BlogMyAir.com WebLog Archive
March 21, 20004 -- Air Purifier Comparison: Biozone air purifiers
Comparing air purifiers has become a sort of oxymoron these days as everyone attempts to do the same thing. But, most of those sites are trying to sell you something, I am here just for the information. Ill break down Biozone Air Purifiers with the pluses and minuses to help you make a better decision in your air purifier purchase.
Biozone Air Purifiers: i.e. Biozone 500, Biozone 1000, Biozone 2000, Biozone 3000, and the rest of the Biozone home air purifiers. As you can see, these air purifiers are made for a specific square footage. For example, the biozone 1000 air purifier is designed to purify the air in areas up to 1000 square feet in normal conditions with 8 to 10 feet ceilings. If there is heavy smoke such as in a bar, then double the output and the biozone 2000 air purifier is recommended.
Biozone air purifiers work by producing a "Purifying Plasma" which is a combination of negative ions and a small amount of ozone. They are not termed ozone air purifiers but do produce some ozone which about 2% of the population is sensitive to. Biozone air purifiers do not filter the air and do not work in the same manner that HEPA air purifiers do. Many people are opposed to air purifiers that work in this manner since they introduce new components / molecules into the air unlike a HEPA air purifier that filters and draws the air through it. But unlike HEPA air purifiers that must have powerful fans and produce noise, Biozone air purifiers are silent - almost.
Biozone air purifiers use a UV lamp / bulb that at a specific range produces the "purifying Plasma" which then enters the room and oxidizes and removes contaminants with the ozone. The negative ions produced also remove contaminants. As you can see this is a totally different method of purification as compared to HEPA air purification.
Overall the reviews I have read on the Biozone 500, Biozone 1000, Biozone 2000, and the rest of the Biozone home air purifier family have been mixed but positive. Most Biozone air purifier reviews have been favorable highlighting the low noise level and the ease of operation. The price also seems to fit most budgets.
So should you buy a Biozone air purifier? Well, if your application is a bar or bingo room, this air purifier would do a great job. If on the other hand you are putting one in your newborns room, the jury is still out on ozone production for air purification (see my Feb 19, 2004 article).
If you have a review please send them to me at luke@blogmyair.com - next time we will discuss the HEPA air purifiers, I guess you could call them the antithesis of ion air purifiers like the Biozone ones we have discussed.
March 19,2004 - "new technology can deactivate airborne viruses, may work against Corona"
An air purifier that can kill airborne viruses and bacteria? Read on, looks like Sharp Corporation is thinking they have a solution.
More than just viruses this technology can deactivate a range of microbes - "The technology has been shown to deactivate airborne viruses such as influenza, mite allergens — which are responsible for most cases of asthma — and MRSA, a strain of bacteria resistant to conventional antibiotics".
The technology works very similar to current ionizers with a twist: "Plasmacluster Ion Technology is unique as it generates large numbers of both positive and negative ions, unlike other devices which only use negative ions. These ions form clusters around micro-particles and react chemically with them, rendering airborne fungi and viruses inactive."
Hospitals may be the first revenue stream for sharp as "the technology has been shown to deactivate airborne viruses such as influenza, mite allergens — which are responsible for most cases of asthma — and MRSA, a strain of bacteria resistant to conventional antibiotics."
This seems to be the most legitimate step in what has long been a promise of air purifiers - to free the air of pathogens and increase the quality of air purifiers. Most HEPA air purifiers promise to clean the air of bacteria and viruses but only in the air they actually filter. Since HEPA filters have to draw air through the filter to purify it, it has really become a fallacy to believe that they can sterilize a room. But a technology like this one has more promise since the air being purified does not have to travel through the purifier allowing for the purification of larger areas.
For more see http://www.todayonline.com/articles/16014.asp
March 13, 2004
More than just air purifiers I can talk about other areas of air expertise including portable air conditioners, window air conditioners, thermostats and heaters. Strange combination but... To start have you run into ads for portable air conditioners? These are air conditioners that are portable but must be vented, that hot air must be vented that is. When an air conditioner runs, heat is actually extracted from the air leaving the cold air to be returned to the room. well, the hot air has to go someware, and like a dryer it is vented outside. Well what do you want to know about heaters, I will post a resource page for choosing the right heater, take a look here - HEATERS. Thermostats: these are always hard to understand and even harder to choose. I can help a little. see the following thermostat resource - THERMOSTATS.
