There are many air cleaner ratings – but which ones are the most helpful?

There are air cleaners ratings galore to be found online, but are they actually useful? Have a read and find out what to look for in a good air cleaner rating.

An air cleaner rating should ideally include information about the following:

• Type of air cleaner – make sure only air cleaners of the same type are compared
• Purchase price – street price preferably
• Operating cost – replacement filters and parts, electricity consumption
• Noise levels on different settings
• Warranty and guarantees, if any
• Shipping cost if buying online

Many air cleaner ratings are biased and try to present a particular unit as favorably as possible. Facts that are less flattering are left out, but might be important to you, so make sure that all the above items have been included in the review.

Wouldn’t it be nice if in addition to the above the air cleaner rating included some sort of measure on the basis of which you can compare air cleaners? Well, as a matter of fact there is such an air cleaner rating.

It is called CADR - Clean Air Delivery Rate – and was developed by the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers (AHAM). The CADR indicates volume of filtered air delivered by an air cleaner, and gives you a good idea of what size air cleaner you have to purchase to get the job properly done.

One thing to take into account though is that the CADR measure calls for testing of performance at high speed only, so be conservative and select a unit with ample capacity, or you may regret having purchased a unit that is unduly noisy.

There are actually three categories: tobacco smoke, pollen and dust. The higher a category’s rating, the faster the unit filters the air for that category.

It is a very useful measure, because it will allow you to work out the cost per square feet that is purified, and then compare air cleaners on that basis, so if available, the air cleaner rating should state the CADR.

The following better known manufacturers participate in the certification program: BlueAir, DeLonghi, Electrolux, Friedrich, Hunter, Honeywell, Mitsubishi, Sharp, Holmes, Whirlpool, and Vornado.

There are other air cleaner ratings, but they are less commonly found. One of these is the MERV - Minimum Efficiency Reporting Value.

MERV is a rating from a test method designed by the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE). The number is intended to help people compare filters. Generally speaking, a higher MERV rating indicates better filter performance. Although nice if the air cleaner rating includes it, this measure is less useful as one can not calculate the cost per square feet of air purified.

For more information on related products, please choose from the following:

HEPA Air Cleaners |Electrical / Ionic Air Purifiers | Ozone Air Purifiers | Whole House Purifiers | Replacement Filters