The Luft Duo air purifier can clean the air no matter where you take it.
Luftqi
This story is part of CES, where our editors will bring you the latest news and the most popular articles from the all-virtual CES 2021.
Like the coronavirus reordered life across much of the world, new and old forms of consumer technology pushed forward to offer solutions: face masks, hand disinfectant and – in homes and workplaces – air purifiers. While conventional air purifiers do not solve the problem of COVID-19, it can reduce its spread by removing aerosol particles that normally take hours to sag naturally from the air. And now, at CES 2021, device manufacturers are introducing new air purifiers, boasting more mobile designs, more efficient filtration and more creative approaches to the basic logic of air cleaning.
I wrote about the best air purifiers for consumers on the market and interview with researchers about air quality, and in general, HEPA is the most effective air filtration technology – a method of cleaning air that has been around for decades. Most air purifiers on the market use HEPA filters, which move air mainly through a plastic or fiberglass screen designed to capture at least 99.7% of 0.3 micrometer particles (a particularly difficult size to to catch).
However, the air purifiers at CES 2021 are moving in new directions. Here are some trends I noticed.
Sustainability: The first trend at CES is a greater focus on waste reduction. Both Luftqi’s and CleanAirZone’s purifiers, for example, completely replace ditch filter replacements and opt for washable filters. Other patterns I would be surprised to see as more products are announced include energy efficiency and environmentally friendly equipment for equipment, for example using sustainable materials.
Innovation in filtering methods: Manufacturers have been testing other filter methods for years, but HEPA-based air purifiers have remained the industry standard because they are so reliable. Larger companies, such as TCL, Brondell and LG, stick to this method, even if they add other technology to their devices. That said, with the explosion of research on the subject, we will undoubtedly see more devices trying to use new approaches to air cleaning. While these devices definitely need to be tested before we sing their praises, this kind of innovation is welcome, even if it’s just how it develops our understanding of air quality and purification in the long run.
COVID-19: The coronavirus is not just the elephant in the room at CES this year, it’s the room itself. The pandemic has completely reformed CES, and it’s a big motivator for device makers. Addressing dust and pollen will be much lower on the priority list for developers selling their cleaners than talking about eliminating virus particles in the air. This means that UV light and other forms of disinfection technology can be over-represented in the air purifiers – as we can already see with almost every air-cleaner developer who focuses many of their messages on how their devices eliminate virus particles.
Although I can not test these devices yet, these new air purifiers offer some exciting ideas. Here are the most inventive air cleaners so far at CES 2021.
Read more: The best air purifiers of 2021
Luftqi Luft Duo
An air purifier you can take with you
Luftqi
Luftqi’s Luft Duo is a battery-powered air purifier that you can take anywhere. If you want to put it on your desk at work, bring it in the car or even put it on your table at the coffee shop, the Air Duo will apparently clean the air around you throughout the day.
The Luft Duo also has a removable, washable filter instead of using disposable HEPA filters. In addition, it uses ultraviolet LEDs and photocatalytic (basically light-activated) technology to break down irritants and pathogens. This kind of approach may sound familiar if you followed air purifiers like Molecules, which used a different form of photocatalytic technology to break down small particles. Molecules have experienced performance issues, but that does not mean that the underlying technology does not have much potential.
The crowdfunding campaign for the Luft Duo in 2020 was incredibly successful and has raised more than $ 300,000 over the past few months, so the excitement for this air purifier is high. We are excited to test it out for ourselves.
Airthings Wave sensors
Air quality sensors that measure the risk of viral transmission and mold
Airthings
The new devices from Airthings are not purifiers, but innovative devices that can work well with air purifiers – and can be intelligently combined with them in the future. The Wave Plus sensor monitors risk factors associated with viral transmission in workplaces, namely CO2 levels, humidity and temperature. The information is then passed on to office managers, who in theory can make adjustments to make the room inhospitable to virus particles.
The Wave Mini is intended for home use and focuses on risk factors for mold, rather than virus transmission.
Both of these devices are really creative ways to help people understand different types of air quality in different spaces. Although they are not air purifiers, I think the ideas behind them could influence the design of future cleaners – especially since many air purifiers already use some form of air quality monitoring.
CleanAirZone Purifier
Cleaning with natural biotics, rather than filters
CleanAirZone
CleanAirZone, or CAZ, introduces a new air purifier at CES that cleans the air using ‘natural biotics and enzymes from nature’, rather than using traditional filters. The company says its own cocktail of water, microbiotics and natural enzymes will eliminate air pollution, including coronavirus particles.
CAZ’s goal is to remove the waste from other air purifiers – especially their disposable filters – and create a more sustainable, “green” environment in the home. As with other air cleaners on this list, the technology is promising, but we hold back the judgment until we can test the product ourselves.
The rest of the purifiers
The Luft Duo and CAZ purifiers are the two most interesting devices announced at CES so far, though there are definitely more on the way once the show kicks off seriously next week. But a few other big companies are getting the demand for air purifiers during the pandemic.
The best known is that Brondell will soon release its Pro Sanitizing Air Purifier, which is a tank of a device. Instead of focusing on innovative new filtration strategies, Brondell’s air cleaner uses the rifle approach. This means HEPA filtration, a disinfectant UV lamp, a nanocrystalline filter and a plasma generator. Each of these technologies has strengths and weaknesses, but it covers the most irritating and airborne contaminants you will find in any home.
Brondell’s new Pro Air Purifier boasts four filtration methods, plus a pre-filter, all for $ 650.
Brondell
The Brondell Pro can effectively clean the air in a space of 538 square feet and will sell for $ 650 at major retailers.
LG has announced three new air purifiers – the PuriCare Mini, PuriCare and PuriCare 360 - each covering small to moderate areas in the home with conventional HEPA or HEPA-like filtration. Although prices have not yet been announced, they are comparable to cleaners that cost less than $ 500. The only PuriCare air purifier released so far costs more than $ 1,000 to cover about 500 square feet, so they could end up in more premium price categories than devices of their size usually land.
CES has barely started, so we’ll update this article as the program progresses, and add more devices as we find it.
The information in this article is for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended as health or medical advice. Always consult a doctor or other qualified healthcare provider regarding any questions you may have about a medical condition or health objectives.