hepa air purifiers

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Honeywell HEPA Air Purifiers

Posted by admin on 26 Feb 2010 | Tagged as: hepa air purifiers

In my researching of various HEPA air purifiers, it has come time to take a look at Honeywell HEPA Air Purifiers. At first glance, they’re not particularly remarkable. They generally occupy the low end of the price spectrum, and have the features that you would expect, nothing more, nothing less.

That’s when it struck me just how exceedingly normal Honeywell HEPA Air Purifiers are. Look closer and you’ll notice…nothing. There’s no patented Honeywell this, nor do they even try to compare to any other brand directly. In fact, Honeywell HEPA Air Purifiers, even when just looking at that product, feels like a sort of afterthought of the rest of the company.

Then I looked further into the company, and it was suddenly very easy to see why. To say that Honeywell makes more than HEPA filter air purifiers would be akin to saying “The Earth is slightly useful to use humans”. The company has produced thermostats, heaters, electric motors, computers, cluster bombs, land mines, missile guidance systems, and napalm, among many other things.  Within the realm of HEPA, you can get both a True HEPA Air Purifier, and a HEPA-Type device, depending on your needs.

However, there is one enormous blemish on the company record, and it becomes particularly ironic if you are considering a Honeywell HEPA air purifier. To quote Wikipedia: “The United States Environmental Protection Agency states that no corporation has been linked to a greater number of Superfund toxic waste sites than has Honeywell. Honeywell ranks 44th in a list of U.S. corporations most responsible for air pollution, releasing more than 4.25 million kg (9.4 million pounds) of toxins per year into the air.”

Er.  Wow.  So it seems that Honeywell is creating some of the air pollution that its HEPA air purifiers then clean.  There’s another way to look at that, though.  Honeywell doesn’t have a particularly high employee death rate (that I could find), so that means they must be REALLY GOOD at air purification, right?  Not exactly something you’d want to include if you wrote any HEPA air purifier reviews, but, hey, it’s information nonetheless.

Commercialism rules all, though, and all of this matters very little when a family needs something.  If you’re looking to pick up a HEPA air purifier that you can be reasonably sure will be relatively dependable, and will have filters and other parts available for it for the foreseeable future, then Honeywell probably makes the best HEPA air purifier for you.

Hunter Air Purifier

Posted by admin on 21 Aug 2009 | Tagged as: hepa air purifiers

The Hunter air purifier is an awesome value because it has lots of cutting edge features that are generally only found in the more expensive HEPA air purifiers. As air purifiers are still a relatively new technology, the cutting edge tends to be leaps and bounds ahead of even last year’s model. It’s been proven that Hunter air purifiers get the job done. These air purifiers have been proven to filter out virtually all allergens down to 0.3 microns with its HEPA filter, which makes the Hunter air purifier the ideal candidate for allergy and asthma sufferers. They can also reduce some odors with their separate carbon pre-filter. They’re great for home office, bedroom, and den use. Any room up to 323 – 400 square feet can be filtered with this air purifier. The Hunter air purifier provides a convenient digital display with great filter change reminders to take the guesswork out of maintaining your air purifier, as well as 3 adjustable fan speeds. The display even tells you how many hours you have left on your current HEPA air filter.

The Hunter air purifier is also a great choice if you’re wanting a HEPA air purifier that is light enough to be moved from room to room. This purifier even has side grips that allow it to be moved from room to room with ease. This is yet another reason why this air purifier is a great idea for those with allergies. The Hunter air purifier is also known to be one of the quieter air purifiers on the market.

Activated Carbon in HEPA Air Purifiers

Posted by admin on 08 Aug 2009 | Tagged as: hepa air purifiers

Activated carbon in HEPA air purifiers may seem strange to you, unless you own a water purification system which uses carbon or are an aquarium hobbyist. Even so, you may not understand exactly what it is activated carbon does.

For most people, though, the first time they encounter activated carbon will be in choosing HEPA air purifiers. Most customer begin their search for air purifiers due to asthma or allergies. As they learn more about HEPA air purifiers, though, they’ll learn that many of their respiratory problems come from chemicals and odors in the room. Therefore, most quality HEPA air purifiers are designed to address the chemicals and odors as well as the allergens themselves.

Believe it or not, humans were using activated carbon to purify water as many as two centuries ago. Even back then, we knew of activated carbon’s exceptional absorption qualities. It was not until the early 1900’s, though, that the stuff was produced in a form that could be sold commercially. Produced commercially, activated carbon was sold as powder. Back then, it was used only to remove smell or taste from water and to remove the color from sugar. As World War I got into full swing, we discovered that activated carbon could be used in gas masks to protect soldiers from chemical agents in the air. Not only that, but it was used for war time water and air purifying. At this point, instead of being used in powder for, it was used in a granular form. This was the beginning of activated carbon being used in many ways.

You’re probably wondering why we’re referring to this carbon as “activated.” Is there such a thing as non-activated carbon? Well, the heat used in “activating” the carbon is what drives out the impurities in the carbon itself. This leaves a place for the impurities in whatever it is the carbon is cleaning to reside. So activating carbon is kind of like emptying a sponge, only with head instead of pressure. After activated carbon becomes full, it can actually be reactivated by re-heating it. This is, however, not a good idea, and is considered dangerous and impractical. Non-activated carbon is basically charcoal or soot.

There are a variety of types of activated carbon, and it is described in a variety of ways, but generally activated carbon includes a wide range of amorphous carbon-based materials. These materials have a high degree of porosity (lots of holes) and a relatively large surface area. Basically, this means it has excellent absorbent characteristics. These absorbant characteristics are why activated carbon works so well filtering air and water both.