An air purifier helps to emit healthy air, removing the impurities like dust, pollens, allergens, pet hair, etc. In general, the air purifier is required to work 24/7 out of which it only works for 12 hours per day.
To get the most out of it, the size and the placement are important.
So, the key to the placement of a purifier depends upon the size of the room. The first step would be knowing the dimensions of your room secondly, based on these dimensions, knowing the best size of your air purifier.
Sizes of your air purifier
There are four sizes for the air purifier
- Small air purifier
- Medium air
- Large air purifier
- whole-House air purifier
The small air purifier falls in the category of the portable purifier and is perfect for personal spaces as it covers 200 sq. ft.
A medium air purifier covers the area within 200 to 400 sq. ft.
A large air purifier is perfect for rooms that have 400 and 1500 sq. ft.
The whole house air purifier is good to cover a whole room in the house.
Now, knowing the size of your room will help you to identify which will suit your need.
To get the best and more out of your purifier. Here are some techniques for placing it in a better way at your home.
Best place to put an air purifier
In general, appropriately positioning an air purifier can enhance its efficiency by up to 20%. If you place it in a corner or behind a television, you’ll lose more than half of the overall air purifier capacity.
There are some companies that put the placement guidelines on their product Dyson air purifiers, for example, have a ‘format’ in their specs; they are either ‘floor,’ ‘desk,’ or ‘tower’ units.
Some golden rules will make it easy to put the purifier in the right place but first, you have to identify
- The concentration of pollutants (the type of pollutants)
- Indoor airflow (the place where air exchange is highest in the apartment)
Where to place it: (the worst air pollutant)
Wherever there is a high concentration of contaminants, an air purifier should be installed at that place. It is usually placed in one specific corner where the contaminated air is in high amount.
Install the air purifier off the ground
Try to install the air purifier 3-5 feet off the ground as the purifiers have two specific directions i.e. vertical and horizontal
Vertically movement has an air throw from floor to ceiling with a different temperature whereas the horizontal air purifier works from door to door.
Hotter air will rise and flow to the ceiling. By placing an air purifier (3 to 5 feet is ideal), you not only capture horizontal indoor air movement but also expose the air purifier to vertical air movement.
An air purifier placed on the wall is the finest potential location. Wall-mounted air purifiers are 3-5 feet from the ground and can be installed in areas with the most airflow.
Place the air purifier where the airflow is the highest
The air purifier sucks the air to clean it efficiently. The air usually possesses pollutants that are larger in size. If you put that air purifier near the window or the doorway, it is better. This is due to the energy the air has to lift the dust particles in it. Because of the fact that flowing air has enough energy to remove dust, mold spores, and other contaminants. It has the ability to transport it across our entire house.
It is a technique to capture the pollutants right at the first point.
Never place them in the corners
It is not a wise idea to put an air purifier in the corner as the airflow at these corners is low. Placing an air purifier in the corner hinders its performance. The air quality in the corner might be excellent. Nonetheless, air quality in other rooms would not be as adversely affected as it may have been with correct air purifier placement.
Do not put any object in the vicinity of the air purifier
Nobody wants hindrance in the airflow through the air purifier.
Places behind the television provide a tempting open space where an air purifier might be installed. Try to resist the impulse; an air purifier requires at least 3 feet of space in all directions to work properly. Make sure you are not putting it near the books as well as they could also be an obstacle.
Don’t put them near humid places
Try to avoid the places with high humidity as the air becomes heavier near such places. An air purifier will require more energy to produce and maintain the airflow with heavy air. Secondly, they minimize the capacity of the filters (especially the HEAP filters).
Avoid placing them near the kitchen and the bathroom where there are more chances of humidity.
High humidity areas are also known to be excellent mold breeding grounds. In most cases, mold infestations begin in the bathroom as the humidity level increases up to 90% after showering
In this situation, a dehumidifier could be a better option. You may even use it in conjunction with an air purifier while you are not actively using the bathroom (during the night, for example). Just keep in mind that relative humidity should be less than 50%.
Never install a purifier near any electronic device
Though the place near the television seems perfect for placing the air purifier it is not a good technique. Any kind of electronic gadget will compromise the functioning of the air purifier. So, it is suggested that not to place it near any kind of electronic devices including stereo, microwave, TV, etc.
Final thought
Following are the techniques through which you can get the maximum out of your air purifier. The air purifier is portable as well that can cover a minimum area. Try not to move it from one room to the other as they will effectively increase the polluted air.