Sharp PlasmaCluster FP-F40E-W Air Purifier Review: Breathe Free in a Pollution-Reduced Ambience

Urban towns are smokehouses. You can’t escape from pollution no matter where you are—roads, offices and even your homes. While you couldn’t do much about it in the past, there’s a new technology that’s gaining in popularity. These are portable air purifiers for rooms of varying sizes and meant to rid them off dust, allergens, odours and other contaminants. A key health benefit is the release of high density ions, both positive and negative, through the plasmacluster technology. This technology basically uses an electrical discharge process to constantly release ions in the atmosphere. These ions form highly oxidising hydroxide radicals when they adhere to the surfaces of moulds and viruses. They physically break down and remove proteins from their surfaces, thus neutralising them.

We placed this air purifier in our office at the center of a hall that should be around 40x30 feet in size. The operating sound is tolerable for both home and office environs. The device has different settings that tell you about the status of the plasmacluster filter and also the air quality around you. It works by sucking in air from the ambience which is then passed through three layers of high-quality filters before it is released through the outlet vent. The function and order of the three filters (from innermost to outermost) are:

1. HEPA filter that captures 99.97% of 0.3 micron dust particles.

2. Active Carbon Filter/Charcoal Layer that helps in removal of smoke and chemical fumes.

3. Micron Mesh Pre-filter that captures dust particles as small as 50 microns.

All these three filters are designed to trap pollens, allergens and PM 2.5 particles from the air. Given that some 25 people work in the hall, we felt the difference in the quality of air from few minutes after switching on the device. It provided a pristine smell to the air in the surrounding ambience and removed odours that could be attributed to unremoved food particles, unkept areas, and even pest droppings. When left on for longer periods, the effects of the air purifier were felt by people sitting as far as 15 feet from the device.

Verdict

The air purifier market is growing and such devices are particularly useful for people suffering from breathing problems. But given the rising pollution levels in cities and reduction in cross-ventilation due to the growing size of buildings surrounding us, even healthy people won’t mind having one for company.