IEC PAS 63086-3-1:2023

Household and similar electrical air cleaning appliances - Methods for measuring the performance - Part 3-1: Method for assessing the reduction rate of key bioaerosols by portable air cleaners using an aerobiology test chamber

IEC PAS 63086-3-1:2023 specifies a method to evaluate the capability of portable household air cleaners to reduce the concentration and viability of key experimentally generated bioaerosols in a specified chamber.
Indoor air free of harmful microbes is important to the health of occupants. This is particularly relevant with regard to increased time spent indoors.
Air cleaners are used to reduce the concentrations of microorganisms in indoor air.
The efficiency of such air cleaners to reduce airborne microorganisms can be assessed in test chambers at controlled air temperature and relative air humidity.
The test is applicable to portable air cleaners commonly used in single room spaces such as those based on mechanical filtration, ultraviolet (UV), ionizers, photocatalytic oxidation, and ozone generators in-unit technology.
If the air cleaner does not claim to have the function of reducing microorganisms, this document may not be applicable unless it is being used to simply evaluate the performance.
This document deals with measurement procedures regarding the reduction of the microbial contamination related to electrical air cleaner appliances for household and similar use.
This document does not apply to appliances intended to be used in medical, veterinary, or pharmaceutical applications.
This document does not address sanitization, disinfection, or sterilization measures.
This document does not support, by itself any health-related claims or conclusions about prevention or treatment of a disease or health improvement.

General Information

• Status: Published
• Publication Date: 29-May-2023
• ICS: 23.120 - Ventilators. Fans. Air-conditioners
• Technical Committee: SC 59N - Electrical air cleaners for household and similar purposes
• Current Stage: PPUB - Publication issued
• Start Date: 26-Jun-2023
• Completion Date: 30-May-2023

Standards Content (Sample)

IEC PAS 63086-3-1
Edition 1.0 2023-05
PUBLICLY AVAILABLE
SPECIFICATION

colour
inside
Household and similar electrical air cleaning appliances – Methods for
measuring the performance
Part 3-1: Method for assessing the reduction rate of key bioaerosols by portable
air cleaners using an aerobiology test chamber


EC PAS 63086-3-1:2023-05(en)

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IEC PAS 63086-3-1


Edition 1.0 2023-05




PUBLICLY AVAILABLE



SPECIFICATION









colour

inside










Household and similar electrical air cleaning appliances – Methods for

measuring the performance

Part 3-1: Method for assessing the reduction rate of key bioaerosols by portable

air cleaners using an aerobiology test chamber
























INTERNATIONAL

ELECTROTECHNICAL


COMMISSION





ICS 23.120 ISBN 978-2-8322-7057-8




  Warning! Make sure that you obtained this publication from an authorized distributor.

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CONTENTS
FOREWORD . 3
INTRODUCTION . 5
1 Scope . 6
2 Normative references . 6
3 Terms and definitions . 7
4 Principle . 9
5 Apparatus and materials . 9
6 Preparation of the stock cultures and working cultures of the test microbes . 12
7 Procedures . 12
8 Calculation and expression of results . 16
9 Test report . 20
Annex A (informative) Test chamber . 21
Annex B (informative) Example calculations for machine decay . 23
Annex C (informative) Alternate microbes for testing . 24
Annex D (informative) Slit sampler operation . 25
Annex E (informative) Suggested test report using this method . 26
Bibliography . 28

Figure 1 – SKC biosampler . 11
Figure 2 – Process table . 16
Figure 3 – Alternate process table . 16
Figure A.1 – Example – Main chamber with a glove box for external operation . 21
Figure A.2 – See-through of example chamber . 22
Figure B.1 − Graphical representation for decay curves . 23

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IEC PAS 63086-3-1:2023 © IEC 2023 – 3 –
INTERNATIONAL ELECTROTECHNICAL COMMISSION
____________

HOUSEHOLD AND SIMILAR ELECTRICAL AIR CLEANING APPLIANCES –
METHODS FOR MEASURING THE PERFORMANCE –

Part 3-1: Method for assessing the reduction rate of key bioaerosols by
portable air cleaners using an aerobiology test chamber

