UK-based home appliance maker Dyson said Tuesday it started selling its air purifiers equipped with technologies to sense and destroy indoor air pollutants including formaldhyde more precisely in South Korea.

Its new fanless air purifiers feature algorithm-powered, solid-state formaldehyde sensors that distinguish the colorless gas pollutant from other volatile organic compounds. Dyson said the solid-state sensor, using electrochemical cell technology, is superior to gel-based sensors in that the latter can deteriorate overtime and may confuse volatile organic compounds with formaldehyde.

Moreover, the new products use Dyson’s cryptomelane mineral-coated selective catalytic oxidation filter to ensure the destruction of formaldehyde -- known to be 500 times smaller than particles the size of 0.1 micron -- at a molecular level. Dyson said the pollutant emanates from furniture, wooden products, insulating materials, paint, wallpaper, varnish and household cleaning products, and formaldehyde‘s off-gassing tendency has led to prolonged exposure of airborne chemicals harmful to humans’ health.

Of the four new air purifiers rolled out in Seoul, the three products -- Dyson Purifier Cool Formaldehyde, Dyson Purifier Hot+Cool Formaldehyde and Dyson Purifier Humidify+Cool Formaldehyde -- are capable of precisely monitoring formaldehyde levels while ignoring other gases detected by a separate sensor to detect home pollutants such as allergens, bacteria, pollen, mold spores and influenza A virus subtype H1N1, as well as other particles as small as 0.1 micron. 

All four products, including one without the formaldehyde sensor and destroyer called Dyson Purifier Cool, are capable of capturing 99.95 percent of particles as small as 0.1 micron. These products sell in Korea at prices ranging from 899,000 to 1.3 million won ($760-$1,100) per unit, depending on functions each product has to offer, such as its heating functions and air multiplier technology for whole-room purification.

Also, all four types of products feature magnetized remote control, sleep time to set preset intervals ranging from 15 minutes to nine hours, voice control that is compatible with mobile apps such as Google Home, Alexa and Siri, as well as nighttime mode, designed to monitor and purify using its quiet settings with a dimmed display, according to Dyson. Moreover, filters of all products, much less the products themselves, meet high-efficiency particulate air 13 standard -- considered medical-grade quality -- Dyson added.

“As our homes increasingly become spaces where we work and exercise as well as sleep and play, the quality of the air we breathe in all aspects of our routine is non-negotiable,” Dyson said in a statement.

These lineups have already been launched in Canada and other parts of the world, since early this year, featuring an upgrade in formaldehyde sensing and capturing functions compared with the earlier version in 2019.

In Korea, Dyson sells a wide range of consumer electronics goods such as cordless vacuum cleaners, hairdryers, stylers and hand dryers, aside from air purifiers.