Im going to start on these asap and welcome an contributions. I hope to have some great information up by the end of the month.
Feb 29, 2004
http://www.internetwk.com/breakingNews/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=18200903
What does this have to do about air quality and air purifiers? Well all the spam I receive it starting to stink up the air so I thought I would read further into this article to find a solution.
The report states that "The U.S. took the dubious honor of top place, with 56.7 percent of the spam that Sophos trapped originating here. In comparison, the next worst nation, Canada, was the originator of a paltry 6.8 percent of the spam." This seems hard to believe and is contradicted later in the report. Here "Our intelligence suggests that a large amount of spam originates in Russia, even though it appears at only number 28 in the chart," Cluley said. Hackers there appear to be breaking into computers in other countries and sending out spam via infected PCs."
So does it even matter and can they ever regulate or clean this mess up? I have my fingers crossed but for the time being no air purifier can stop this stench.
posted by Luke 1:25 PM
Feb 24, 2004
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/040211/clw061_1.html
Being the eternal skeptic, this one is hard to believe, at least to the point they take it to. Sure, if someone is puffing a cigar in an office it will hinder work efficiency, but when does that happen? The essential point though is correct, a clean work environment providing indoor air is maintains and even spurs efficiency.
Regarding indoor air quality (IAC), this article reads "Most companies underestimate the impact of IAQ on worker productivity. Sick building symptoms like watery eyes, runny nose, general malaise and headache, may result from poor IAQ and make it virtually impossible for employees to concentrate and produce. There are several cost effective steps businesses can take to begin to champion good IAQ in the workplace, saving time and money, and creating a better space in the long run."
The report even goes so far to say that insurance companies have "embraced" the idea of pure indoor air and improved indoor air quality. Should we all go out and place an air purifier in every cubicle? If we did, all the air purifiers running would inevitably initiate complaints about the noise pollution...
Feb 21, 2004
We have all heard the claims - "perfect clean air" "safe for anyone anyware" "No filters needed".
How do you tell if the air purifier you are buying is going to work or do the job it is intended or guaranteed to do. Will that Ionic Breeze Air Purifier really purifier and clean the air? In the past 10 years a great deal of new technologies have entered the market. Consumers can still purchase traditional HEPA air purifiers but now have the option to buy UV air Purifiers, Ionic Air Purifiers, PCO Air Purifiers and more.
We hope to make your decision a bit easier by providing the information below.
An article written by the EPA concludes that "Recent research showed that efficiency of filters with permanent electrostatic fields (electrets) drops significantly when the filters become dirty. The filters show this drop in efficiency when collecting particles in both ambient (outdoor) air and indoor air". Moreover this report has questions regarding air purifiers intended to remove VOC's concluding that "it appears that the useful life of organic vapor air cleaners is a strong function of the chemical composition and indoor concentration of the organic vapors being collected and the relative humidity and temperature of the indoor environment. Lifetimes of typical commercially available air cleaners, under typical indoor conditions, are less than 1 year; under conditions of high pollutant concentration, they are less than 1 month."
Does this mean that VOC air purifiers or Active Carbon Air Cleaners do not work? Not really, it just means that we need to make better decisions as consumers look for true quality when purchasing air cleaners and air purifiers. Look for testimonials, don't by the least expensive system that just happens to promise the world. We are working right now on setting up a consumer comparison reference to help you out, in the meantime keep reading and send us your comments.
Feb 19, 2004
Although many manufacturers are now producing air purifiers that emit ozone, this may be more of a cost saving feature than quality addition. Read below what the EPA has to say regarding ozone air purifiers.
"The same chemical properties that allow high concentrations of ozone to react with organic material outside the body give it the ability to react with similar organic material that makes up the body, and potentially cause harmful health consequences." Read More?
Looks like "old" HEPA and Carbon technology may not be outdated yet...
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