#smartair

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Best 356 Sq. feet Smart Air Purifier - BusiBrag

  I also started using the SmartAir Original fan and HEPA filter in Shanghai as well. I brought it to work, on occasions, but it ended up being my main air purifier on trips to Vietnam. I have a couple photos from Instagram where I used the Original DIY air purifier on a trip to Saigon. As you can tell, it worked very well in a hotel room roughly 40 square meters.

SmartAir DIY air purifier in Saigon with LaserEgg

SmartAir after a couple weeks use in Saigon

Start of Test

I will be using the same SmartAir Original fan and HEPA filter for this test. My bedroom is 20 square meters and has one CO2 ventilator between the room and kitchen area. I started the test around 10:45 am which is the normal time for me to turn my air purifier on after my session at the gym. The AQI in the bedroom was at 55 AQI which is not bad for sealed room.

SmartAir Original Air Purifier next to BlueAir 203

CO2 Ventilator

AQI at start of test

The CO2 is a must have for bedrooms since the level of CO2 actual goes up while you sleep. It is also helpful in spreading clean air around the house.

Day readings

After running for one hour, my bedroom’s AQI just went down by 2 but 15 minutes later, it went to a healthy 37 AQI. The reason for this strange reading most likely the AirVisual Node was updating when I took this screenshot. Hence, it took about 75 minutes for the SmartAir DIY air purifier to get my bedroom to a healthy air quality. Not bad. Four hours later, the AQI dropped to 8 which is very good. Normally this is the range for my BlueAir 203. Even more surprising, when the air quality for Saigon got to 161 AQI, the SmartAir Original was able to maintain my bedroom at a healthy AQI.

AQI reading at one hour into the test

Room at healthy air level

Four hour reading

Evening Readings

With the door closed, the SmartAir Original did very well maintaining the air quality in my bedroom. I normally go to sleep between 11:30 pm and midnight. I kept the SmartAir Original running all night. Normally the air conditioner is on at this time which helps clean the air as well, though just a bit.

Evening reading at 6 PM

Evening reading at 10 pm

Final Morning Readings

My final two readings in the morning. The AQI did go up a little but this is the norm even with my BlueAir 203. It is still at the healthy level. I ended my test at 9:10 am which is roughly the time I always turn my air purifiers off, unless the air is bad.

Morning reading at 6:19 am

Final reading

Final Thoughts

As usual, I am quite happy with the results of the DIY SmartAir Original. I will do another test with SEAACT’s DIY Air Purifier next week.

Until the next air purifier test, stay safe and breath in clean air.

  Unfortunately, the Xiaomi Air Purifier 2 has some issues especially if you leave it on auto mode. Since the software seems to follow China’s Air Quality Index standards, the air in your room will be bad. Set to auto mode, the fan will run higher to purify the air until the room air meets safe levels by Chinese standards. US safe air levels for PM2.5 is 12 micrograms. In China, this is set at 35 micrograms, nearly three times higher than the US standards. For reference, WHO standards is set at 25 micrograms for PM2.5 in a 24 hour period.

  SmartAir Original DIY air purifier in comparison to Xiaomi Air Purifier 2

Start of the Auto mode test

I conducted the following test in my test room located in District 4 of Saigon right on the border of District 1. The AQI reported by the US Consulate was at 159 (roughly 70.9 micrograms). Kaitura recorded the AQI in my test room at 137 AQI or about 57 micrograms at the beginning of the test. I then turned on the Xiaomi Air Purifier 2 on auto mode.

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Ho Chi Minh City PM 2.5 AQI reading start of test

Kaitura app PM 2.5 AQI reading at beginning of test

Room PM 2.5 reading at beginning of test

One hour later, the AQI at the US Consulate increased to 169 (90.3 micrograms). This is one of the highest readings I have experienced in Saigon.

Ho Chi Minh City PM 2.5 AQI reading second hour of test

End of auto mode test

I ran the test for 6 hours on auto mode. As you can see below, in this mode the air cannot get clean. The final reading recorded at 22 micrograms. By Chinese and WHO AQI standards, this is safe. By US AQI standards, this is twice the safe level.

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PM 2.5 reading at the end of the test

Kaiture app PM 2.5 AQI reading at then end of test

For some Expats, this may be acceptable but after living in Shanghai for a year, I prefer to follow the stricter AQI standards. Now granted, I did not run the Xiaomi Air Purifier 2 at the highest fan mode. SmartAir conducted a similar test if you are interested. SmartAir even stated that using auto mode, the air will be unsafe 86% of the time. In the post, they mentioned that after three hours at the highest setting, the Xiaomi Air Purifier 2 reverted back to auto mode. For me, I noticed that the air purifier actually turned off on many occasions after three hours.

Hence, if you are relying on the Xiaomi Air Purifier 2 to keep your room at a safe air level of PM2.5, you either are going to have to get up every three hours or have another air purifier on the side.

