The Assessment of Particulate Matter (PM2.5) Removal Efficiency on Air Cleaner Products through Full Scale Test in Korea

This study is designed to investigate the particulate matter removal efficiency of domestic air cleaner products and seeks to compare the particulate matter removal efficiency in a laboratory with that in real life. 
To this end, a test was conducted in a full-scale testing laboratory at the Korea Institute of Civil Engineering and Building Technology (KICT), and the actual particulate matter removal efficiency of air cleaners was estimated by measuring changes in indoor concentrations of particulate matter (PM2.5) before and after the operation of air cleaners. For the test, CA certified air cleaners, which are most widely used in Korea, were used, and Dust Track II Aerosol Monitor 8532 that provides real-time mass concentration readings was used for measurement. 
In the test, the same influencing factors as those of the actual house were set in the full-scale testing laboratory, and changes in concentrations of indoor-generated particulate matter were measured consecutively. Three company products were used as test specimens. The methods of removing particulate matter for each product are divided into electrostatic precipitation technique, HEPA filter and others (360-degree HEPA air filtration system). Through this study, changes in particulate matter concentrations by removal method, application area, installation location and number of units installed were measured, and the efficiency of particulate matter removal using air cleaners was examined based on the results.