The Clean Air Delivery Rate (CADR) program was developed by the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers (AHAM) and its participating members to test and certify Room Air Cleaners.  It is based on the recommended standard for particulate removal originally adopted in 1988 by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI).  This standard known as AC-1, measures removal of tobacco smoke particles, dust and pollen. AHAM certification measures CADR which is Clean Air Delivery Rate.

Clean air delivery rate is used on most big box air cleaners to validate pricing.  Most units that are measured by CADR are filters that are very inefficient.  In most cases it has become a way to measure price.  For example, if a unit on a Wal-Mart shelf has 125 CADR then the selling price would be $125.00 and so on.  Units that use a high efficiency filter usually do not rate there products by CADR.

Many customers have inquired as to why CADR AHAM does not rate Healthway and or high quality air cleaners. Some of the reasons are as followed:

1.  The rating systems are not as strict.  The test performed by CADR is not a definitive test. 
2.  The CADR values reported are based on reducing particle levels from sources, which omit the particles intermittently rather than continually - this does not emulate a realistic environment.  Since sources in normal indoor environments are continual, the devices are not as effective as suggested by the AHAM particle removal table.
3.  The test does not consider the way the particles are eliminated.  Even ionizers rate as well and we know how ineffective and dangerous ionizers can be - which is a good indication that this test should be questioned.
4.  The test does not rate the elimination of gas and odors, although many people buy air cleaners for this purpose.
5.  CADR doesn't account for bioaersol collection or kill effectiveness of bacteria, fungi,or mold.
6.  The major downfall with the test is that it doesn’t measure long-term performance. Healthway units are designed for long-term use.  As we offer a 5 year limited warranty on performance.  The values in CADR represent performance that can be expected during the first 72 hours of use.  Most air cleaning systems are used for 5,000 hours before filters are replaced.  The performance over this span will often drastically lower and depends to a significant degree on the construction of the air cleaner and the air cleaning technology.