Online Shopping - Buyers Guide For Air Treatment

There is a wide range of air treatment products available to suit all environments, from the office to the home. The demand for air management items also reflects the change in lifestyle as we recognise the need for a higher and cleaner level of air quality. This area covers products performing a number of different roles, defined as the following:

Cooling Fans and air conditioners
Cleaning Air cleaners, ionisers, vaporisers, diffusers
Water removal and replacement Dehumidifiers and humidifiers

AIR TREATMENT - COOLING

Although the UK is not a climate where excessive heat is a problem, there is a demand for air-cooling products. These are divided into air conditioners that actually lower the temperature of the air and electric fans that just cool you down.

AIR TREATMENT - MOBILE AIR CONDITIONERS

Mobile air conditioners are available in different sizes, depending on their cooling capacity. Smaller capacity models tend to be single units, and larger capacities are offered by split systems.

How Do Air Conditioners Work?
Hot and damp air is drawn into the air conditioner unit by a fan, which then draws it over an evaporator that contains cooled refrigerant air, which is sent around the air conditioner unit by a compressor to remove the heat. The resulting cool air is then passed out of the front of the air conditioner unit by a fan. The heat gathered by the evaporator, is passed to the condenser and then expelled either through a tube in a single unit or from a condenser unit if it is a split system.

Single Unit Air Conditioners
The tube, through which the remaining hot air is expelled, is ideally vented to the outside (like a tumble dryer hose), via a window or small hole in the wall. Some air conditioner models feature a flattened oval adaptor to allow the hose to be put out of a partially opened window or door.
There are three types of single unit air conditioners - air-cooled, water-cooled and air and water-cooled. The latter two offer the largest cooling capacity of single units but they do need to be regularly refilled. They also need to be descaled in hard water areas.

Split Unit Air Conditioners
There are two units with this air conditioner system, one containing the compressor and evaporator to create the cold air, the other featuring a condenser, which discharges the excess humidity. Because the air conditioner also has an external unit, the cooling capacity of the split system is greatly increased.

AIR TREATMENT - ELECTRIC FANS

There are compact, tabletop and pedestal stand models available. The speed of the fan can be regulated and they may offer different airflow options such as:

Fixed/Static:- The air flows continuously in one direction
Oscillating:- The fan head moves from side to side continuously
Tilting:- The fan head moves up and down

Personal Fans
Personal fans are the smallest size of fan available and are designed for space saving use e.g. on the desktop or kitchen worktop.

Pedestal/Stand Fans
Pedestal or stand fans are often adjustable to varying heights and there are models that can be "shrunk" down to desktop size.

High Velocity
These types of fans cool down large areas quickly and are good for use in garages, cellars and workshops.

AIR TREATMENT - CLEANING AIR

Over 90% of our time is spent indoors, so pollution caused by things such as cigarette smoke, dust particles and allergens, appliances like gas cookers, and household chemicals is a serious concern. There are several types of products available that can be used to purify the air.

AIR TREATMENT - AIR CLEANERS/PURIFIERS

Air cleaners or air pufifiers work by forcing the surrounding air through a series of filters to remove indoor pollutants and then send the clean, filtered air back out.

There are two aspects to an air purifier's performance, namely quality of filter, and the volume of air pulled through it. The most effective air purifiers combine a good quality filter system with a strong airflow.

AIR TREATMENT - CADR

The CADR [Clean Air Delivery Rate] of an air purifier determines how large a room it can serve. The higher the CADR, the more effective the purifier in removing particles from the air.

Antibacterial Protection
Some air purifier models may also have added antibacterial protection to guard the air purifier filter against bacteria, mould and mildew.

Filter Technology
There are three types of filter available and the technology surrounding each type determines how well the air purifier removes the pollutants. The filters cannot be washed and need replacing regularly. Some air purifier models feature LCD indicators to show when replacement is due, usually after 8,000 hours use.

Electret or Electrostatic Filter
This generates internal electrical fields, which act on the particles travelling through them to trap them. The majority of these air purifier filters are combined with charcoal filters to remove odours. An Electret filter will last up to six months and the carbon filter up to three months.

