air purifier with air quality monitoring
November 4, 2019 3:49 PM Subscribe
i want two air purifiers that filter the bejesus out of two spaces (300 sq ft, 600 sq ft) when the air is sooty or pollen-y or otherwise spare the air day-y.
300 sq ft one is for a bedroom. must be whisper quiet and have an absolutely no obnoxiously bright blue LEDs mode.
600 sq ft one must handle odors/organics.
preference is for an easy to clean first stage filter (dust/hair) and a reasonable priced second stage HEPA/charcoal deal. Price to operate (energy, filters) matters.
Vendors that have come up matching some/most requirements above are Coway and Blueair
and maybe Dyson.
I really, really want something that automatically kicks on when the air is awful and filters the bejesus out of the rooms. It can be low/idle/off otherwise.
Budget is up to $1000 per device. Less would be nice. Being smart so it can run with a low duty cycle/low energy profile except when the air is crap is key.
What do you use and love, and what's less than stellar about it?
300 sq ft one is for a bedroom. must be whisper quiet and have an absolutely no obnoxiously bright blue LEDs mode.
600 sq ft one must handle odors/organics.
preference is for an easy to clean first stage filter (dust/hair) and a reasonable priced second stage HEPA/charcoal deal. Price to operate (energy, filters) matters.
Vendors that have come up matching some/most requirements above are Coway and Blueair
and maybe Dyson.
I really, really want something that automatically kicks on when the air is awful and filters the bejesus out of the rooms. It can be low/idle/off otherwise.
Budget is up to $1000 per device. Less would be nice. Being smart so it can run with a low duty cycle/low energy profile except when the air is crap is key.
What do you use and love, and what's less than stellar about it?
Make sure they don't generate ozone, is the tip I got from friends who know about this stuff. I can also tell you that the large capacity IQ Air ones are not quiet.
posted by Spokane at 4:08 PM on November 4, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by Spokane at 4:08 PM on November 4, 2019 [1 favorite]
We love our Dyson, but it's not "whisper quiet", for sure.
posted by Lexica at 4:20 PM on November 4, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by Lexica at 4:20 PM on November 4, 2019 [1 favorite]
Best answer: We have a Coway that is super quiet on the lowest mode and will automatically jump up to a higher setting when it detects more air quality issues. I found it on wirecutter. and it lives up to its reputation.
posted by metahawk at 4:41 PM on November 4, 2019 [6 favorites]
posted by metahawk at 4:41 PM on November 4, 2019 [6 favorites]
Best answer: We have the two recommended air filters on the wirecutter (Coway and Blueair). We live in an old house in San Francisco, and bought them for fire season, but run them year round.
The Coway has obnoxiously bright blue LEDs. HOWEVER! You can just cover them up with electrical tape and leave only a little bit exposed. It works great after that. They're quite quiet on the quietest mode, and ramp up when they detect more. I've found that the sensors aren't that great, though, and sometimes will jump from "no pollution" to "tons of pollution" for a minute, and then back, which gets annoying. Still, I'm generally happy with them.
We used the Coway in our living room/kitchen area and it worked fine, though we upgraded to the Blueair (and moved the Coway to the guest room) a few weeks ago as its additional capacity means it needs to work less hard to keep up, and is thus quieter for the amount of air being moved. It's very easily cleaned (has fabric prefilters that I think you're supposed to replace but can probably just run through the wash). Last night I browned some steaks in our kitchen with a huge amount of smoke and the Blueair churned right through it on the highest setting.
Generally: I'm very happy with both of them.
posted by kdar at 5:08 PM on November 4, 2019 [2 favorites]
The Coway has obnoxiously bright blue LEDs. HOWEVER! You can just cover them up with electrical tape and leave only a little bit exposed. It works great after that. They're quite quiet on the quietest mode, and ramp up when they detect more. I've found that the sensors aren't that great, though, and sometimes will jump from "no pollution" to "tons of pollution" for a minute, and then back, which gets annoying. Still, I'm generally happy with them.
We used the Coway in our living room/kitchen area and it worked fine, though we upgraded to the Blueair (and moved the Coway to the guest room) a few weeks ago as its additional capacity means it needs to work less hard to keep up, and is thus quieter for the amount of air being moved. It's very easily cleaned (has fabric prefilters that I think you're supposed to replace but can probably just run through the wash). Last night I browned some steaks in our kitchen with a huge amount of smoke and the Blueair churned right through it on the highest setting.
Generally: I'm very happy with both of them.
posted by kdar at 5:08 PM on November 4, 2019 [2 favorites]
Best answer: I've been very happy with my Alen BreatheSmart. It is genuinely quiet and manages to filter dog smell as well as Hong Kong smog. The filters are very expensive, which is the big downside.
posted by frumiousb at 6:03 PM on November 4, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by frumiousb at 6:03 PM on November 4, 2019 [1 favorite]
I have a Blueair and it works very well on wildfire smoke. The control panel at the top has blue LEDs but closes so they aren't visible. There is one blue light on the front as well, but you can cover it with tape. The low fan setting is *very* quiet. I'm still using the first filter; I've used it so far during the very bad air quality in the Bay Area after the Paradise fire and then again during the recent fires.
posted by pinochiette at 6:22 PM on November 4, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by pinochiette at 6:22 PM on November 4, 2019 [1 favorite]
Best answer: We have the Coway recommended by The Wirecutter, the same one people have spoken about above. I want to add that the newer ones have the ability to shut off the bright light (the Air Quality indicator, which is usually blue). The Wirecutter warns that it can be confusing to tell if you buying a newer model, we lucked into ours being newer as there was no mention of the light in the item description.
