THIS UNIT IS INCREDIBLE, we have now had it running for 4 weeks and the dust load throughout the house is down dramatically. Before we installed the unit I had trouble sleeping because I was unable to breathe through my nose which was causing me to snore and puff which was driving my wife crazy. I can now sleep through the entire night, wake up rested and still be breathing through my nose when I wake up.... and amazingly my wife is still laying next to me, she has not disappeared to our guestroom.
How can I tell that the dust load is reduced?
Because I clean the element every Sunday by hosing it down using the hot water from the shower handle in the bathtub. After the first week the water was like thick gray mud. The second week it was less muddy and the third and fourth week there was almost no sign of discoloration.
We are now on the fifth week and have moved the unit into the bedroom.
I plan on cleaning the unit every 2 to 4 weeks in the future.
Technology
The unit contains a large element with electrodes on to which dust and particles build up as a result of electric charges. This technology is known as an "electrostatic precipitator" or "electro filter".
The unit also contains a smaller (thinner) element that appears to function as an air distributor for the purpose of generating even air distribution within the unit itself.
Cleaning
The unit contains two elements that are easily removed for cleaning by opening the top cover or lid. The largest unit is pulled straight up; the smaller unit is locked in place by a small plastic latch.
DON'T touch the bottom of the large unit immediately after you have removed it or you WILL get an electric shock because of static electricity.
Brookstone is advertising that you can clean the elements in the dishwasher. I don't think this is a good idea because the electrodes are very delicate and can easily be damaged by the rods designed for separating dishes. These rods are normally part of the dishwasher basket and can not be removed from our dishwasher basket.
I plan to continue with my method of simply hosing the elements with hot water using the shower head handle.
I dry the elements on top of the air inlet from our heating system. I think there is great risk of damaging the unit if moisture or droplets are present when the unit is put back in service. I don't want to try.
Reliability
Since we have only had the unit for a month I can not comment on reliability yet. If the unit fails or something happens to the unit I will update this review.
Noise
The unit is equipped with a kind of knob you can turn up and down to regulate the speed of the interior fans. The scale is from 1 to 10.
1 - 2 is whisper quiet
2 - 4 noise is noticeable
5 is a good setting for a living room
7 is tolerable in a living room
8 -10 is noisy we only use this setting when we leave the house.
Ozone
The unit is generating ozone; I can smell the ozone especially if the unit has been operating with the knob set at 8 to 10 in a small room. Some people characterize it as a clean smell.
High concentrations of ozone are not good for you. However units are now regulated by the FDA. I place the unit at a distance from the bed to minimize concentrated exposure.
We run it on a setting of 1 or 2 in our bedroom at which level the smell is hardly noticeable.
Note: You may not be able to smell the ozone after having been exposed for a while. But if you have been outside for a while you should be able to smell it.
Background
We have one unit running in a 2300 square foot house. Heating and cooling is by forced air. Flooring is a combination of hardwood and carpeting. First we placed ours near the two largest air inlets thereby capturing the majority of the air and dust circulating in the house.
If you have a "forced hot water heating system" you may have to move the unit from room to room because there is less air circulation throughout the house. I have noted, although we have a forced air system, that the unit has to operate in the bedroom to ensure I can breathe freely through my nose all night.
Our house is over 20 years old and fines (fine dust) have been building up over the years. Fines will build up because a normal vacuum cleaner even with a hepa filter will not capture the smallest particles which are then circulated causing massive accumulation over the years.
Cost to operate
The Brookstone air cleaner is equipped with four 12 Volt fans labeled 0.36 Amp. This translates to a power consumption of: 0.36Amps x 12Volt x 4 fans = 17.28 Watt
You also have to ad the power consumption for the electrostatic precipitator which may be around 5 watts. Brookstone is advertising 8 watts at low speed (fans running very slowly). So the real consumption at full speed is for all practical purposes around 22 Watts.
If the price of electricity is $0.10 per kWh (kilo watt hour) the annual cost for running continuously for a year is $0.10 x 365 days x 24 hours x 22 watts / 1000 conversion to kilo watt = $19.27 per year at full speed.
At low speed the cost is only $7.00 per year at slow speed.
Disclaimer
I am not a expert in snoring but it works on "my type" by keeping air passage in my nose intact.
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