Choosing Best Air Purifiers for the Home in India – A Buyer’s Guide (2024)

Increased vehicular exhausts and extensive industrialization has drastically reduced the air quality and increased the pollution levels in countries all over the world, India is no exception. In a recent report, Indian cities fall in the ever-increasing long list of highly polluted cities of the world. Increased pollution has also increased health risk to people breathing in the polluted air. Furthermore, along with the exterior pollution, we fail to assess the purity of the air that we breathe in our own homes. Surprisingly, indoor air quality can be worse than outdoor air quality in terms of pollution. As such, to deal with this issue, several companies are coming up with innovative technologies in terms of Air Purifiers that clean the air in your house making it breathable quality. As such, to understand which air purifier is the best, it is important to understand different best air purifier technologies. With this article “Choosing best air purifiers for the home in India –A Buyer’s Guide”, we tried to share our technology research with you to understand and decide better.

Check Today’s Deals on Amazon

We have also listed our top picks in our article Top 10 best air purifiers for the home in India”, where you will be in a better position to select your best air purifier for your home in India. Before we go into selecting the best Air Purifiers in India, we first need to understand what constitutes indoor pollution and the different factors that are involved in designing the best air purifier. This buyer’s guide will, therefore, help you in choosing best air purifiers for the home in India.

Choosing Best Air Purifiers for the Home in India – A Buyer’s Guide

Let us first understand what constitutes indoor pollution.

Inside the home, the air is filled with particulate matter consisting of deodorants and talcum powder particulars. These are difficult to dissipate and inhaling these particulates is detrimental for health. Further use of animal and insect repellents like good night liquid or hit spray or burning of incense sticks results in circulation of hazardous chemicals which further are difficult to dissipate and increase health hazards on increased exposure.

The major problem for indoor pollutants is that they have no means of escape and therefore accumulated effect of these pollutants is much more damaging than outdoor pollution. To better understand the kind of air purifier you need, let us first classify the indoor pollutants in the following categories

  1. Airborne particles like pollen, fungi, spores, molds, etc. whose size ranges from 0.04 to 100 micron. A purifier with a HEPA filter is best suited for these kinds of pollutants.
  2. Tobacco smoke: smoke from cigarettes is another major pollutant in households nowadays.
  3. Volatile Compounds: Organic compounds commonly found in paints, varnishes, disinfectants, etc. are volatile in nature and cause serious health complications when inhaled for a prolonged period of time.
  4. House gases: They are the most common type of indoor pollutants from aerosol sprays, deodorants etc. and an activated carbon filter is the best way to get rid of them.

Based on encountering these pollutants, the best air purifiers in India have the following features.

Categorization of Impurity

  1. PM2.5: the PM2.5 rating applies to particulates having a diameter of fewer than 2.5 micrometers which is comparable to 3% of the thickness of a human hair. They are invisible to the naked eye and cause respiratory distress when inhaled regularly.
  2. PM10: this nomenclature is for particulates having a diameter of 10 micrometers or less and is equally harmful when inhaled.

The correct Filtration Technology

The most important criteria for choosing the top air purifiers for home are the type of air filter it houses. Depending upon the type of filter being used, the purification mechanism differs. Listed below are the 4 frequently used air filters:

HEPA filters

These are the most important class of filters and they are capable of removing at least 99.97% of air particles with sizes of 0.3 micrometers or more. As such, these filters are very efficient in removing mold spores, fungi, pollen, dust, pet hairs and smoke as well. Care should be taken to avoid buying purifiers having HEPA filter nomenclatures like HEPA-type/HEPA-like or HEPA-style as these are 600% less effective than the original HEPA filters. HEPA filters are usually categorized from A through E where A-type filters are least effective but meet the fundamental requirements for HEPA filtration and the E types are industrial or military grade filters capable of purifying chemical, biological and even radiological particles.

Ionic Filters

These filters purify the air by emitting a cloud of charged ions which react with airborne contaminants rendering them inactive for easy removal. These have an efficiency of removing particles of 0.01-micron size. They are washable and have a long term use. Because of the ionic function, the dust particles are charged by static charge and are stuck inside the duct line of the filter making it difficult to clean.

Carbon Filters

 These filters use Activated carbon wherein the carbon is granular or finely powdered and treated to make it porous. A bed of activated carbon layers filters contaminants and impurities by the chemical adsorption process and is therefore effective against a plethora of hazardous impurities like Volatile Organic Compounds, pesticides, herbicides, smoke, chlorine and odor. The newer air purifier models all come with an activated carbon filter.

Photocatalytic Filters

 These types of filters are made of titanium dioxide. UV light shines on the titanium dioxide which releases negatively charged electrons at its surface. These electrons are the main factor for air purification. These electrons break down the water molecules in the air to produce highly reactive hydroxyl ions that effectively break down complex pollutants into simpler molecules like carbon dioxide and water which is then easier to remove. The biggest drawback of this type of filters is that it produces a little ozone gas which in itself is a pollutant. Ozone at home can trigger asthma. Therefore, it is better to avoid these types of filters at home.

Size of Room, ACH and CADR

Another important factor worth considering a top air purifier for home is the size of the room. Bigger rooms will need large purifiers. Therefore it’s necessary to check the coverage area of any purifier before you buy one.