FOREWORD
1) The International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) is a worldwide organization for standardization comprising
all national electrotechnical committees (IEC National Committees). The object of IEC is to promote international
co-operation on all questions concerning standardization in the electrical and electronic fields. To this end and
in addition to other activities, IEC publishes International Standards, Technical Specifications, Technical Reports,
Publicly Available Specifications (PAS) and Guides (hereafter referred to as “IEC Publication(s)”). Their
preparation is entrusted to technical committees; any IEC National Committee interested in the subject dealt with
may participate in this preparatory work. International, governmental and non-governmental organizations liaising
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Standardization (ISO) in accordance with conditions determined by agreement between the two organizations.
2) The formal decisions or agreements of IEC on technical matters express, as nearly as possible, an international
consensus of opinion on the relevant subjects since each technical committee has representation from all
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3) IEC Publications have the form of recommendations for international use and are accepted by IEC National
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6) All users should ensure that they have the latest edition of this publication.
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expenses arising out of the publication, use of, or reliance upon, this IEC Publication or any other IEC
Publications.
8) Attention is drawn to the Normative references cited in this publication. Use of the referenced publications is
indispensable for the correct application of this publication.
9) IEC draws attention to the possibility that the implementation of this document may involve the use of (a)
patent(s). IEC takes no position concerning the evidence, validity or applicability of any claimed patent rights in
respect thereof. As of the date of publication of this document, IEC had not received notice of (a) patent(s), which
may be required to implement this document. However, implementers are cautioned that this may not represent
the latest information, which may be obtained from the patent database available at https://patents.iec.ch. IEC
shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights.
A PAS is an intermediate specification made available to the public and needing a lower level
of consensus than an International Standard to be approved by vote (simple majority).
IEC PAS 63086-3-1 has been processed by subcommittee 59N: Electrical air cleaners for
household and similar purposes, of IEC technical committee 59: Performance of household and
similar electrical appliances, in co-operation with ISO technical committee 142: Cleaning
equipment for air and other gases.
It is published as a double logo PAS.
It is based on ANSI/AHAM AC-5-2022.

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The text of this PAS is based on the This PAS was approved for
following document: publication by the P-members of the
committee concerned as indicated in
the following document
Draft PAS Report on voting
59N/28/DPAS 59N/33/RVDPAS

Following publication of this PAS, which is a pre-standard publication, the technical committee
or subcommittee concerned may transform it into an International Standard.
This PAS shall remain valid for an initial maximum period of 2 years starting from the publication
date. The validity may be extended for a single period up to a maximum of 2 years, at the end
of which it shall be published as another type of normative document, or shall be withdrawn.
Words in bold type in the text are defined in Clause 3.
A list of all parts in the IEC 63086 series, published under the general title Household and
similar electrical air cleaning appliances, can be found on the IEC website.

IMPORTANT – The "colour inside" logo on the cover page of this document indicates
that it contains colours which are considered to be useful for the correct understanding
of its contents. Users should therefore print this document using a colour printer.

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IEC PAS 63086-3-1:2023 © IEC 2023 – 5 –
INTRODUCTION
This Publicly Available Specification (PAS) contains test procedures for measuring the
reduction by the air cleaner of micro-organisms suspended in the air in the specified test
chamber. It also prescribes a method for measuring the operating power and stand-by power
of the air cleaner. The test procedures may be applied to any brand or model of household and
similar electrical air cleaners within the stated confines of the standard limits of measurability
for measuring performance.
The annexes to this PAS are included for informative purposes only unless the annexes are
noted as normative.
Warning – The tests given in this document shall be performed by expert staff trained to handle
microorganism-related techniques and in properly equipped laboratories under the supervision
of a skilled microbiologist. Some of the test micro-organisms might be facultative pathogens for
humans, animals and plants and require a laboratory of an appropriate bio-safety level. National
and international safety procedures for working with infectious biomaterials shall be followed to
prevent any contamination of laboratory staff, apparatus, working place or environment in
compliance with national standards or regulations. This document does not purport to address
all of the safety aspects, if any, associated with its use. It is the responsibility of the user to
establish appropriate safety and health practices and ensure compliance with any national,
regional or international regulatory conditions.
This PAS may involve hazardous materials, operations and equipment. This PAS does not
purport to address all of the safety problems associated with its use. It is the responsibility of
whoever uses this PAS to consult and establish appropriate safety and health practices and
determine the applicability of any regulatory limitations prior to use.

