Other Systems

Negative Ion Generators

Some products claim to freshen the air by releasing negative ions exclusively, and in the case of the Super Air 7 a negative ion generator is added to the end. Any system that works primarily through negative ions is going to have a negative effect for your system.

First of all, isolated negative ion generators are going to be charging the dust in the air and depositing on your walls, on your PC, and all sorts of surfaces. You do not want to charge any particles without have a mechanism to collect and capture them. Second, there is also the question of having these components near your PC. In our hands-on tests, we have found no stability issues, although we have seen some manufacturer recommend keeping the ionizer 6-10 feet away from your PC.

There is however, some question of negative ions in the air and how it affects people. One of the earliest studies comes from a 1976 issue of Science, the hands-down most respected science journal. These researchers saw that positive ions routinely exercised a detrimental effect and that deprivation of small air ions increased the cumulative mortality rate of mice infected with the flu.. It's worth noting that PC monitors deplete negative ions in the air around it, so perhaps a negative ion generator in a PC room isn't such a bad thing. The jury is still out on this one.

In humans, there haven't been any convincing studies of any benefits. A study from the University of Washington showed no change in subjective or objective air quality with negative ion generators, and a Cochrane review showed no effect on ionizers (positive or negative) for people with asthma.

With the Super Air 7, ideally the air being negatively charged has had most of the dust filtered out. Nonetheless, the effects of negative ion release is up the air. Fortunately, the Oreck Super Air 7 has a switch in front to turn off the ionizer. This disables the negative ion release, but leaves the electrostatic precipitation components active. It's as if they were thinking ahead.

Carbon Filters

Carbon works superbly for absorbing odors although it does need to be fairly regularly replaced. The Super Air 7's carbon filters are fairly light. If odor is a bigger problem than dust in your room, you can find other filters such as those from Austin Air, which feature huge amounts of carbon. Alternatively, since the Oreck uses a high-pressure blower fan, it's also possible to make your own mod and add additional carbon filtering stages. Of course, taking care of the source of the smell is best.

Mitsubishi Plasma Pure

Mitsubishi has a product branded "Plasma Pure." This is a HEPA filtration unit with a UV lamp which is designed to provide Oxygen Singlet molecules, O1, Charged oxygen molecules, O2-, Hydroxyl Radicals, HO, and a low level of ozone, O3. The UV helps to sterilize the air passing through the unit, however two things to consider are that 1) you don't need to sterilize the air passing through the unit and 2) it's questionable if releasing oxygen singlets and radicals is a good thing.

Electrostatic precipitation

Electrostatic precipitation is popular for its lower cost, maintenance, and footprint. Oreck isn't the only manufacturer of consumer fan-based electrostatic precipitation technology. Products from companies such as Blue Air, and Friedrich are known to work very well and it's up to you to figure out how if how large of an area you would like to clean.