There are some other features that are mentioned on the air purifiers and therefore need to be brought to light here

ACH

It stands for Air Changes per Hour. This rating informs you about the number of times your purifier can exchange the polluted air with a cleaner and fresher air in your house. Each cycle of air exchange is called a purification cycle and this is a measure of the number of purification cycles which can be performed by your purifier in an hour. It is measured in multiples of ‘x’. So a purifier with a higher x rating like 6x is more efficient at purification compared to say a 3x air purifier.

The ACH rating further gives an idea of the maximum area that can be serviced by the purifier. For example, a 5x ACH purifier will service 200 sq.ft of the room area.

CADR

This stands for Clean Air Delivery Rate. This rating measures the efficiency of the purifier in cleaning the air in a room. Unfortunately, only companies registered with AHAM provide the CADR rating on their purifiers.

The CADR rating measure three types of air pollution – dust, tobacco smoke and pollen. A rating of CADR 200/210/180 means the air purifier can handle 200 dust, 210 tobacco smoke and 180 pollen pollutants effectively in a room. The higher the number for each pollutant, the purification efficiency against that pollutant is much higher.

Noise and Portability

The top air purifiers for home are quite heavy. If choosing a single purifier for multiple rooms make sure it’s lightweight. Purifiers with wheels increase portability. Furthermore, for use in bedrooms at night, the purifiers need to have a noiseless operation. Ionic or photocatalytic purifiers are essentially noiseless as they don’t have a fan-based operation. Even so, purifiers with fans have a speed regulator to decrease noise.

Maintenance and Cost-effectiveness

Choosing Best Air Purifiers for the Home in India – A Buyer’s Guide

The top air purifiers for home generally have high maintenance. Regular cleaning and periodic replacement of the filters are costly and therefore it is advised to know the cost of replacement for the model in question and select according to your budget. Also, the best air purifiers in India with low replacement necessity like ionic filters are more desirable when on a budget.

Another factor to consider is the running cost of the model. An air purifier usually uses 50-70W rating. However, running the purifier for the entire day can incur costly electricity bills. Therefore if your requirements include constant running, it is advisable to consider the wattage before choosing the model.

Placement of the Purifier

Placement of the best air purifier in India depends on the type of filter it employs. For example, for an ionic filter with 360-degree coverage, it will be a complete waste to place it near the wall. Best placement would be in the center of the room. On the other hand, air purifiers with HEPA filters employ a fan for purification purposes. Therefore, the best placement would be 2-3 feet from the wall and not in any cramped spaces for efficient operation.

Best Air Purifiers India Models in India

Below are some bestselling models of air purifiers available in India. For a detailed review, you may click on the link 10 Best air purifiers in India –Detailed Reviewto know more.

Coway Sleek Pro AP-1009 Air Purifier

Check best air purifiers price on Amazon

Choosing Best Air Purifiers for the Home in India – A Buyer’s Guide
Credit: Coway India
  • Global brand
  • 3-stage filtration
  • Pre-filter, carbon filter & HEPA filter
  • Responsive customer service
  • 5-years warranty
  • Power: 38W
  • Air Delivery Rate: 303 cu.m/hr

Philips AC1215/20 Air Purifier

Check best air purifiers price on Amazon

best room air purifier from Philips
Credit: Philips
  • Global brand
  • 3-stage filtration
  • Nano Pre-filter & HEPA filter
  • Slow customer service
  • 2+3-years extended warranty
  • Power: 50W
  • Air Delivery Rate: 270 cu.m/hr

Havells Freshia AP-40 80-Watt Air Purifier with Remote (White/Black)

Check best air purifiers price on Amazon

Choosing Best Air Purifiers for the Home in India – A Buyer’s Guide
Credit: Havells
  • Indian brand
  • 5-stage filtration
  • Pre-filter, carbon filter & HEPA filter
  • Average customer service
  • 2-years warranty
  • Power: 80W
  • Air Delivery Rate: 350 cu.m/hr

KENT Aura Room Air Purifier 45-Watt with HEPA Technology (White)

Check best air purifiers price on Amazon

best room air purifier from Kent
Credit: Kent
  • Indian brand
  • 2-stage filtration
  • ionizer & HEPA filter
  • Average customer service
  • 1-years warranty
  • Power: 45W
  • Air Delivery Rate: 180 cu.m/hr

Mi Air Purifier 2C with True HEPA Filter (White)

Check best air purifiers price on Amazon

Choosing Best Air Purifiers for the Home in India – A Buyer’s Guide
Credit: Mi
  • Affordable brand
  • 2-stage filtration
  • HEPA filter
  • Average customer service
  • 1-years warranty
  • Power: 29W
  • Air Delivery Rate: 350 cu.m/hr

Final Words

Now that we have summarized which are the factors you need to look for before buying an air purifier in our article ” Choosing Best Air Purifiers for the Home in India – A Buyer’s Guide”, it is now time to answer the question which air purifier is the best? In order to find out more about our top picks, you may refer our article Top 10 best air purifiers for the home in Indiato know the detailed reviews of best air purifiers models from top air purifier brands in India.

Check Today’s Deals on Amazon

Some of the other trending articles from our authors are:

Best air pollution monitoring systems in India

Top 10 best air purifiers for home in India

10 best organic oil making machines for home in India

Best 10 air fryers for your kitchen to stay fit

Check our research on latest electrical sewing machines in India

NOTE:
Only use the below comment form to ask your queries & share your experience. We may take a day or two to reply to your comments and queries. Please don’t use the comment section for backlinks as it will not be approved. However, for backlink, partnership and advertisement-related queries kindly contact us at [email protected]
Thanks for your coordination & support!

Angel Broking

Leave a Comment