Living starts with Safe Air
With air quality detoriating in our major cities, everyone is exposed to a toxic cocktail of pollutants bringing respiratory ailments and even premature death.
With air quality detoriating in our major cities, everyone is exposed to a toxic cocktail of pollutants bringing respiratory ailments and even premature death.
The silent crisis
Dr Arvind Kumar, who has launched Doctors for Clean Air to raise awareness about the impact of air pollution. says “It’s a silent crisis. It’s an emergency.” A chest surgeon at New Delhi’s Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, Kumars first patients three decades ago were primarily men, aged mostly in the 50s and above. But in the past six years, half of Dr Kumar’s lung cancer patients have been non-smokers, young women. and even teens!
“If these guys are having black deposits on their lungs as teens, what’s going to happen to them 20 years later?” asks Dr Kumar,
Leading the rest
India is possibly the worst polluted country in the world today, going by Financial Times figures over the past few years, And while we can see horrifying pictures of India Gate in smoggy Delhi or experienced burning eyes and itching throats on Bengaluru roads, what will probably come as a shock is that indoor air quality - yes, the air inside our homes - can be up to five times worse!
And, as we spend 90 percent of our time indoors, the question of clean air is even more important whether that be in our homes, offices, schools, health centres and so on. While the problem is invisible to us, the fact is that fine dust or particulate matter (PM) ranging from 10µm (PM10) to as tiny as 2.5µm (PM2.5) can cause serious lung and heart health problems - to $200 billion per year.
Exposure to some indoor air pollutants, aggrevate symptoms of diseases such as asthma. Other times, we may experience itching/burning sensation in the eyes from VOC in our home paints and other chemicals. And of course, the cleanest home is also home to virus and bacteria, some of which can cause severe health issues.
The long term risks
Other health disorders may appear years after exposure has occurred and can include respiratory disease, heart disease and even cancer,
In most of our homes, air infiltration - outside air coming in - is restricted or absolutely omitted in households with air-conditioners, and a perception (true) that outdoor air is polluted, and therefore should not be let in. However, though polluted, if the air exchange rate is low, pollutant levels can get concentrated and increase to higher than outdoor levels.
EarthSmiles.net AirSmiles Air cleaner:
a) Power 18w, optional EC model only 6W
b) Room size 30ft
c) Filteration method nonwoven ceramic filter
d) Effectivity Dust/Pollen, PM2.5, bacteria, etc.
e) Size 9.5x4.5"
*Specifications may change with ongoing innovation.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates that two million people die every year from small particulate matter in the air. Other health problems are coming to light. For instance, a recent study showed a correlation between higher levels of particulate air pollution and higher numbers of babies born with low birth weights.
Cleaner indoor air is clearly a human right; but it also offers practical benefits. For example, a study by William Fisk from the Californian Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory concluded that better indoor air quality boosted worker productivity by 0.5 percent to 5 percent, leading to estimated savings of between $20 billion to $200 billion per year.
Solutions?
Having more outdoor air let in is not always an option, as pollution levels may be just as high as concentrated indoor pollutants. And even in this time of COVID19, you would probably not want to wear an anti-pollution respirator inside your home!
Some indoor plants do absorb VOCs and harmful chemicals from the air, however you need large quantities of very specific plants to achieve any real effect of controlling pollution. So the next solution would be a mechanical air cleaner, or an "Air Purifier".
These devices range from the sise of a small radio to a washing machine and essentially do one thing - suck air into their bodies with a powerful fan, driving it through a filter of some kind (usually a 'HEPA' filter) or two, and exiting the clean air back into the room. The size of the room, of the device, power of the fan and filteration medium used determines how long such a machine will take to bring down pollutants to an acceptable level. And the bells-and-whistles and brand determine the price.
Expensive
Most people put off buying a air purifier, full well knowing they are the only things that can work, because of the price. Air Purifiers are expensive, with the cheapest one from low-cost brand Xiaomi around Rs. 8000. Larger models from Honeywell or Phillips can set you back by Rs. 50000 or more.
So why are these devices so expensive? Air thru filter = clean air... how costly could that be? Not very. With a High Efficency Particulate Absorber (HEPA) filter and a good motor, something half the price as the Mi model mentioned above can be just as effective. But the brands can't let you have something so essential as clean air so cheap, can they? So, add to the mix: PM2.5 laser particle counter (cool to know how dirty you air was), Filter replacement sensor (buy a new filter, now!), remote control, speed levels (clean your air very slowly, anybody?) and even a smart app (its 2020?)... and up goes the price. If you need all that, fine - if you don't, SmartAir, a pioneering purifier company, sends you a hi-powered table fan, a HEPA filter and a couple of cloth straps with velcro. Attach them together, and voilà... you have a filteration machine cleaning the air in the same league as the big boys. For a paltry 3399/- only.
And then, there's AirSmiles!
While we absolutely love the simplicity and effectiveness of SmartAir, the DIY construction may not be everyone's cup of tea, As tinkerers in our local reality, we considered that despite the effectiveness of a HEPA filter, the cost of replacement - albeit every 6 months or so - may be a little difficult in a, ESSENTIAL device every Indian home should be having!
So we set out to create AirSmiles. Less than a foot high, this little device costs even less than the SmartAir, looks as good as the Mi and cleans just as well as similarly sized air purifiers. We got rid of the HEPA filter, using special 3M (and other) air filteration fabric, in plain and pleated configurations - costing about 20 times less than a HEPA filter. The low price meant that you could change tham more often to get the best performance from your AirSmiles device. Better yet, the 24x7 capable motor is so efficent that AirSmiles draws only 18w!
AirSmiles features
AirSmiles standard filter
The features of our standard filter are in some ways superior the HEPA filters on conventional air purifiers. Being low density, air is allowed to flow freely while even the tiny 2.5 micron particles are caught, lowering power bills and motor stress experienced by HEPA-based Purifiers.
Filters can be subscribed to, and your new filters will reach you before your old ones run out! Saving you time and hassle!
You can even opt for a different filter material, like 3M Filterette® or pop in a activated carbon deodouriser!
About the author:
Michael Biswas likes to be Mr GreenMind - which means he's always inventing little things to make the planet a better place! When he's not trying to figure out the secret of prepetual energy, he writes on environmental topics.
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