DIY SmartAir Original to the rescue

After this test, I decided to give the smaller SmartAir Original DIY air purifier a run again to see if it can get the room to a safe PM2.5 level. Roughly two and a half hours later, the Original got the AQI down to 46 ending at 21 AQI four hours later. That is a safe 6 micrograms. Read  more about my first test of the SmartAir Original air purifier.

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SmartAir Original Fan and SmartAir HEPA filter

Kaitura PM 2.5 AQI one hour running with the SmartAir Original DIY fan and HEPA filter

Kaitura PM 2.5 AQI two and a half hours running with the SmartAir Original DIY fan and HEPA filter

Kaitura PM 2.5 AQI end of test with SmartAir Original

PM 2.5 reading at end of Original test

Conclusions

Does this mean you should throw out your Xiaomi Air Purifier 2? Definitely not, I love it. If I am cooking or the need the air to be cleaned fast, I turn on the Xiaomi at the highest setting. I only use it at highest setting so I tend to turn it off after the air is at a safe level. The Original can be used all day but it will take longer to get the room at a safe level. Side by side, they both work well together and remember, you are going to need at least two air purifiers in an apartment or house.

SEAACT will also provide locally make air purifiers at a lower cost utilizing locally-made fans and imported HEPA filters. In a future blog post, I will test one of the locally made fans that I am actually using today to clean the air in my apartment. We will make these available for purchase by the end of November, 2017.

Until the next test, stay safe and wear your PM2.5 masks.

Kevin Miller, Jr., is one of the co-founders of SEAACT (Southeast Asia Action for Clean Technology), a social enterprise started in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, focusing on promoting clean air, clean water, and solar power technologies. SEAACT will partner with SmartAir to conduct workshops in Hanoi, HCMC, and Phnom Penh, Cambodia, in late 2017.

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LaserEgg measured the PM2.5 air quality at 95 AQI or roughly 32 micrograms.

Microgram reading at start of test

Outside AQI reading by US Consulate at start of test roughly about 65 micrograms

Below is the the SmartAir Original fan I brought from Shanghai. I have two of these in Saigon plus the new SmartAir Original 1.1. Fan plus one filter costs around $34 USD (773,500 VND) in Shanghai. This is a bargain when compared to my $500 USD (11.4 million VND) BlueAir air purifier also purchased in China. The cost seems prohibitive to many first time air purifier buyers but the DIY options are viable. SmartAir, themselves, has conducted extensive tests in China with their DIY fans. The four hour test in my second room also shows that DIY air purifiers will work in Vietnam as well.

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SmartAir Original Fan and SmartAir HEPA filter

Side view with a good HEPA filter and fan seal

Back of Original fan

  The HEPA filter I am using is about 2 months old. It ruffled up from sitting inside a suitcase for two months in Saigon during the moving process. It is still have a good seal between the fan and the HEPA filter. I did not enter the room after I started the test. I live in a very local style apartment so there are lots of air flow for PM 2.5 particles to enter.

  Check the results below after four hours.

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AQI readings after 4 hours, roughly 1 microgram. By US standards, 12 micrograms (50 AQI) is healthy

1 microgram is very clean air

With the Original DIY air purifier, the room’s PM 2.5 count when from 32 micrograms to 1 microgram or roughly 4 AQI. Not bad for an inexpensive air purifier. The two other places I had used the SmartAir Original fared the same. It is also pretty good at maintaining a healthy PM 2.5 over a period of time greater than 8 hours. SmartAir provides this data at the website and we will do the same in the future for Hanoi and HCMC.

  So is the DIY air purifier with HEPA filter a good option for Vietnam? The Xiaomi Air Purifier 2 seems like an affordable option for many, especially in Hanoi. You can see the size comparisons of the SmartAir Original DIY air purifier with the Xiaomi model. So which is the better air purifier? At high speeds, the Xiaomi purifiers the air in a room faster. Unfortunately, due to software issues, it will not be able to keep the air in a room clean over a period of time. This is because it switches to “auto mode” after three hours. You then have to manually set it back to high speed which can be difficult if you are asleep. A DIY air purifier, such as the SmartAir Original, continues to clean at one speed. No automation. I will discuss this issue in more detail in a future blog entry.

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SmartAir Original DIY air purifier in comparison to Xiaomi Air Purifier 2

Top view of Xiaomi Air Purifier 2 and SmartAir Original DIY

Hence, the SmartAir Original, with HEPA filter is a good DIY air purifier option. You will be available to buy them from the Southeast Asia Action for Clean Technology (SEAACT). We are currently working with SmartAir to organize their first workshop in Hanoi. This will be followed by Saigon and then Phnom Penh. Attendees will get an option to buy a DIY air purifier kit with HEPA fan at the workshops. More details will be provided at SEATAC’s website when it is launched this month.

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Kevin Miller, Jr., is one of the co-founders of SEAACT (Southeast Asia Action for Clean Technology), a social enterprise started in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, focusing on promoting clean air, clean water, and solar power technologies. SEAACT will partner with SmartAir to conduct workshops in Hanoi, HCMC, and Phnom Penh, Cambodia, in late 2017.