Cons: An expensive, unproven, and highly questionable device which deliberately emits ozone, a toxic gas.
The Bottom Line: Highly recommended for people who like to waste their money and/or the odor and "feel" of breathing ozone which the EPA calls a toxic gas.
cikaris's Full Review: Ecoquest Fresh Air Air Purifier
INTRODUCTION
The “Fresh Air by Ecoquest” purports to be a device which “improves the quality of air indoors”, “keeps indoor air FRESH and CLEAN-SMELLING day and night” [emphasis added], “eliminates smoke, odors, and tobacco smoke” with a sanitize feature that “kills mold, mildew, and bacteria.”
Whether or not it does the things it claims to do is a matter of controversy. As well, what it does do, how it does it, and how well it does it is also a matter of concern which this review will attempt to address.
PART 1: Basic Facts
The “Fresh Air by Ecoquest” is shaped like a box with the dimensions of 12” H x 9” W x 12” (the size of a small stereo speaker). It weighs 16 pounds. Its power consumption is 90 watts on 110 volts.
It contains a 5 speed fan which the manufacturer rates at a maximum of 400 cfm (cubic feet per minute).
It also contains a 㦄 to 30 KV, 20-30 Khz ion generation pulsator,” “Fixed 6 KV DC needle ion generator,” a UV lamp which allegedly “helps kill airborne germs as they pass through the unit,” and a washable “purification plate.” An optional “HEPA-type” supposedly “helps control additional dust and dander.”
It is operated either by a remote or the control panel on the front of the unit. The unit also “alerts you when normal maintenance needs to be performed or service is required.”
All of this information is from the literature which came in the box with the unit I got.
PART 2: BASIC PROBLEMS
But it is the information which does not come with the unit which is troubling to me.
What exactly “fresh air” and “clean-smelling means” is not clear at first glance. In fact, these phrases, I have discovered, are deceptive like the advertising claims that are used to sell it.
Putting aside the questionable and controversial marketing and advertising of this device the basic problems with the “Fresh Air by Ecoquest” are that a) it has not been certified according to recognized industry standards to perform as claimed, b) there is no competent reliable scientific substantiation for the claims it makes, c) it emits ozone which is classified as a toxic gas by the EPA and mainstream scientists, and d) the company that sells it has a highly questionable and dubious reputation.
PART 3: BASIC QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
WHAT EXACTLY IS THE "FRESH AIR by ECOQUEST”?
First of all, the “Fresh Air by Ecoquest” device is not an air cleaner nor does Ecoquest call it that. It is not an air cleaner because it does not clean the air. EcoQuest claims that it makes “indoor air fresh and clean-smelling day and night.” So far, so good.
“Clean-smelling”, mind you, but not necessarily clean.
HOW LARGE AN AREA DOES IT CLAIM TO COVER?
EcoQuest claims that the fan which comes with their "Fresh Air" has an air moving ability of 400 cfm (cubic feet per minute) and that it works for indoor areas up to 3000 square feet.
When you read that claim you should sense that something is fishy about because even MUCH larger air treatment machines claim much less coverage and usually only over an enclosed room. More to the point, my experience is that it does not cover 3,000 square feet by any stretch of the imagination or nose.
WHAT IS ITS CLEAN AIR DELIVERY RATE (CADR)?
It doesn’t have one because it does not deliver clean air.
WHY IS THE CADR IMPORTANT?
So far, the Clean Air Delivery Rate or CADR, for short, is the only generally recognized measure of the effectiveness of devices which are sold to address indoor air quality.
The "CADR" was first developed by the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers (AHAM) and others in 1988 and was based on the recommended standard for particulate removal developed by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI).
This standard, known as AC-1, measures the removal of tobacco smoke particles, dust and pollen. The Federal Trade Commission and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have both reviewed and agreed that the AC-1 provides a reasonable basis for making claims on performance.
AHAM issues a list of manufacturers and their products which merit a CADR rating and, not surprisingly, the “Fresh Air by Ecoquest” is not among them. EcoQuest is not even mentioned in the list of reputable manufacturers because it is not a reputable manufacturer. As we shall see, Ecoquest has a very bad reputation that only gets worse the closer it is examined.
SO IF THE “FRESH AIR” DOES NOT DELIVER CLEAN AIR WHAT DOES IT DELIVER?
Ozone which they admit comes at the rate of ־-360 mg of ozone per hour”
That comes from the owners's manual with the unit I got.
In short, the "Fresh Air by Ecoquest" is really just an ozone and ion generator with a small fan and a UV light lamp (bulb) tacked on for good measure.
It turns out that Ecoquest and its controversial predecessors, the Alpine and Living Air corporations, has packaged and repackaged the same ozone-ion generators over and over again for years to an unsuspecting public. The so called “Fresh Air by Ecoquest” is just the latest iteration.
Ecoquest claims that their device has a “sanitize feature” that “kills mold, mildew, and bacteria.” But it turns out that the “sanitizer feature of this unit is to be operated [sic] in unoccupied areas only.”
IS THE CLAIM OF CREATING "Indoor air fresh and clean-smelling" CONNECTED WITH OZONE?