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HOUSEHOLD AND SIMILAR ELECTRICAL AIR CLEANING APPLIANCES –
METHODS FOR MEASURING THE PERFORMANCE –

Part 3-1: Method for assessing the reduction rate of key bioaerosols by
portable air cleaners using an aerobiology test chamber



1 Scope
This part of IEC 63086 specifies a method to evaluate the capability of portable household air
cleaners to reduce the concentration and viability of key experimentally generated bioaerosols
in a specified chamber.
Indoor air free of harmful microbes is important to the health of occupants. This is particularly
relevant with regard to increased time spent indoors.
Air cleaners are used to reduce the concentrations of microorganisms in indoor air.
The efficiency of such air cleaners to reduce airborne microorganisms can be assessed in test
chambers at controlled air temperature and relative air humidity.
The test is applicable to portable air cleaners commonly used in single room spaces such as
those based on mechanical filtration, ultraviolet (UV), ionizers, photocatalytic oxidation, and
ozone generators in-unit technology.
If the air cleaner does not claim to have the function of reducing microorganisms, this document
may not be applicable unless it is being used to simply evaluate the performance.
This document deals with measurement procedures regarding the reduction of the microbial
contamination related to electrical air cleaner appliances for household and similar use.
This document does not apply to appliances intended to be used in medical, veterinary, or
pharmaceutical applications.
This document does not address sanitization, disinfection, or sterilization measures.
This document does not support, by itself any health-related claims or conclusions about
prevention or treatment of a disease or health improvement.
NOTE 1 IEC 63086-3-1 is created for household and similar electrical air cleaners and is not intended to conflict
with or replace standards for commercial or industrial consumers.
NOTE 2 In this document, we do not suggest performance test methods that measure the by-products of either the
interaction between microbes or between the air cleaner and the microbes tested in this document. The formation of
by-products is an important subject. The subject of measuring by-products is under study, and AHAM will address
this in future documents.
NOTE 3 This document does not apply to appliances intended for use in medical treatment locations, such as
surgical suites, laboratories, medical treatment rooms, etc.
2 Normative references
The following documents are referred to in the text in such a way that some or all of their content
constitutes requirements of this document. For dated references, only the edition cited applies.
For undated references, the latest edition of the referenced document (including any
amendments) applies.

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IEC PAS 63086-3-1:2023 © IEC 2023 – 7 –
IEC 63086-1:2020, Household and similar electrical air cleaning appliances − Methods for
measuring the performance − Part 1: General requirements
ASTM E741-11:2017, Standard Test Method for Determining Air Change in a Single Zone by
Means of a Tracer Gas Dilution
3 Terms and definitions
For the purposes of this document, the following terms and definitions apply.
ISO and IEC maintain terminology databases for use in standardization at the following
addresses:
• IEC Electropedia: available at https://www.electropedia.org/
• ISO Online browsing platform: available at https://www.iso.org/obp
3.1
air cleaner
electrically powered household, or similar, appliance that employs one or multiple technologies
to reduce, destroy, and/or inactivate one or more types of indoor air pollutants
Note 1 to entry: The term "air purifier" is defined as an Electrically powered device that is basically built of a fan
and a set of components possessing the ability to capture and/or (partially or totally) destroy air pollutants [Source:
ISO 16000-36] but PAS 63086-3-1 has chosen to not use this term in this document as it may not be possible to
totally destroy an air pollutant.]
[Source: IEC 63086-1:2020, 3.1, modified – "destroy, and/or inactivate" and the note to entry
have been added]
3.2
background concentration
quantity of microbes in the chamber after the chamber has undergone cleaning and prior to
any testing or addition of microbes via nebulization
3.3
bacteria
prokaryotic, single-celled, microscopic organism with peptidoglycan cell wall
3.4
bacteriophage or phage
group of viruses that infect bacteria or fungi
3.5
bioaerosol
airborne particle that is composed of or derived from biological matter (such as a bacterial cell,
fungal or bacteria spore, virus, or endotoxin)
3.6
biological safety levels
BSL
series of protections relegated to autoclave-related activities that take place in particular
biological labs
Note 1 to entry: This includes individual safeguards designed to protect laboratory personnel, as well as the
surrounding environment and community. For BSL level expectations, a lab should follow the most recent version of
the WHO Laboratory Biosafety Manual, the CDC Biosafety in Microbiological and Biomedical Laboratories (BMBL)
or the Canadian Biosafety Standards and Guidelines.