posted by Miss Matheson at 6:32 PM on November 4, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by Miss Matheson at 6:32 PM on November 4, 2019 [1 favorite]
Best answer: Been running the previously recommended Coway Mightly for over a year now with no serious complaints. Mine has the bright blue light but I taped a card over it, so it's not visible. For unclear reasons, it seems to be massively discounted right now ($140 down from $230).
posted by meowzilla at 9:07 PM on November 4, 2019
posted by meowzilla at 9:07 PM on November 4, 2019
Response by poster: blueair peeps (and others) if you could give the model of your cherished device i'd appreciate it. blueair as four lines of purifiers and with multiple models in each.
posted by zippy at 7:42 AM on November 5, 2019
posted by zippy at 7:42 AM on November 5, 2019
Best answer: Sorry -- I got the Blueair that the Wirecutter recommended, which is the Blue Pure 211+ (apparently).
It's definitely bigger than the Coway but worth it for our combined non-open-floorplan kitchen/living room/dining room, which is probably 500sqft of space total. The Coway struggled sometimes; this doesn't.
posted by kdar at 8:01 PM on November 5, 2019 [1 favorite]
It's definitely bigger than the Coway but worth it for our combined non-open-floorplan kitchen/living room/dining room, which is probably 500sqft of space total. The Coway struggled sometimes; this doesn't.
posted by kdar at 8:01 PM on November 5, 2019 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: Thank you for your recommendations. I've given the Blueair 211+ and 121 a try, as well as the Coway Mighty. Hoping to also try the Alen this month.
The Blueairs are genius design. As simple as possible and no simpler. Quiet, great airflow, even elegant. I enjoy having these in my home. No smarts, but these are devices I could run on low alll day and be happy.
Coway is smarter and smaller, but damn is that blue light bright. Definitely a candidate for electrical tape or a quarter to cover it. I like the smarts, and it's super quiet on low. If one deals with the light it seems a good bedside option.
During my search, inspired by answers here, I also came across an excellent and data-wonky vendor/blogger site: smart air. They sell filters similar
to the Blueair designs, as well as DIY kits for the "strap a hepa filter to a fan" crowd, something i've done before and recommend to anyone who would like a cheap but excellent solution esp when you're in the land of fire and smoke and all the air purifiers are on back
order. there was an answer to that effect here earlier, thumbs up DIYer).
In terms of "the best" answer, as in hits all of my requirements, I suspect it'll be the Alen, which I've read has an excellent quality air sensor and smarts. In terms of design, I love the Blueair models above. So simple, basically if Apple took the box fan plus hepa filter idea and made it look and act nice.
I'll update if I get to the Alen, but much thanks to all of you for your real world experience in the forest of Hepa and carbon filter options and devices.
posted by zippy at 1:51 PM on November 8, 2019 [1 favorite]
The Blueairs are genius design. As simple as possible and no simpler. Quiet, great airflow, even elegant. I enjoy having these in my home. No smarts, but these are devices I could run on low alll day and be happy.
Coway is smarter and smaller, but damn is that blue light bright. Definitely a candidate for electrical tape or a quarter to cover it. I like the smarts, and it's super quiet on low. If one deals with the light it seems a good bedside option.
During my search, inspired by answers here, I also came across an excellent and data-wonky vendor/blogger site: smart air. They sell filters similar
to the Blueair designs, as well as DIY kits for the "strap a hepa filter to a fan" crowd, something i've done before and recommend to anyone who would like a cheap but excellent solution esp when you're in the land of fire and smoke and all the air purifiers are on back
order. there was an answer to that effect here earlier, thumbs up DIYer).
In terms of "the best" answer, as in hits all of my requirements, I suspect it'll be the Alen, which I've read has an excellent quality air sensor and smarts. In terms of design, I love the Blueair models above. So simple, basically if Apple took the box fan plus hepa filter idea and made it look and act nice.
I'll update if I get to the Alen, but much thanks to all of you for your real world experience in the forest of Hepa and carbon filter options and devices.
posted by zippy at 1:51 PM on November 8, 2019 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: I've now tried the Blue Pure 211+ 121 and , Coway AP-1512 Mighty, and Alen BreatheSmart 45i.
All of these are fine air purifiers. I like the simple efficient design of the Blue Pures and the clean interface (one button with integrated light), the Coway (auto mode, small footprint), but for my criteria the Alen is the best: great air quality detector, near-silent operation, very small footprint, decent looking, and an entirely dark dark mode.
You'll do well with any of these, but the Alen is my favorite.
posted by zippy at 8:59 AM on December 27, 2019
All of these are fine air purifiers. I like the simple efficient design of the Blue Pures and the clean interface (one button with integrated light), the Coway (auto mode, small footprint), but for my criteria the Alen is the best: great air quality detector, near-silent operation, very small footprint, decent looking, and an entirely dark dark mode.
You'll do well with any of these, but the Alen is my favorite.
posted by zippy at 8:59 AM on December 27, 2019
Response by poster: from the west coast fire future of september 2020, all continue to run well. still love the alen for all the time use with the blue airs off normally but available for home clearing extra air scrubbing.
posted by zippy at 9:49 PM on September 15, 2020 [3 favorites]
posted by zippy at 9:49 PM on September 15, 2020 [3 favorites]
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posted by zippy at 3:53 PM on November 4, 2019