Yes. As Consumers Union stated in the just released May 2005 issue of Consumer Reports, “Some people mistake ozone’s sweet smell for a sign of cleaner air.”
More importantly, as the EPA has pointed out, "Manufacturers and vendors of ozone devices often use misleading terms to describe ozone. Terms such as "energized oxygen" or "pure air" suggest that ozone is a healthy kind of oxygen. Ozone is a toxic gas with vastly different chemical and toxicological properties from oxygen.
WHY IS THE ‘SANITIZER FEATURE’ ONLY TO BE USED IN OCCUPIED AREAS?
Because set in the “sanitizer” mode the “Fresh Air by Ecoquest” device produces levels of ozone that are unsafe and unhealthy to breathe. That is why EcoQuest issues the warning not to be in the room when it is "sanitizing" the air!
When the “Fresh Air” is not set on the “sanitizer” mode it doesn't do much of anything except make low levels of ozone and ions which are supposed to attach themselves to particles in the air and make them fall to the floor. But studies of ion generators have shown that they simply don’t work very well or efficiently in typical residential settings which is why they are consistently knocked by consumer testing groups like Consumer Reports.
(See the May 2005 issue and related issues of Consumer Reports for more.)
WHAT IS THE “FRESH AIR” GOOD FOR?
Good question. Ecoquest claims that it "eliminates smoke, odors, and tobacco smoke." They used to claim many other things for their other machines but they were stopped from doing so by court order. (More on that later). The fact is that they don't claim that it eliminates dust or pollen from indoor air so if you are concerned with removing those contaminants from your indoor air you are out of luck.
This is funny since reliable air cleaners that are offered for sale in the store and manufactured by reputable manufacturers emphasize three important things to be removed from the air – smoke, dust and pollen. Ecoquest doesn’t claim that the “Fresh Air” removes dust or pollen. The best it can say, as far as that goes, is that you can have “more control over dust and allergens by installing an optional EcoHelp filter.”
It turns out that the so called “EcoHelp filter” is, in reality, no more than a “HEPA like filter” which doesn’t work so well because it can't. No wonder they don’t claim a CADR for this thing!
Again, the bottom line is that if dust and pollen (not just tobacco smoke) are concerns of yours then you have to look elsewhere for a device that actually removes them from the air. Again, the “Fresh Air” is not an air cleaner. It does not clean the air. It does not deliver clean air. It is not an air filtration device. It does not remove anything from the air. It only adds to indoor air. It adds ozone and ions. If you like that or are a “believer” in ozone and ion generation, fine, then go ahead and buy one, but if you don't then it cannot be recommended.
BUT WHAT IS THE “CLEAN SMELLING FRESH AIR” THAT ECOQUEST KEEPS TALKING ABOUT?
Ozone. But again, without belabouring the point, “Some people mistake ozone’s sweet smell for a sign of cleaner air.” [See May 2005 Consumer Reports page 23]
Ecoquest likes to say that “Like clean water, fresh air is essential to our well being.” But of course what they mean by “fresh air” is very different from what everyone else ordinarily means by “fresh air.”
More importantly, as we shall see, all of Ecoquest's claims for their ozone/ion machines have been questioned, challenged, and demolished by reputable scientists, reliable air quality experts, state and federal courts, and federal agencies for years not just Consumer Reports.
To conclude this part of the review consider that there are five basic facts about Ecoquest’s device which are not in dispute because they are inarguable.
Briefly put:
1) Ecoquest has no "competent reliable scientific substantiation" for their device and they admit that right on the side of the box of the “Fresh Air” unit.
2) Ecoquest's main claim for the device in occupied spaces is that it "eliminates smoke, odors, and tobacco space." (That is right from the owner's manual).
But even if one assumes that they do that Ecoquest does not say HOW WELL it does that. In other words, relative to other air cleaners which show their CADR ratings, how well does it eliminate those things in an area up to 3,000 sq ft? How fast does it clear the air? They don't say. (See http://www.cadr.org/consumer/what_is_cadr.html for more.)
3) Ecoquest's other claim for their device is that in unoccupied spaces it "kills mold, mildew, and bacteria" (also from the owner's manual.)
Again, not to belabour the point, even if one puts aside the controversy surrounding this claim and assumes that this claim is true, Ecoquest does not say HOW WELL it does that either.
4) Ecoquest does not claim it removes dust and pollen from indoor air. If it did you can be sure they would claim that. But, in that case, they would probably expose themselves to having to say how well it works compared to other devices which have earned a CADR (Clean Air Delivery Rating) for dust and pollen. But that is a mute point because they don't make this claim.
5) Last, but not least, even if one assumes that the device does everything they claim it does and one puts aside all the controversy and condemnation of these devices and the criticism and legal judgements against Ecoquest itself, the basic problem is that there are many reliable air cleaning machines made by reputable certified manufactures that have been tested and proven to work for smoke (as well as dust and pollen) that cost less.
The bottom line for me is that apart from making the air smell a bit like a swimming pool (a chlorine like smell) which made me slightly naseous, there was no other noticeable change to the indoor air. For all these reasons, I can NOT RECOMMEND the "Fresh Air" machine.
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