talhelmt

Hey, this is Thomas, founder of Smart Air.

Excellent question! Particulates are very important, but gases can be a problem too. We talk about gas pollution in our workshops, and I've written about it on Particle Counting:

http://particlecounting.tumblr.com/post/60881490803/the-limi...

However, I don't know of home filters that target gases.

This is Thomas--founder of Smart Air. Interesting question. I've seen plenty of studies showing the effects of air pollution on people's health (the study showing pollution shrinks fetus size is particularly scary: http://www.news.qut.edu.au/cgi-bin/WebObjects/News.woa/wa/go...)

But I haven't seen experiments done with home air filters using health effects as the DV. I'd actually love to donate some filters to anyone in public health or medicine who wants to run that study!

This is Thomas--founder of Smart Air. Thanks for the ideas!

I totally agree--we've been doing tests with more powerful fans, and the results are great. We'll be coming out with a more powerful model soon. Of course, it's a bit more expensive to get a more powerful fan.

We've avoided using pre-filters because we don't want to cut down on air flow (and HEPAs aren't all that expensive), but we'll probably use a pre-filter on the more powerful model.

About where to put the filter, is there a reason to put it on the intake side? I've heard several people make that argument, but I've never heard a good justification for it.

Hey, this is Thomas--Smart Air is my startup. Thanks for the ideas! I'll consider adding a subscription service. Several people told me at the beginning NOT to publish my findings (at http://particlecounting.tumblr.com/) because I should make money off of it instead. But I published it anyway because I thought (1) if I don't make a dime, but people learn how to protect their health without going broke, that alone is worth it and (2) there's space for an air filter company that publishes data openly.

There's so much trust involved in air filters because it's almost impossible to know if they're working if you don't have an expensive particle counter. So we're hoping that our open data and methods will show that they can protect their health without going broke.

Hey, this is Thomas--I started Smart Air and the Particle Counting Tumblr that preceded it (http://particlecounting.tumblr.com/).

Thanks for all the useful suggestions! Our main philosophies are to (1) not rip people off and (2) be open about our data. I post data and testing methods to Particle Counting on a regular basis.

Simon--you're right about the fan speed. We've been doing experiments with more powerful fans, and we'll be coming out with a more powerful model soon. It'll be better for bigger spaces, and it cuts the particle counts down a lot faster. The fan is a bit more expensive though.