Measuring the effectiveness of duct-mounted air cleaners: What makes an effective air cleaner?
An enormous number of products are marketed as air cleaners, air filters, and air purifiers. All of them claim to be incredibly effective, but the fact is there is a wide range in the ability of these products to actually clean the air.
Simply put, an effective air cleaner should remove the maximum number of particles, while allowing the maximum amount of air to flow through it. But almost immediately we are faced with a question: Which is more important, removing more particles or allowing more airflow?