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3.7
CADR
clean air delivery rate
measure of air cleaner performance by this test procedure
Note 1 to entry: Clean Air Delivery Rate (CADR) is defined as the measure of the delivery of contaminant-free air,
within the defined particle size range, by an air cleaner, expressed in cubic feet per minute (cfm) or cubic meters
per hour. Clean Air Delivery Rates are the rates of contaminant reduction in the test chamber when the air cleaner
is turned on, minus the rate of natural decay when the air cleaner is not running, multiplied by the volume of the
test chamber as measured in cubic feet or cubic meters (see 8.5). CADR values are always the measurement of an
air cleaner performance as a complete system, and they have no linear relationship to air movement per se or to
the characteristics of any particular particle removal methodology.
Note 2 to entry: For this document, we use the designation of m-CADR which is the clean air delivery rate for
microbes.
3.8
colony forming units for bacteria and fungi
CFU
unit of measurement by which the number of culturable microbes (Bacteria and fungi) is
expressed
3.9
device under test
DUT
test sample of the air cleaner undergoing examination
3.10
fungi
multicellular eukaryotic organisms without chlorophyll and with cell walls
3.11
impaction
sampling of the airborne microbe by inertial separation on a semisolid agar surface
3.12
impinger method
glass or plastic device for the collection of air samples into a liquid medium through a scrubbing
action.
Note 1 to entry: The liquid volume is subsequently utilized for dilution and inoculation of counting plates.
3.13
initial concentration
concentration of microbes inside the chamber immediately at the start time of sampling of
either the natural decay or the total decay
3.14
maximum performance mode
through manual operation the DUT is set to the highest flow rate with all air cleaning functions
switched on, set to maximum, where applicable, and with all filters in place
Note 1 to entry: If the DUT has zero flow rate, the m-CADR is measured with all air cleaning functions switched on.
3.15
microbes
microorganisms
microscopic living beings that cannot be seen with the naked eye, including bacteria, protozoa,
viruses and some fungi/fungal components
Note 1 to entry: They are common in the environment as well as in/on our own bodies.

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IEC PAS 63086-3-1:2023 © IEC 2023 – 9 –
3.16
microbial reduction
reduction rate of viable microbe is measured by comparing the concentration of the microbe
after nebulizing a microbial suspension inside the chamber with the concentration determined
after a defined running time (testing time) of the air cleaner
Note 1 to entry: The microbial reduction rate is expressed as natural log reduction over time.
3.17
natural decay
rate of reduction of the airborne concentration of viable microbiological contaminants as
measured without an air-cleaning device operating in an aerobiology chamber
Note 1 to entry: The natural decay rate is expressed as natural log reduction over time.
3.18
plaque forming units
PFU
unit of measurement by which the number of viable viruses is expressed
3.19
virus
group of microorganisms with a simple structure composed of RNA or DNA and protein outer
coat which are specialized in intracellular infection and replication
4 Principle
The efficiency of air cleaners is tested using one or more nebulized and homogeneously
distributed microbial suspensions inside an enclosed test chamber at controlled air temperature
and relative air humidity. The efficacy is calculated by the reduction rate of the test microbe
in a defined period of time, considering the rate of natural decay of the test microbe.
5 Apparatus and materials
5.1 Apparatus
NOTE As a wide variety of specialized pieces of equipment exist and are commercially available, the following list
gives only the preferred list of equipment that have the desired primary critical characteristics. Alternates are allowed
when they have been shown to be equivalent. Equivalency specifications or data should be included showing the
alternate equipment can be considered equivalent.
5.1.1 Test chamber
The chamber shall be constructed to the following characteristics:
• Be accepted by OSHA (U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration) or other
national bodies;
3
• The chamber size is (30 ± 1,5) m ; Height = (2,5 ± 0,1) m. The width shall be within 85 %
and 100 % of the length;
• The walls should be made from a suitable smooth non-porous material that emits minimal
levels of volatile organics, is corrosion-resistant, and is repeatedly washable (i.e.,
constructed of stainless steel, epoxy, glass or other documented nonreactive material with
minimum volatile organic hydrocarbon emission potential). The material should not quench
ionization, be non-reflective for visible and ultraviolet light (which is measured as between
5 % and 20 % reflectance at the operational wavelength of the device under test), and be
well-grounded;
• It shall maintain sufficient airtight capacity. The test chamber air exchange rate is to be less
than 0,05 air changes per hour (ACH) as determined by ASTM E741 (Standard Test Method

