Do you really need air purifiers: Importance, functionality, options – Times of India

Respiratory diseases and even cancer have been linked to air pollution for a long time. A recent study has found that there are more terrible consequences when the air quality drops — including depression, anxiety, increased rates of suicide, and an overall increase in the risk of mental disorders, especially among children.
An air purifier is one option and is readily available to most people. Let’s talk about how an air purifier works and are they effective at improving the local air quality.
How does an Air Purifier work
Air purifiers work properly in a closed system. At the room’s entry point, air purifiers use fans to suck in the outside air. Then, this air is filtered and pushed out as clean air. From this follows that filters are critical components in ensuring air purifier efficacy.
Air purifier filters can be made out of — paper, fibreglass, fibre and mesh. Good ones have multiple filter layers that have to be replaced regularly to remain effective. For larger particles, air filters are usually reusable, only required to be meticulously washed.
These pollutants can range from pollen to dust mites. Such air purifiers are the most common, but you can’t rely on them to remove smaller air impurities.
Importance of air purifiers
A study published in the British Journal of Psychiatry tracked 13,000 participants in London, UK, and found that reducing the volume of small particle pollution by even a few percentage points would make a huge difference to mental health and save tens of millions in sunk healthcare costs each year.
For this, you need cleaner air and you can’t always rely on the government and businesses to use cleaner vehicles or implement other clean air initiatives. But at your home, you can always use an air purifier. Here are the types of air purifiers that are available in the market
UV based air purifiers
If you want an air purifier that kills airborne bacteria or mold, it should have a fan and a filter mesh for large pollutants. Such air purifiers use UV (ultraviolet light) filters. An active air purifier uses higher wattage to expose air to ultraviolet rays constantly.
Some of these air purifiers claim to kill COVID-19 virus particles, including the variants. They are most commonly marketed with the UV-C feature—short-wave ultraviolet light. In some markets, these active air purifiers will also be marketed as UVGI, standing for ultraviolet germicidal irradiation.
Many of us suffer from radiation burns when exposed to the sun during the summer. This is because the sun emits a type of UV light. When your skin is exposed to it, it reddens, signifying inflammation. In other words, your skin cell DNA suffers damage when it is bombarded with UV radiation.

Regardless if a virus is RNA or DNA-based, it suffers the same damage. This is also the reason why flu seasons retreat during summer and intensify during autumn/winter. Both viruses and bacteria are single-cell organisms, relying on the integrity of their DNA to survive and reproduce quickly. Therefore, UV-C air purifiers effectively mimic the sun in enclosed spaces.
Acting as lamps, these germicidal air purifiers can either have mercury, phosphor, or quartz-based UV light emitters. Accordingly, they can either give out a bluish hue or be completely invisible to the human eye. Currently, it’s recommended for residential areas to use UV-C air purifiers at a 254nm wavelength.
Drawbacks of UV Air Purifiers
UV-based air purifiers require longer exposure to complete its germicidal removal. This means that they lose effectiveness if there is high airflow coming into the enclosed space. Furthermore, they can also break down oxygen molecules in addition to viruses and bacteria.
Breaking down of oxygen molecules can cause negative health effects. To avoid this, manufacturers have started using a special coating to further fine-tune the wavelength. Moreover, while it does eliminate some types of mold and bacteria, it doesn’t work well on mold and bacterial spores. Such spores require heightened UV radiation and prolonged exposure. Usually, residential-grade air purifiers are not strong enough to do the job.
Lastly, UV-C air purifiers don’t affect organic particles coming from VOCs (volatile organic compounds) like chemical fumes (from paint and varnish), smoke, pet dander, allergens and other pollution-related compounds.
Here are some names and prices of UV light-based air purifiers that are available in India:
Cello Air Purifier: Rs 2,499
CHECKNSURE Air Alpha Room Air Purifier: Rs 5,999
Carrier Airone AP2006UV: Rs 13,117
Yuvi Safe – UVC Air Disinfectent: Rs 5,500
HEPA air filtration system
A UV-C air purifier will be enough if you live in a sparsely populated area free of air pollution but it will not kill the viruses. On the other hand, if you seek a more universal and comprehensive solution, an air purifier should also deal with VOCs. In fact, to their volatility, ultraviolet rays may worsen it by transforming them into more toxic compounds.

To increase effectiveness, a High-Efficiency Particulate Arrestance (HEPA) air filtration system is the way to go. Also referred to as “true HEPA filters,” they are the go-to solution for people who suffer from allergies. The best models usually have multi-filtration systems.
Here are some names and prices of HEPA based air purifiers that are available in India:
Coway Professional Air Purifier: Rs 13,500
Sharp Air Purifier: Rs 10,990
Mi Air Purifier 3
Eureka Forbes Aeroguard AP 700EX
PECO Air Purifiers
However, on the state-of-the-art technology front, PECO (photoelectrochemical oxidation) air purifiers are becoming more popular.

Standing apart from both HEPA and UV-C methods, PECOs not only destroy allergens, VOCs, viruses, and resistant bacterial strains, but they also don’t produce ozone as a side effect. In addition, PECO air purification tech can remove particles as small as 0.1 nm, 1000x smaller than most HEPA filters allow.
Here are some names and prices of PECO based air purifiers that are available in India:
Philips AC1215/20 Air purifier: Rs 11,099
Molekule Air Mini – Air Purifier: Rs 31,999
Do you really need it?
If you ever wonder if air purifiers are a waste of money, they are most certainly not. Both government agencies and independent labs show their efficacy if they are properly placed and maintained.
You can get an air purifier at home or in your office now at an affordable price. This improves the overall air quality of your surroundings.