Electrostatic air cleaners (always known as electrostatic precipitators) are highly efficient filtration devices that use electrostatic attraction to remove fine particulate matter such as dust and cigarette smoke from the air. Electrostatic air cleaners ionize (or electrically charge) particles as incoming air is drawn over an electronic cell. The charged particles are then attracted to and trapped by a series of flat collector plates that are oppositely charged, with the particles literally “sticking” to the collection plates until they are manually removed.
The main advantages of electrostatic filters are high filtration efficiency, low air resistance and low power consumption.