HEPA Purifiers & COVID: How To Select A HEPA Purifier For Your Home
HEPA purifiers have been scientifically proven to reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmission by filtering the air and capturing viruses. (In case you’re wondering, here’s a research study on this: https://bit.ly/HEPASchools)
But what’s the best way to choose one?
We constantly get asked questions like this:
My room size is 30m2. What HEPA purifier should I get?
My room size is 50m2. What HEPA purifier should I get?
Have you been asking this same question and don't know where to start?
Learn how to choose a purifier that's right for your home.
Please Note
This recommendation is ONLY for the selection of purifiers with HEPA technology and nothing additional (❌ ionisation, ❌ plasma, ❌ UV etc).
A recent report from The Lancet COVID-19 Commission did not recommend purifiers with extras. If you'd like, you can read it here: bit.ly/lancetCOVID19
Getting Started With HEPA Purifier Selection
The two most common metrics for selecting an air purifier are:
- Room Coverage
Recommended room size from the manufacturer
- Clean Air Delivery Rate
The actual volume of air that a purifier can clean per hour, measured in m3/h (cubic meters per hour)
But before we go into this, its important to do a quick review of how HEPA purifiers work.
- A large fan sucks "dirty" air into the purifier. The prefilter & carbon filter remove larger particles and gases.
- The HEPA filter captures particles (including viruses)
- The "clean" air gets released back into the room
This process is called an "air change". The "dirty" air in your indoor space gets exchanged with "clean" air that the HEPA purifier has created through its filtration process.
Research has recommended that you need 4-6 air changes per hour in order for your indoor space to be properly cleaned.
Because rooms have different sizes and volumes, it is SUPER IMPORTANT to do some basic calculations to make sure you have the right device.
It's easy!
How to Calculate The Air Changes You Need
To determine the volume of your room:
Length x Width x Height of the room for ex. 5x5x3 = 75 m3
This means your room volume is 75m3.
To get 4-6 air exchanges per hour, you would need a CADR of between 300 and 450 m3/h. When looking for a purifier, try to find one within this range.
"But it says 30m2 room size!"
The problem with the room coverage metric is that ceiling sizes in Indonesia are not standardized.
Some spaces have a ceiling of 3 meters, some spaces have a ceiling of 5 meters.
5x5x3 = 75m3
5x5x5 = 125m3
That's almost double the volume!
HEPA Purifiers in Indonesia
Purifiers in the market in Indonesia are marketed at many different room sizes, but the most common ones are:
~20m2
~40m2
~60m2
~80m2
So how to choose one that works best for you?The first thing to do is to see what CADR each device has. If the brand does not have their CADR published, ask for it.
ALL HEPA Purifiers have a CADR rate.
I repeat.
ALL HEPA purifiers have a CADR rate.
If they decline to give you a CADR, don't buy from them.
Next, consider the following…
- What are the room volumes that you will be operating your purifiers in
- What is your tolerance for noise
Volume of the Room Matters
Each room should have 1 purifier - but if that's not possible:
Calculate the TOTAL VOLUME of your home to see what CADR is needed for 4-6 air changes. If you have a living room and bedroom, and the CADR is enough for 4-6 changes, just 1 purifier might be enough.
For example:
Total home = 40m2
Bedroom = 4x4x3 = 48m3
Living room = 4x6x3 = 72m3
Total volume = 120m3
CADR to achieve 4-6 air changes = 480 - 720 m3/h
If you get 1 purifier, it should have CADR in this range, but it will likely have room coverage higher than 40m2.
Bigger Purifier = Bigger Fans = More Noise: What’s your tolerance?
All HEPA purifiers have fans in them.
The bigger the room coverage/CADR the bigger the fan. The bigger the fan, the bigger the noise. If you get 1 big air purifier, chances are it will be noisy at the highest settings
If you have a large room or large homes, getting multiple smaller purifiers can be beneficial as well.
- As long as the CADR is sufficient, the cleaning will get done
- Having 2 purifiers on opposite sides of the room can help clean in 2 separate areas at the same time
To Wrap Things Up, Remember The Following:
- Experts say HEPA only (no plasma/ion/UV)
- CADR is more imp. than room size
- Calculate your CADR range (L x W x H x 4-6)
- Always ask for CADR before you buy
- Consider the noise - 2 purifiers are quieter than 1
- Get the HEPA purifier that's right for you
Thank you for reading, and we hope this information can help you choose the right purifier for your home.
If you do have a purifier, just double check on these things to make sure that you're properly covered and that it is the right CADR to keep your indoor air healthy.
Don’t Have A HEPA Purifier At Home?
If you don't have a purifier yet, the aria Pure40 is a great option. We built it based on everything we wished our previous purifiers had.
It has:
Room Coverage - 40m2
CADR - 350m3/h
HEPA Filter
App-based data & controls (connects right into the nafas app).
We're running a promotion right now on Tokopedia, for nafas users.
For 20% off, use the code
ARIANAFAS20
Click here to get yours on Tokopedia today.
