DIY electrostatic air purifier: tips from the master

Any dwelling has a huge number of «generators» of household dust, among which the person himself, upholstered furniture, books and soft toys occupy the first place. And no matter what a person invents, dust is still produced and nothing can be done about it.

In the course of the «technical revolution» and the filling of our homes with electrical appliances, it began to be noticed that some electrical appliances tend to attract dust. Exploring this feature, scientists have developed an electrostatic air cleaner. This fairly simple and effective device has become very popular all over the world and will be discussed in this publication.

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The principle of operation and design of the cleaner

The principle of operation of an electrostatic air purifier is quite simple: a corona charge is created on the electrode, which produces ions with a certain charge. Charged ions begin to move towards the oppositely charged electrode, capturing air molecules, dust, bacteria, etc. along the way. After that, all ions and impurities that have received a charge settle on the electrode, and the purified air flows back into the room.

Structurally, such cleaners consist of:

• The housing, in which openings are made for the intake of polluted and the output of purified air.
• A filter, cartridge or cartridge in which air undergoes ionization, entering a high voltage field.
• A dust collector containing electrodes with an opposite charge.
• Control boards and power supply.

Some models of electrostatic air cleaners have a fan installed to increase performance and to move the air mixture through additional filtration stages, if any.

Advantages and disadvantages

The main advantage of such air cleaners is the efficiency of cleaning air masses from pollution, less than 1 micron in size, with minimal power consumption. The power of household electrostatic air purifiers rarely exceeds 25-45 watts. In addition, another important factor in supporting the use of such cleaners can be considered the fact that the electrostatic filter does not need to be replaced: from time to time it must be removed and washed in warm water. The air purifier without replaceable filters significantly reduces the cost of its operation. If the purifier model is not equipped with a fan, then it has no moving parts, which means that it is completely silent. This is another big plus for electrostatic cleaners.

Now a little about the shortcomings. Why not many — because there is really only one of them, but quite serious. During operation, such an apparatus produces not only ions with a certain charge sign, but also ozone, which is the strongest oxidizing agent.

This gas in low concentration has amazing disinfecting properties. Uncontrolled conversion of oxygen into ozone can lead to quite serious consequences. Ozone has the most detrimental effect on:

• Human respiratory organs.
• Properties of cholesterol, giving it an insoluble form.
• On the human reproductive system, killing male germ cells and preventing their formation.

In our country, ozone will be classified as a harmful substance with the highest hazard class. MPC of ozone content in the air for settlements is 0.03 mg/m³.

Rules for choosing an electrostatic air cleaner

• The device should be selected based on its power, that is, for the volume of which room it is designed.

  High power devices are equipped with a fan that makes noise.

• Noise level. You should pay attention to devices with a noise level of not more than 40 dB.

• The presence of additional stages of purification.

  A fan is required to force air through the filters.

• Safety. When choosing an air cleaner with an electrostatic filter, pay attention to the amount of ozone it produces. We remind you that the maximum average daily ozone concentration should not exceed 0.03 mg/m³.
• Execution. On the modern market of climate technology there are air cleaners of this type, wall-mounted, ceiling-mounted, floor-mounted and desktop. The choice of cleaner depends solely on your preferences.

Due to the comparative high cost of this device, many of our compatriots ask the question of how to make it yourself. Of course, you can make an electrostatic air purifier with your own hands, and there is nothing difficult about it: if you dig a little, you can find a lot of diagrams, instructions and even books on the net. (One of them is called «Home Practitioner», issue 7)

Despite the high voltage, electric shock can be avoided by following basic safety precautions. But, to control the production of ozone at home is very difficult or even almost impossible. Due to the extreme toxicity of ozone, we do not recommend assembling an electrostatic air cleaner on your own.

If the manufacturer indicates data on ozone emission, then you should not pay attention to such a purifier, no matter how attractive it may be in terms of cost.