as this is the whole purpose of buying an air purifier. CADR tells us as to how much air will the machine take in and then throw out the clean air and in how much time. So be mindful of this aspect. The process of CADR makes the machine a bit noisy as the system is at work so if you want a quieter purifier then buy the one which is for a higher room size then run it n the minimum level. For a bigger room, you need to have an air purifier with a higher CADR capacity, and for a small room, it could be less.
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High-efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) filters- The quality of filter determines the performance of an air purifier. Thicker the filter, better it is. A HEPA filter is a mechanical filter which s a fine mesh that traps airborne particle and filters your air. HEPA can remove most of the PM 2.5 from the air and very minute allergens and bacterias from the air which you can’t even see. To improve the functioning of HEPA filters some of the air purifiers are fitted with a pre-filter. The air first touches the pre-filter and then move towards HEPA for more refining. Pre-filters can be washed but not the HEPA filters are not washable. They have a life of 6-12 months and need to be changed in this period. HEPA filters are priced between Rs 2000- 15,000. Few of the air purifiers are fitted with UV filters but this will escalate the price of the purifier.
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Air Quality Indicator- This is given in a digital format or LED indicator which changes colours and helps you in monitoring the quality of air. This is a good way to get an idea of the level of pollution in the room and also tells at what speed it gets cleaned. Some of them even tell you the level of PM 2.5 in the room.
Here are four essential factors that you must check when you purchase an air purifier. As far as prices are concerned, an air purifier can cost you anything between Rs 5000 – 50,000.
