An aerosol is an airborne solid or liquid particle. Aerosols include pathogens, viruses and some bacteria. They are spread via aerosol or droplet transmission (for example when coughing or sneezing)
The size of an aerosol particle determines how far it is carried by air. The size also impacts how far into the respiratory system the particle ends up. Finally, the size determines how easy or difficult it is to filter the aerosol out of air.
Clean Air Delivery Rate (Clean Air Delivery Rate). CADR indicates how quickly and how much air, from which particles of a certain size have been eliminated, an air purifier produces.
Particles with a diameter smaller than 10 micrometres (PM₁₀ = Particulate Matter smaller than 10 μm) are called respirable particles.
Airborne particles are called aerosols. The best-known particles are respirable particles PM10 and fine particles PM2.5. Particles that enter the respiratory system may have adverse effects on human health.
An air purifier is a device that filters impurities out of air and produces clean air. There is a wide range of home air purifiers available on the market, and their filtration capacity and clean air delivery rate (CADR) vary significantly. Learn more about Lifa Air’s high-quality, tested room air purifiers on the Air Purifiers page.
Air pollution refers to particles or gaseous bodies harmful to health and the environment. The most common air pollutants with adverse health effects include fine particles, ozone, nitrogen dioxide and sulphur dioxide. The sources of these impurities include road traffic, energy production, small combustion of wood, and industry.
Gases harmful to health include ozone, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, formaldehyde, ammonia, radon and volatile organic compounds (VOC/TVOC).
Fine particles are air pollutants with a diameter smaller than 2.5 micrometres (PM2.5 = Particulate Matter smaller than 2 μm). Fine particles are particularly harmful to health, and they are considered the most hazardous type of air pollution because they can enter deep into the respiratory system.
See “Fine particles”.
See “Respirable particles”.
Volatile organic compounds (Volatile organic compounds)(VOC), are gases harmful to health that exist in indoor air. TVOC (Total volatile organic compound) means the total compound content (total volatile organic compound).
The primary sources of VOC are building and interior design materials. Outdoor air pollution and car exhausts increase the quantity of these compounds in indoor air, but you can also affect your home’s VOC level with your own choices. For example, some personal hygiene products, disinfectants and cleaning agents volatilise and cause direct harm to your respiratory system or have harmful chemical reactions in the indoor air.
VOC compounds include aromatic hydrocarbons, such as toluene and benzene, aldehydes, alkanes, ketones, terpenes, halogenated compounds, esters, and alcohols, such as ethanol, n-butanol and propanol.