.jpg "Air-Q's air quality blog on the effects of poor air on health, performance and productivity.")
The air we breathe every day can be polluted by pollen, particulates, viruses, mold spores and chemical residues. Especially indoors, where windows are not constantly open, the air quality can quickly deteriorate. This often leads to concentration problems, poorer sleep or irritated airways. Air purifiers offer a solution to improve air quality and create a healthier indoor climate.
We have the CellActivator air purifier from CellGenius in our air-Q Lab. We took a closer look at how it works and how effectively it cleans in our test and measured it with the air-Q.
What types of air purifiers are there?
Air purifiers can be divided into three main categories:
1. air purifier with filter system
These devices draw in the room air and pass it through various filters to remove pollutants
- Pre-filter/coarse dust filter: Removes larger particles such as house dust, hair and pollen.
- HEPA filter (High Efficiency Particulate Air): Filters the finest particles such as bacteria and viruses. Class H13 and H14 filters can remove up to 99.995 % of particles between 0.1 and 0.3 micrometers in size.
- Activated carbon filters: Absorb gases, vapors and odors through their porous structure.
These filters must be replaced regularly to maintain their effectiveness.
2. air washer
Air washers purify the air by passing it through water. This binds particles and some gases in the water. They combine air purification with air humidification and are particularly useful in dry environments.
3. ionizers
Ionizers generate negatively charged ions that attach themselves to particles in the air. These charged particles combine to form larger clusters that sink to the ground more easily or can be collected by collection plates. However, some ionizers can produce and emit harmful ozone.
In the air-Q Lab test: The CellActivator air purifier from CellGenius
The CellActivator belongs to the group of ionizers. The device is based on a technological advancement of classic ionizers that are already used in the products of various manufacturers.
According to the manufacturer, the CellActivator simulates the freshness of forests or seashores - an effect that goes beyond simply binding pollutants. This is made possible by so-called light air ions, negatively charged ions which, according to the company, also occur in natural environments. These ions are said to bind to pollutants and allergens in the air and neutralize them effectively. Despite its small size, the device is said to create a noticeably clear, refreshing climate throughout the room.
The CellActivator is said to work completely ozone-free - and is therefore also suitable for use in sensitive areas such as bedrooms, children's rooms or offices.
We tested whether the air purifier can keep its cleaning promise as follows.
1. test setup
In our test, the CellActivator air purifier was tested in our gas measurement chamber with a volume of around one cubic meter. To measure the air quality, we used the air-Q pro, which can measure all conceivable air quality parameters. The test included several scenarios to evaluate the effectiveness of the CellActivator under different conditions:
- Unchanged room air: The air quality in the gas measurement chamber was measured for several hours without contamination, both with and without the use of the CellActivator. We wanted to find out what influence the device has on factors such as temperature and other cyclically fluctuating variables.
- Contaminatedroom air: An incense burner was used as a source of pollution to deliberately contaminate the air. This generated considerable quantities of particulates and VOCs (volatile organic compounds) in the chamber. Here, too, the measurements were carried out with and without CellActivator.
2. test results
The results of our tests were clear. In the scenarios with contamination, the CellActivator showed a significant improvement in air quality compared to the measurements without the activated device.
This means that the heavy and visible (smoke) contamination with particulates is deposited by itself over time. Large particles in particular sink slowly to the ground, while small particles can remain in the air permanently. This can be seen in the measurement curve below this paragraph.
With activated CellActivator, the very high fine dust pollution in the measuring chamber was reduced within a short time. The PM10 value fell from over 1,500 µg/m³ to 0 µg/m³ - the fine dust pollution was thus completely neutralized (see following graphic).
But where have the particulates gone?
This can be explained by the ionization of the air, which electrostatically charges the fine dust particles and causes them to attract each other. The resulting clumps are too heavy to remain suspended and fall to the ground.
The measurement of the VOC value showed a similar picture. However, the VOC contamination we generated was so high that our VOC sensor reached the measurement limit of 60,000 ppb. Without the air purifier activated, the value remained at 60,000 ppb for days - with the CellActivator activated, the VOC value was significantly reduced after just 4 hours.
We monitored the ozone value with the air-Q pro throughout the entire period. This showed no deflection with or without the CellActivator air purifier activated.
3. summary
In our test, the CellActivator proved to be an extremely effective means of improving air qualityparticulates and VOCs). However, the test environment took place in a very small volume in order to better control the general conditions and to better isolate the effects. However, the cleaning effect, particularly with particulates , was so great that it can be assumed that this can also be transferred to large rooms.
The difference to other common air purifiers is that the CellActivator can run continuously and thus clean. It is very small, quiet and consumes only a few watts. Other filter-based air purifiers, for example, may clean large amounts of dirt more quickly, but they are also louder and consume considerably more energy.