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for Determining Air Change in a Single Zone by Means of a Tracer Gas Dilution) or an
equivalent method;
• The test environment shall be kept clean and free from extraneous microbial contamination.
It shall have a suitable environmental control system to maintain a controlled level of air
temperature and humidity. To achieve this, the test chamber should include the following:
– A system capable of removing contamination and maintaining aseptic condition inside
the chamber, such as an UV lamp;
– A facility to transfer items into and out of the chamber without cross-contamination (this
can include a special system, such as a glove box, etc.);
– The chamber may be fitted with an anteroom to allow for staging;
– A facility to control the power inside the chamber from outside;
– The chamber should be equipped such that tests can be witnessed externally;
– A facility to generate an aerosol of test microbe inside the chamber and to ensure its
homogeneity (this can be achieved by using a nebulizing inlet through which microbes
are nebulized, connected to an atomizing nozzle in the chamber, with a fan to ensure
homogeneous distribution of the microbe inside the chamber);
– A sampling port should be 1,20 m (± 0,12 m) high from the floor. The port should be a
minimum of 0,305 m (± 0,03 m) from the wall and a minimum of 0,914 m (± 0,09 m) away
from the device and out of the airflow of the air cleaner exhaust or intake. See 7.2.2.
for unit positioning;
– An air conditioning system inside the chamber capable of controlling air temperature and
relative humidity in a stable and precise manner; the air conditioning system shall be
switched off during the test. No other external temperature or humidity manipulating
equipment for the chamber shall be operated during the test:
• the initial test air temperature and acceptable range of variation shall be (20 ± 3) °C;
• the initial test relative humidity and acceptable range of variation shall be
(50 ± 10) %;
• the test chamber shall be equipped to continuously monitor and record humidity and
temperature;
– A facility to use negative pressure airflow to flush the chamber post-testing;
– A filter to prevent contamination from the outside during ventilation. A HEPA filter is
recommended to be used in the incoming and outgoing air to prevent lab contamination
from entering the chamber or residual microbes contaminating the surrounding space.
See graphics of an example test chamber in Annex A.
5.1.2 Nebulizer
The nebulizer shall be capable of nebulizing microbial suspensions into particles (0,05 µm to
5 µm) to produce, as far as possible, discrete particles. It typically comprises a pump to
generate a defined air pressure to nebulize, a clean air supply unit and a dehumidifier to remove
excess water from the generated culture medium. A compressed air cylinder can also be used
to operate the nebulizer.
• Collison 6-jet nebulizer (BGI Inc. Waltham MA), or equivalent, driven by purified filtered
house air supply or equivalent
5.1.2.1 Nebulizer fluid
The nebulizer reservoir should be filled with a combination of test microbial suspension,
deionized water, antifoaming agent and phosphate-buffered saline (PBS). The concentrations
in the mixture the lab uses should be specified in the report (see Clause 9).

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IEC PAS 63086-3-1:2023 © IEC 2023 – 11 –
5.1.3 SKC bio sampler or equivalent for the sampling of microbes
The recommended impinger tube size is 20 mL. See Figure 1.

Figure 1 – SKC biosampler
5.1.4 Other test chamber apparatus
a) Flow calibration – SKC checkmate or equivalent
b) Stand, to position the sample tube per 5.1.1.
c) Autoclave, thermostatically controlled at (121 ± 3) °C and pressure of (103 ± 5) kPa.
d) Incubator, thermostatically controlled at the appropriate temperature depending on the
microbe under test.
e) Deep freezer, thermostatically controlled at (–80 ± 10) °C.
f) Microbiological safety cabinet class II.
g) Balance, capable of weighing to ±0,01 g.
h) Inoculating loop, 4 mm in ring diameter, sterile.
i) Petri dishes, vented, sterile, 90 mm to 150 mm diameter.
j) Disinfectant, ethanol (70 % volume fraction) or bleach (3 % by volume).
2
k) UV-C Light (254 nm to 265 nm wavelength with a minimum of 2 mW/cm ).
l) pH-meter, capable of measuring to ±0,2 unit.
m) Timer.
n) Stirrer – A high volume ceiling fan used to mix the test chamber during contaminant aerosol
generation.
o) Ceiling fan available from W.W. Grainger:
3 blade, 0,91 m, ceiling fan 395 RPM
Stock No. 36201 or equivalent
Amps 0,65, Volts 110-120
Weight 9,07 kg (20 l
...