Filters after the event seem crazy.

Why is there no huge pressure on the SAR Government and regional counterparts to put filters on at source?

Stop the incredibly lethal stuff escaping into the air and people's lungs from where it is generated.

Costs too much??? I'll bet the health ramifications outweigh the cost of industrial filters by a big margin.

One thing they will never be known for around here Al e is being visionaries, until people start literally dropping dead in the street I gaurantee you nothing will be done about it.
Open the window, take a big whiff, that is money you can smell, I hope for everyone's sake in hong kong it's worth it :suspect:

Al.e.

great point, but it just highlights the 'Hong Kong Spirit' instead of fixing the problem at source, you can boost your economy by selling very expensive air-filtration units to the fearful. And although the IQAir units are "assembled in Switzerland", i don't think all the raw material and piece parts are made there....probably a lot closer to the Peak, than the yodelling filled valleys around the Matterhorn!

Best Regards,

N1 Vibes

The IQ Air technicians came to check the apartment on Monday 9th May and here is the result. Unfortunately I could not have selected a worse day as the pollution index at location was a very low 15.. They came with a standard IQ150 purifier and two high tech air measuring units. All windows and doors of the apartment had been fully closed for 24 hours and the air quality was initially measured in each closed room. The outside air was then measured on the balcony and through opened windows. Surprisingly both the inside air and the outside air were similar at around 30,000 particles per litre of air.
The IQ150 was then switched on in one of the closed room and after 15 minutes the numbers fell from 30,000 particles per litre of air to 6000 particles per litre of air. The agent remarked that if the purifier was left running for 2 hours then the level in the room would be close to zero.
When the probe of the air measuring unit was placed in the fresh air outlet of the IQ150 it registered single digits which indicated it was doing its job.
The apartment also registered high levels of volatile organic compounds which the agent said came from paint, varnish, glue and cleaning agents. The origin of these volatile organic compounds could not be established.
After the initial purchase price the running costs is about HK$100 per month for occasional new filters and power. The filters are not cleanable, they have to be replaced.
Is it worth it?? Perhaps but I am not sure at this stage mainly because I still do not know if the heavy metal bad guys are actually being removed.

Prince of Dzun

Prince, bear in mind that Sunday, Monday and today are not the norm, they are as good as it gets, and yes if it was like that all the time that would be fine. But the facts are that more than a 1/3 of the year is below 8Ks viz and last week there were 2 days that exceeded 1,000,000PMs ( 60,000 being the WHO limit ). Also, the WHO estimate that exercising outdoors in Hong Kong is safe for around 1 month/year.

No filter will get rid of all the nasties but do you really want you and/or your family to be breathing the PMs PLUS the organic materials ?

Unfortunately, with summer coming and the mostly clear days, everyone soon forgets that they will be choking again in less than 6 months, and it is statisically getting worse each year .

hongkongfooey;

Of course everything you say is perfectly correct and the test would have been more convincing on a day when it was socked in with a pollution index of 120 !! I asked about purchasing an IQ hand held digital particle scanner similar to the one used on the test and was told can do at $HK 25,200. Another interesting fact that came to light was that the IQ250 model has three filters and the IQ150 has only two filters. Not sure what the third filter is for. I'm in touch with the engineering department of the agents to try and find out. Regards,

Prince of Dzun.

you can compare the IQAir models here, the 3rd filter is activated carbon and some other neutralizing chemicals for gaseous pollutant and odour control

http://www.iqair.com/uk/pdf/iqair-hp-series.pdf

don't worry, they will deliver the very same result on a 500.000 p/l day ...

and if you really want to buy a L aser particle counter you will have to fork out at least a few thousand US$ ... thats just what they cost:

Handheld Particle Counter: Experts Review Handheld Particle Counters

freightdod188;

Thanks for the info, very informative. I'm slowly starting to come to grips with what's involved in breathing fresh air but can't understand why the agents of air purifiers don't volunteer more particulars about their products. It seems that if one wants a good understanding of all that's involved then one can only ask one question at a time. Regards,

Prince of Dzun.

Just to clarify guys, Is it correct to say that the upmarket IQair systems are capable of removing the SO2 and NOx concentrations?

Roxy, the IQs pretty much spew out clean air, but on a day in excess of 500,000PMs/litre, which is becoming commonplace in HKG between October and May, any purifier will struggle. I can't give exact figures but if it's +500,000 outside then your IQ will struggle to get that below the WHO limit of 60,000.
Of course, you and/or your family can't hide in your flat all day and very few places in HKG have air purifiers running and the ones I have seen are way too small for the area they are servicing and never cleaned.