A lot of people are coming to terms with bad air quality, even in their homes. Air purifiers are selling like hotcakes, even where wildfires aren't a concern.
One of the concerns I hope will stick after this thing is (largely) over.
Something I would love for a HNer to solve is SEO for air purifiers: basically all Google results are absolute bullshit that make it harder, not easier, to make an informed choice. Much like VPNs where it just comes down to SEO, marketing, and affiliate links.
I find the irony strong in the idea of buying electronics encased in plastic transported by ships and trucks to you in order to purify the air that is polluted majorly due to every single aspect of that chain.
I understand to an extent of course, but can't help finding it painfully ironic.
It's like a garbage dump, but for your air. As long as you can ship the garbage (air) off to a landfill (outside your house) where you can't physically see it, who cares.
But even then, it's hard to get total transparency. Did they receive a product from a manufacturer for free? Are they receiving money to ignore a particular device? Etc.
I do believe that in a lot of cases people would be better served by measuring it first. I live in central London near a small street on the first floor and measured PM2.5 for a year, it barely ever went over 2ug/m3, with 10ug/m3 being safe long term threshold set by the WHO, which makes any PM2.5 air purification useless. Now, NO2 is a bit different and I haven't measured it, but common household air purifiers do nothing for it.
One of the concerns I hope will stick after this thing is (largely) over.
Something I would love for a HNer to solve is SEO for air purifiers: basically all Google results are absolute bullshit that make it harder, not easier, to make an informed choice. Much like VPNs where it just comes down to SEO, marketing, and affiliate links.