HEPA Filter
HEPA or High Efficiency Particle Air, is the most effective type of filter, removing 99.97% of the particles moving through the filter at the first go. It is a tightly woven paper filter made from glass fibres that are pleated to maximise the surface area for particle collection.
HEPA filters remove particles as small as 0.3 microns, which are invisible to the naked eye. There are "ultra" HEPA filters that go as low as 0.1 microns. A true HEPA filter should last up to three years.

Pro-HEPA Filter
This combines Electret and HEPA, with Electret removing the larger particles from the air and so prolonging the life of the HEPA filter. They should be changed every year, depending on use and location.
Both Electret and HEPA are the most common types of air purifier filters. Some air purifier models may feature a three-stage filtration system, combining a particle pre-filter for removing larger particles like pet hair; an activated charcoal filter to remove odours like tobacco and cooking; and a HEPA filter to remove bacteria and allergens.

AIR TREATMENT - IONISERS, VAPOURISERS AND DIFFUSERS

Ionisers do not filter particles from the air, but by emitting negative ions, ionisers encourage pollutants to land on surfaces rather than stay in the air. Ionisers will however cause extra dust to settle on furniture. Some purifiers may also include an ioniser to remove excess dust from the air before taking it through their filters.

Vaporisers and diffusers tend to be used to spread essences through the atmosphere so are widely used in aromatherapy.

AIR TREATMENT - WATER REMOVAL AND REPLACEMENT

Condensation caused by warm moist air or humidity settling on colder surfaces is a huge problem in many homes and causes damp patches, peeling wallpaper, damp clothes and may even cause structural damage. It also has a major impact on serious health conditions like asthma and rheumatoid arthritis. On the other side of the coin, humidity is an essential ingredient in the air and its optimum level is around 40-50%. But as soon as windows are shut and the heating is turned on these levels drop to about 20%. The resulting dry air deprives your lungs and respiratory system of moisture, which is a major cause of colds and other illnesses.

AIR TREATMENT - DEHUMIDIFIERS

Dehumidifiers work by removing excess moisture from the air, and are most often called upon within the winter months. Dehumidifiers work by drawing the warm moist air in the atmosphere into the unit through a grill. An evaporator inside that runs at a very low temperature cools this air. At such a low temperature the moisture can no longer stay in the air and condenses to water droplets that are collected in a container in the dehumidifier unit.

The cool, dried air the passes to the condenser that is running at a hot temperature. This then warms the air and sends it back out into the room, lowing the relative humidity in the surrounding atmosphere.

Dehumidifier Features

There are several features present on a dehumidifier.

Humidistat:- Humidistat is a built in feature that allows the user to set the air moisture level - the higher the level, the more moisture to remove. The humidistat is also an energy saving device, as it automatically switches off once the desired level has been reached.
Air Filters:- Some dehumidifier models may feature filters at the point of entry in the unit, so that air is filtered before being carried along to the evaporator. This is to remove house dust particles. These filters are accessible for easy cleaning.
Automatic Defrosting:- If the condensed moisture freezes on the surface of the evaporator due to cold weather, some dehumidifier models have an antifreeze feature that automatically switches on and clears it.
Castors:- A standard dehumidifier unit is reasonably heavy, and the provision of castors means that it can be easily rolled around from one room to another.
Dehumidifier/heater:- There are dual models on the market, which also feature a thermostatically controlled heater. These can be used as an additional heat source or in situations where the temperature is likely to drop below 8 degrees.

AIR TREATMENT - HUMIDIFIERS

Humidifiers moisturise the air by putting moisture back. There are four main types of humidifiers available, and the decision over which humidifier to choose really does come down to personal preference.

Warm Mist Humidifier
Warm Mist humidifiers use a heating system to release warm clean mist into the atmospheres, and so tends to warm the room slightly. Medication like Olbas Oil or menthol can be added to Warm Mist humidifiers to aid breathing.

Cool Mist Humidifier
A filter traps minerals and impurities and then the Cool Mist humidifier emits a cool mist that evaporates into the air.

Console Humidifiers
Console humidifiers use the same technology as the Cool Mist humidifier, but console humidifiers tend to have a higher capacity so are capable of humidifying the whole house.

Ultrasonic Humidifiers
Ultrasonic Humidifiers produce a cool mist that you can see and feel. Some ultrasonic humidifier models feature a water purification filter to trap impurities before releasing the mist into the atmosphere.

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