Air purifiers are used to freshen up stale air,, which works by lowering the risk of health problems that are caused due to health problems and are instrumental when it comes to causing various infections in the respiratory tract, various neurological difficulties and can worsen the condition of people who are already suffering from asthma.
These devices keep you healthy by removing the containment from the air.
Air purifiers that use the filters of HEPA technology can remove up to 99.7% of the total % of airborne particulate matter that is present in the air you breathe.
Removing the containments in the air can result in various immediate and long-term health advantages, including improved sleep quality and enhanced life expectancy.
Key Takeaways
- An air purifier is designed to remove contaminants and improve indoor air quality. At the same time, a HEPA (High-Efficiency Particulate Air) filter is a specific type of air filter capable of capturing at least 99.97% of particles 0.3 microns in size.
- Air purifiers may utilize various filtration technologies, including HEPA filters, to remove particles, allergens, and pollutants from the air.
- Both air purifiers and HEPA filters contribute to a cleaner and healthier indoor environment, but HEPA filters represent a particular filtration standard used within air purifiers and other filtration systems.
Air Purifier vs HEPA Filter
An air purifier is a device that uses various technologies to remove pollutants from the air, such as smoke, dust, pet dander, and mould spores. A EPA filter is an air filter that meets specific standards for removing at least 99.97% of particles as small as 0.3 microns, like allergens.
An air purifier is a device that purifies the air in a confined space by filtering the air.
It has filters that emit ions of negative energy,, which react with the air in a room and then remove the contaminants from that air to give out fresh air that helps people with various allergies.
HEPA filters are air purifiers capable of filtering tiny particles using a larger motor. They work more efficiently by absorbing the air in the room and then removing the impurities from the air.
They work more efficiently to contain the spread of various viruses.
Comparison Table
| Parameters of Comparison | Air Purifier | HEPA Filter |
|---|---|---|
| A standard air filter can mostly remove particles that are 5-7 microns or more significant than that. | A standard HEPA filter can remove particles that are 0.3 microns in size or more significant than that. | Immerse the warm and soapy filter in warm and mild detergent water, then rinse it in clear water. |
| Area covered | Standard air purifiers cover an area of up to 2000 square feet. | HEPA filters cover an area of up to 3000 square feet. |
| Effectiveness in Covid-19 | Air cleaning or filtration is not enough to protect people from COVID-19. | HEPA filters can successfully remove Coronavirus particles from the air. |
| Cleaning procedure | Clean with vacuum cleaners if the label reads non-washable, or rinse it in hot water. | Seventeen watts to 100 watts. |
| Electricity Consumption | Forty watts to 200 watts. | 40 watts to 200 watts. |
What is Air Purifier?
An Air Purifier or Air Cleaner is a device that uses a filter to remove the contaminants in a room or confined space to improve the air quality breathing.
They are marketed to people who suffer from various allergies or live in areas with polluted air. The commercially manufactured air purifiers are primarily stand-alone units.
There are also air purifiers for industrial units, which are larger and can be attached to an air handler unit.
In industries, they are used to remove the impurities present in the room’s air before a product’s processing starts.
There are two types of air purifiers, which are classified based on their purifying technique. The two types are namely: Active air purifiers and Passive air purifiers.
Active Air Purifiers are those air purifiers that release negatively charged ions into the air so that the pollutants in the air react to them and make them stick to the surface.
Passive Air Purifiers are more efficient when removing pollutants from the air as the dust and contaminants are extracted from the air instead of sticking onto the surface instead of sticking to the filter.
What is a HEPA filter?
Hepa filters stand for High-Efficiency Particulate Air Filters. This type of air purifier is an upgraded version of the air purifier that is used.
Common standards require that a HEPA filter remove 99.95% of the pollutants from the air that passes through it if it follows the European standard or 99.97% if it follows the U.S. standard.
The particles which should be absorbed must have a diameter of 0.3 μm, and the filtration capacity of the cleaner can be increased to absorb particles with greater or less diameter than those above one.
This type of filter was commercialized in the 1950s. They are used to prevent airborne bacteria and viral organisms and the infections caused by them.
They are also used to capture the droplets in the air of SARS-CoV-2, crucial in stopping the spread of Covid-19. They are also used in vacuum cleaners.
This is used as the other air purifiers to benefit asthma patients or people suffering from allergies. This filter can trap finer particles such as that pollen and feces of the house dust mites.
However, a lot of vacuum cleaners that claim to have a HEPA filter don’t have it, as the presence of one requires more powerful motors.
Main Differences Between Air Purifiers and HEPA Filters
- Air Purifiers just let the pollutants stick to the surface while the HEPA filters absorb the contaminants.
- You can easily clean the Air Purifiers, but HEPA filters are non-washable.
- Air purifiers can’t capture smaller particles in the air, but HEPA filters can capture the smallest particles present in the air.
- Power consumption is less in air purifiers and smaller, but HEPA filters are bigger, and they can use bigger motors that consume more power.
- There is a chance that the air pollutants might re-enter the air after the air purifier is turned off, but HEPA filters absorb the pollutants, so there is no chance of them getting into the air again.
Last Updated : 25 July, 2023
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Piyush Yadav has spent the past 25 years working as a physicist in the local community. He is a physicist passionate about making science more accessible to our readers. He holds a BSc in Natural Sciences and Post Graduate Diploma in Environmental Science. You can read more about him on his bio page.
