Ins and Outs of filtering air
There are multiple items on this page, to clarify, this review is for the most basic model. Note that they state it comes with two filters. That’s a bit confusing because some people might assume that you get a set of replacement filters. That’s not true, you get two filters because it needs two of them to work, one in the front and one in the back. To get more filters there are options shown to have the device sent with one or more replacement sets. I actually recommend doing that because as I will explain later, you might never be able to find replacements again. WHY DID I CHOOSE THIS ONE I always have an air filtration unit in each room at home, plus a whole house central one, but we are staying at a temporary rental for the season and it is a bit dusty here. I always buy a name brand, see the hints below for the reasons why, but in this case I wanted the best I could get cheap because when we pack up to go we’re paying it forward to the next guest. So having bought at least 25-30 air filtration units over past years I know what to look for. As far as value for the buck this one rose to the top as my best choice. HOW I CHOOSE THE RIGHT AIR FILTRATION UNIT 1. Buy a name brand for the simple reason that you are more likely to be able to buy replacement filters for several years. With a no-name unit you might not be able to find them again next week, there are hundreds of no-name brands flooding the market, some of which are here today and gone tomorrow. 2. Notice I call it an air filtration unit because that is what it is, it filters the air as it pulls it through the unit using an electric fan. The words purifier and cleaner and others are pure marketing hype, the basic task of virtually every unit from twenty bucks to twelve hundred bucks is a fan pulling the air through one or more filters, hence filtering it. 3. Is more expensive better? The simple answer is basically no. Despite the buzz words almost every air filtration unit sold is a plastic cabinet that costs about a dollar to make, an electric fan inside that costs under five bucks to make, and a piece of pleated paper or other material that costs pennies to make. There is no magic about these things, they are a fan in a box that blows air through a filter. That one that costs over a grand may not filter the air any better than this one. 4. Size matters – this is basic science, the larger the filter the more dust and other pollutants it can catch. Those cute desktop units are all but useless, when shopping look for the largest possible surface area, preferably a flat surface like this one. One reason I bought this one is that it pulls air in from both sides, which effectively doubles the surface area and also increases the efficiency of the fan which in theory can be set to half the speed and still filter the same amount of air as a unit that draws air in only from one side. 5. Speed matters – They all talk about whisper quiet. Again going back to simple science, the slower the fan turns the less air is being filtered. Theoretically double the fan speed and you double the amount of air being filtered. Yes it makes it noisier, I don’t care which brand you buy that’s the sacrifice you make for clean air, turn the fan way up and the unit is filtering the most air. That’s not what the manufacturers want you to know, they speak double talk with how many square feet it can filter (that’s at the highest speed) and how quiet it is (that’s at the slowest speed). You can’t have both. And this is true with all brands, BUT remember that this one pulls from both sides, in my mind that means I can run the fan slower (which is quieter) and still have it filtering a good amount of air. 6. Lots of buttons and LED displays are useless, they don’t do a thing to make the air cleaner. They may be nice to have and they cost the manufacturer almost nothing to make, but they charge you a lot for mostly useless features, especially wifi. An air filtration unit should run 24/7 so what use in having it controlled by your phone? 7. Consider an air filter with permanent washable filters which often last up to 10 years. This one is not, but I don’t intend to keep it that long. However, considering the average price for replacement filters is about $33 and they recommend changing them every 90 days (if they are not permanent), your cost after 10 years would be over $1300 bucks so you can see what a savings a permanent filter would have. BUILD QUALITY I own units that cost me over five-hundred bucks and they are basically almost identical to this one. It would be nice to know more about the motor they use for the fan since I run my units 24/7 but unfortunately that’s not a usual spec they talk about. I do know that the motor they use in this one is low voltage at 24v and uses a transformer that plugs into the wall outlet. Generally a low voltage fan is not thought of as being very powerful but that is offset by typically they run quieter. This device even at its fastest speed is impressively quiet. But important to know is that they won’t let you run it at the highest speed any longer than four hours, at which time it will switch itself into auto mode. I do like that the controls are on the top, on the forward edge, which makes them very easy to see and operate. And despite all of the buttons each one has a useful function. Not so much the digital display on the front, which is distracting unless you turn it off. It really doesn’t add anything useful, basically it is supposed to tell you the room air quality and how much life is left on the filter(s) but to me both measurements are questionable. This unit is not on wheels, it’s not big nor heavy enough to need them, I don’t move mine around so that doesn’t concern me but if you move yours from room to room you might consider this. There is no remote control, but as I mentioned earlier, is that really necessary? Ideally an air filtration unit like this should be plugged in, turned on, and just left to do its job all day and all night. Some might want to be able to turn the fan speed down at night if used in a bedroom but if you’re walked by it anyway, is a remote control really that important? QUIRKS While there are definite positives to a unit that pulls air in from both sides, the idea may not be entirely without flaws. Note that the filters on both sides are the same, pleated paper on one side and activated charcoal on the other, they appear to be high quality filters. Most other brands pull air through only one filter. I don’t know if one way is better than the other but logic tells me that all things considered it probably seems having two filters has advantages. YES NO MAYBE I started by explaining why I chose this one from so many brands and models, knowing that every one of them is nothing more than a plastic box with an electric fan inside that circulates some of the air in a room through a filter. I let the price be a deciding factor, this is the physically largest unit I could find at the lowest price and I especially like that it pulls air in from both sides. Note that there are a lot of companies making round filtration units now. There used to be an advantage when Honeywell made one of the best round units ever with a massive surface are and a very powerful fan. I think today’s circular ones are more trendy than efficient – they usually use much smaller fans which are less effective and noisier, and have a small surface area. Most of them are more suited to very small spaces, like next to a bed, but ideally these things should be exchanging all of the air in the room as often as possible, and most of the small personal ones are only effective right next to the device itself. I am satisfied with the one I finally chose. Read more
