Energy Efficiency: Energy Star Rated Room Air Purifiers

A typical room air purifier will use about 800 kWh of energy per year if operating continuously. This is 50 percent more power used than a new refrigerator. Energy Star qualified room air purifiers are 35 percent more energy efficient than typical room air purifiers, saving 215 kWh per year and $16 dollars per year on utility bills.

To be Energy Star qualified, an air purifier must adhere to strict energy efficiency guidelines set by the US Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Energy. These guidelines include:

- Using less energy to remove dust, pollen and other particles from indoor air.
- Offering features like clocks and remote controls and consume less than 2 watts of power while in standby mode.
- A CADR/Watt ratio is used to determine whether a room air purifier qualifies for Energy Star. The CADR (clean air delivery rate) measures the amount of contaminant-free air delivered by an air purifier.

Choosing an Energy Star room air purifier saves energy and prevents pollution and global warming without decreasing product quality or performance.

Some Energy Star rated room air purifiers:

Blueair ECO10: These highly effective room air purifiers were designed with a focus on quality, energy efficiency and environmental care. While saving you money and energy they improve indoor air quality by removing pollen, pet dander, mold spores, smoke, dust and other airborne pollutants.

Electrolux Oxygen3 and Oxygen Ultra: Electrolux realizes that people are concerning about rising energy costs. That is why they have developed these Energy Star certified room air purifiers. They use a little energy as a nightlight bulb (7 watts) at a typical rate of use which costs you only pennies a day.

Sharp air purifiers: Sharp utilizes advanced technology to make their air purifiers more energy efficient than standard models. Also, energy efficient operation makes things easy on your wallet.

Airgle Air Purifiers:Breathe in Cleaner, Healthier Air

When researching what kind of air purifier to buy it is very important to take into account what specific needs you have. Do you need an air purifier specifically for dust allergies or is there smoke in the air? Or perhaps mold is a problem in your home? After you figure out what your purification needs are, another important step is getting to know the manufacturers that make air purifiers. Anything that makes you more confident when spend your hard-earned money on a product can't hurt, right? This week we're going to get better acquainted with a company called Airgle.

Airgle International Limited was founded in 1999. Airgle is a strange-sounding name but there was a purpose behind its conception. Air-g-l-e stands for Purifying Air with a Great Level of Efficiency. It is Airgle's goal to live up to the lofty promise that its name makes.

5 Ways Airgle is Different from the Rest:

1. Industry Pioneer - Airgle International Limited has been an industry leader since it was founded in 1999. Their main goal is to design air purification systems that improve the health and well being of people all over the world.

2. Advanced Air Purification Technologies - Innovation and technology is combined to help Airgle makes significant advances in air purification technologies.

3. International Presence - Airgle has many partners around the world and has offices in the United States, South Korea and Hong Kong.

4. Eliminates Contaminants and Allergens - Efficient clean air technologies are employed so that allergy and asthma sufferers do not have to worry about dust mites, mold and spores, pet dander, dust or smoke.

5. Tested by AHAM - The Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers tested the Airgle 750 Air Purifier and found that the clean air delivery rate (CADR) is the highest out of 159 air purifiers tested. CADR is the best way to measure the effectiveness and performance of an air purifier.

How to Calculate CADR for an Air Purifier

Air purifiers are designed to make living spaces more comfortable and healthy because they reduce the amount of airborne particles that can contribute to poor indoor air quality. In addition, air purifiers are excellent at trapping common allergens such as dust and pollen, therefore making them invaluable to those who suffer from asthma, allergies, or other respiratory disorders.

In order to standardize air purifier specifications and to provide consumers with a method of comparing air cleaners, the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers (AHAM), the independent industry organization that represents the manufacturers of home appliances, has developed a system for rating air purifiers. Although air purifier manufacturers are not required to submit their units for testing, many do, and every quarter, the AHAM publishes its directory of Certified Room Air Cleaners to the public.

An air purifier with the AHAM seal (usually found on the box of the unit's box) will list three CADR numbers: one for pollen, one for dust, and one for tobacco smoke (some very highly rated models include the Blueair 601 air purifier and the Airgle 750). The CADR indicates the volume of filtered air delivered by the air purifier (measured in cubic feet per minute), and the higher the CADR numbers, the faster and more efficiently the unit filters the air. To determine the CADR appropriate for your space, simple multiply the room's square footage by 0.75. For example, if you are trying to clean the air in a room that measures 15 feet by 15 feet, your calculations would look like this:

CADR = Square Footage x 0.75

15'x 15'= 225 square feet

225 x 0.75 = 168.75

CADR Required = 168.75

Therefore, for a 225 square foot room, you would need an air purifier with at least CADR. In addition, if your room has ceilings higher than 8 feet, move up to the next level CADR for a larger room. Moreover, if you have an open floor plan, purchase two small units because they can be moved to different areas in the room and will clean the air more efficiently than one unit alone.

What is an Air Purifier Clean Air Delivery Rate?

Every quarter, the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers (AHAM) publishes its directory of Certified Room Air Cleaners to the public. As a U.S. based trade association of the home appliance manufacturing industry, the AHAM closely monitors energy, environment, safety, trade, and other issues regarding home appliance products, as well as developing and maintaining technical standards for these products in an attempt to provide uniform and repeatable procedures for measuring specific product characteristics and performance features.

As such, the AHAM also administers certification programs for products such as room air conditioners, dehumidifiers, and air purifiers through independent, third party laboratory tests. Specifically regarding air purifiers, appliances certified by the AHAM helps assure consumers that rated products are accurate, and this information has been proven to be useful to consumers, retailers, and government regulatory agencies alike.

When testing air cleaners, the AHAM measures the performance of an air purifier using a standard performance metric called the Clean Air Deliver Rate (CADR), a system that is recognized as accurate and impartial by the EPA and the American Lung Association. The CADR is a measure of the air purifier's ability to reduce smoke, dust, and pollen particles in the 0.10 to 11 micron size range from the air in one minute. For consumers, the CADR can prove to be a very useful tool in comparing the overall performance of different air purifiers on the market. CADR test results are expressed in what is known as CFM, or cubic feet per minute, and reflect the size of the particle, the percentage of particles removed, and the volume of air moving through the air purifier. Some air purifier manufacturers may measure the effectiveness of their products through air exchange rates as opposed to CADR numbers, but it is important to understand that these two systems of measurement are not equivalent.

While some air purifier manufacturers choose not to submit their products to the AHAM for testing, many air purifier companies such as BlueAir use their CADR ratings as a way to inform consumers of the efficacy of their products. Although the CADR rating may not be the only criteria one should look at when purchasing an air purifier, CADR ratings can provide consumers with important information about an air cleaner's ability to remove harmful airborne pollutants.