What is the connection between air purifier noise and indoor air quality?
To be effective, an air cleaner needs to be run whenever people are in the workplace. So it’s important that in-room air cleaner you select doesn’t interrupt workplace productiivty because it is too noisy. Even the most advanced in-room air cleaning technology will only work well if people are willing to use it. If air purifier noise is intrusive, users may decide to turn it off. Office noise has been called “the silent productivity killer,” and air purifier noise can be part of the problem.
How to avoid air purifier noise: What defines a truly quiet air purifier?
The first requirement is a low level of perceived sound, as close as possible to 50-55 d(B)A on the maximum fan speed—what you would find in a quiet office. Most large room air purifiers produce much higher noise levels – in the 60-70 d(B)A range. While that might not seem like a big increase, it is. Due to the logarithmic scale used in sound measurement, an increase of only 10 d(B)A, from 50 to 60, creates a 10-fold increase in perceived noise.
A smooth sound profile is also necessary. The presence or absence of pure tones is one reason that two air purifiers with the same reported sound level or dB(A) produce different sound profiles. It’s the difference between a noise that annoys (pure tone) and one that disappears into the background (complex tone).
Brio® 650: Designing a pleasing sound profile
At Agentis Air, we asked the question: What good is a high-capacity air purifier if it only gets used on the lowest speed due to noise? In other words, what good is a noisy air purifier?
Recognizing the critical importance of reducing air purifier noise as well as quiet operation at high speeds, and without pure tones, we designed the Brio 650 Room Air Purifier to rapidly clean large spaces while maintaining an ultra-quiet sound profile.
To create the quietest air purifier on the market we knew these three elements were essential:
1.Minimize backpressure, which allows for lower power use and quieter fan operation
2. Custom-develop a fan using CFD and engineering innovations borrowed from nature to create optimal airflow with minimal air purifier noise
3. Eliminate all pure tones to create a smooth sound profile that blends into the background.
STEP 1: Minimize back-pressure to reduce air purifier noise with APART Technology
Non-clogging APART™ electrostatic technology has an inherently low backpressure that keeps performance high and noise low. Instead of trapping particles in a filter, they are drawn out of the airflow and into a disposable collection cartridge.
This wouldn’t be possible with HEPA or MERV air purifiers, due to backpressure (resistance) from the mechanical filter, and clogging. Mechanical air purifiers have higher air purifier noise with higher speeds. To reduce air purifier noise choose Brio 650 with APART electrostatic technology
Step 2: Design a really quiet but powerful fan
Reducing air purifier noise is a complex design challenge. The Brio 650 fan design is optimized for quiet performance using computational fluid dynamic (CFD) modeling, extensive prototyping, and testing. The result is Brio 650’s vane-axial fan with custom blades. And Brio’s brushless DC fan motor operates efficiently without excess noise.
Our low-noise fan takes design inspiration from the silent flight of owls. Comb-like serrations on the leading edge and fringe on the trailing edge of an owl’s feathers scatter the sound of air movement, so prey can’t hear their approach.
The serrated edges of our fan blades, like owl feathers, serve to reduce noise as they break up and scatter sound.
It’s also important to evaluate CADR and air purifier noise at every fan speed. Air purifiers promoted as ultra-quiet at low speeds may also have a low, ineffective CADR. Brio 650 delivers an effective CADR with ultra-quiet operation, even at low fan speeds.
Step 3: Remove pure tones
The quality of sound made by an air purifier can add to the perception of air purifier noise. Pure tones sound thin and artificial, due to their lack of harmonics. In contrast, complex tones include harmonics, resulting in a richer, more natural sound that’s easily ignored as the brain habituates to familiar, natural sounds.
The spikes on the sound profiles for a Brio competitor, shown below in red, indicate the presence of pure tones, with concentrated energy at specific frequencies and little spread to neighboring frequencies.
The Brio 650 profile, shown in green, is smoother with fewer spikes. The energy is more evenly distributed across the spectrum, with no distinct, isolated spikes to indicate the presence of disturbing pure tones. The result of iterative CFD modeling, 3D-prototyping, wind tunnel and sound chamber testing at our integrated design and engineering facility, Brio 650 provides natural-sounding complex tones that reduce air purifier noise.
Brio 650 quietly delivers clean air on all speeds with low air purifier noise
Fan Speed |
CADR |
Max sound |
Tones |
|---|---|---|---|
Speed 4 |
340 |
53 |
Complex |
Speed 3 |
322 |
49 |
Complex |
Speed 2 |
262 |
43 |
Complex |
Speed 1 |
197 |
39 |
Complex |
You care about indoor air. We do, too.
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