When looking for whole house air purifiers it is important to be aware of the choices available. Making a good choice depends on several criteria.
What criteria should you use to decide?
1) Are you cleaning a few rooms, a small apartment, a regular sized home, or a larger home?
2) What contaminants are present in your air?
3) Do you have a forced air and heat (HVAC) furnace in your home?
4) Should you use passive or active technology or both?
5) What is your Budget?
Let’s cover these one at a time:
1) Are you cleaning a few rooms, a small apartment, a regular sized home, or a larger home?
First write down an approximate square footage and the number of rooms in your home. In general, the larger the home, the more complex the whole house air purifiers system. If you are cleaning just a few rooms or a small apartment, you may be able to get by with a single larger passive air purifier. If you live in a larger apartment (1000+ sqft) or average home (1000+ sqft) you will need to use multiple passive units, one or more active units, and/or utililize the HVAC system. Larger homes (2500+ sqft) may require multiple active purifiers and/or HVAC systems. Sometimes combinations of technologies or purifiers work best.
2) What contaminants are present in your air?
Knowing the basic contaminants in your air will help you choose the best purifier. If you do not know what is in your air and you are concerned, it may be best to get a purifier that offers the most complete cleaning. Generally speaking, the more complete the cleaning, the more expensive the air purifier. Finding a balance between wants and needs may be necessary. Review all your options.
3) Do you have a forced air and heat (HVAC) furnace in your home?
Having HVAC will open up a few additional possibilities for you. You will be able to evaluate both passive and active HVAC technologies. They could either stand alone or be used in tandem with other technologies.
The 3 Basic HVAC technologies are:
- HEPA filter whole house air purifiers – passive
- Basic UV technology – mostly passive
- Advanced UV technology – passive/active
The whole house HEPA filter unit would probably be used by itself. There are a few quality brands available, but realize they may be pricey. The Basic UV and Advanced UV technologies are best used in tandem with another technology, preferably a purifier designed to remove particles effectively.
4) Should you use passive or active technology or both?
If you read through the technologies section of this website, you will realize that there are several choices available to clean your air. The first basic choice you need to make is between a passive or an active technology. If you have made up your mind on technology already, that’s ok, review the purifiers with that type of technology. If not, you will need to review both technology types and make a decision. The purifier review section will help as it provides in-depth reviews and research.
5) What is your Budget?
In general, the larger the space cleaned, the higher the cost of the cleaning system. There are several options for each home size. Quality passive technology tends to be more expensive if you want to do a complete whole home cleaning. Quality active technology can provide a very cost competitive complete whole home cleaning. Know your budget and choose what is most important to you first. If you have dollars left, look at additional options or upgrades.
There are 3 major costs involved:
- initial purchase price + possible installation cost
- ongoing cost of filters, UV bulbs, etc…
- energy cost
Congratulations! You’re finished with whole house air purifiers and are now ready to review the top brands. Go ahead to STEP 3 Reviews.
Return to STEP 2 Types from Whole House Air Purifiers