Hunter Air Purifiers - CADR

The following article was written by ClearFlite's reporter Kelly K. for your information.  We recommend the Air O Swiss air purifiers instead because they provide the same quality of air filtration but at a better price.

Need more information about Hunter? CALL 888-830-1326

There are many measurements of the efficiency of air purifiers. Many companies use different techniques and tests in order to decide the amount of effectiveness that their products portray. Some of these measurements and tests may not always be completely accurate and can sometimes mislead consumers to think the system may be more effective than it really is. With so many air purifiers on the market today, consumers can easily become confused on which system is the best for their situation. There are many factors involved when choosing the correct air purifier and consumers will run into many measurements, numbers and promises on the boxes of the units. One of the best ways for a consumer to have an accurate measurement of the efficiency of an air purifier is by examining the Clean Air Delivery Rate.

The Clean Air Delivery Rate can be found on the boxes of most air purifiers. These rates are important to consumers because they are the only trustworthy measurements on the box because these rates for air purifiers are regulated by the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers. This association performs the tests to achieve the most accurate measures of efficiency possible. The seal made by the association is displayed on boxes and represents the independent tests and certification that the air purifier has gone through.

The Clean Air Delivery Rate, or CADR, measures the way air purifiers will perform in real world situations. By measuring the CADR of the air purifiers, the actual efficiency of the filter, airflow and design of the system is known for the consumer. The certified rating of the CADR allows the consumer to use these three numbers of rates to compare to other air purifiers on the market. The CADR is measured using three different common household contaminants.

First, a room is filled with smoke and the air purifier being tested is turned on to clean the air. The dirty air that is used contains particles that are 0.09 to 11 microns in size. The air purifier is turned on for 20 minutes and given the opportunity to clean the room. Every two minutes, the air inside the room is tested for particles. The particulate matter that is still present in the air is tested and the CADR itself is recorded. The CADR is the airflow in cubic feet per minute multiplied by the efficiency of the particle removal. This same process is done to test the air purifier's efficiency when cleaning pollen and when cleaning dust.

The typical range of Clean Air Delivery Rates seen in air purifiers for tobacco smoke is 10 to 450, 10 to 400 for dust, and 25 to 450 for pollen. These rates have proven to be helpful for consumers who may specifically have a smoker present in the home or be allergic to pollen.

Consumer Reports has also stated that the CADR system is a great way to measure the effectiveness of air purifiers. The publication feels that a system that scores above a 350 is excellent and a score below 100 is poor. With this help from the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers, many consumers have found choosing the right air purifier as easy as comparing a few numbers. There are so many different models on the market with so many types of filtration systems that it can often be a daunting task for consumers who are trying to find the correct model. Having the CADR's present on the boxes of many air purifiers has been a great help for many consumers in easily finding the correct air purifier for their own home or office. Hunter's air purifiers are proven to have some of the best CADR's out of many air purifiers on the market.