Ozone is a highly reactive form of oxygen that affects our health in positive and negative ways. When ozone levels are high in the atmosphere, ozone protects us from damaging UV rays. However, at ground level this toxic gas has oxidizing properties that can damage our mucus and respiratory tissues when concentrations are above 50 parts per billion (ppb). Symptoms of ozone toxicity can range from coughing and chest pain to triggering pre-existing conditions such as asthma, heart disease, and emphysema¹.
According to a study by the California Air Resource Board (CARB), which mandates ozone testing for air purifiers sold in California, certain consumer products and home appliances such as laundry water treatment systems, facial steamers, vegetable washers, and others can also emit ozone during their use².
In the US, the California Air Resource Board (CARB) mandates that all electronic air cleaners sold in the state of California be CARB certified and demonstrate ozone emission levels to be less than 50 parts per billion (ppb). All Blueair air purifiers sold in the US are CARB certified.
No. All Blueair air purifiers are CARB certified which means that they are considered safe and do not exceed ozone emission limits. Blueair has conducted ongoing independent testing to ensure our air purifiers do not release harmful levels of ozone. Our units are tested in accordance with UL Standard 867 and demonstrate ozone emission levels far below the mandated California Air Resource Board (CARB) ozone emissions limit of less than 50 parts per billion (ppb).
Tested at Intertek, a CARB-accredited test lab, Blueair products undergo a comprehensive series of tests to measure ozone emissions. In these eight-hour-long tests, air purifiers are tested on high and low speed – with and without filters installed. The Intertek facility features environmental chamber technology, using trusted and proven scientific methods available for testing to verify if products produce ozone.
Certified air purifiers, including all Blueair air purifiers, are listed on the CARB website.
CARB certified products are also identified by the CARB text printed on the product packaging:
Meets California ozone emissions limit. CARB certified.
In 2021, Blueair’s Blue Pure Auto, DustMagnet, Protect, and Pure Fan Auto models also received Zero Ozone Verification, one of the most stringent ozone emissions standards available, by independent testing lab Intertek. Products with this designation meet or exceed all other nationally recognized and certification programs, emitting ozone concentrations of 5 parts per billion (ppb) or less. Additional Blueair models are currently also being certified.
Additionally, a number of Blueair products are tested to verify their ozone reducing capabilities at the RISE Research Institute of Sweden. The tests are done in a closed chamber where an ozone generator is used to emit ozone into the space. The air purifier is then turned on and the ozone concentration at the inlet is compared to the ozone concentration at the outlet. The test showed that the air, after passing through the air purifier’s filter, had up to 75% lower ozone concentration compared to the surrounding air.
Blueair's HEPASilent™ and HEPASilent Ultra technologies use a combination of mechanical and electrostatic filtration to capture and remove harmful particles from indoor air: The ionizer component of the technology is designed to specifically and strategically electrostatically charge particles at a very low current in order to increase the filtration efficiency of the air purifier’s filter and achieve a higher Clean Air Delivery Rate (CADR) and more silent and energy-efficient operation.
Our technology requires a mechanical filter to remove the charged particles from the air and Blueair’s air purifiers could not function as an air purifier without a filter. This is fundamentally different from air cleaners such as ionizers/ion generators, and electrostatic precipitation (ESP)/ ozone generator air cleaners that can solely use ion or ozone generation to clean the air.
