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Best midsize HEPA air purifier?
If you’ve done any looking around for an air purifier, even just a little bit, you’ve probably figured out that almost every air purifier you can purchase uses the same type of technology to clean the air.
- Pre-filter- HEPA filter- carbon filter
- A pre-filter for larger debris.
- A carbon filter for odors and gases.
- And a true HEPA filter for all the other contaminants in the air.
Sure there are some variables and little things that the different companies do to make their air cleaners different, but in the end, they’re basically the same.
So how do you know what to look for when everything is basically the same thing?
When it comes to HEPA air purifiers,
The main things you want to look for are:
- Replacement filter cost and the amount of filters you’ll need to replace per year
- How many square footage can you get out of one air purifier
- That the air purifier uses actual HEPA filters and not the HEPA like filters.
Beyond this small list, everything else is truly bells and whistles.
Most air purifier brands these days are coming out with smart sensors to measure air quality and auto adjust the air purifier.
This is a great feature. But absolutely not necessary other than for convenience sake.
Other purifiers have 360° filters. Again, a great future but just a variance on the same thing.
So here we have tried to compile a list of excellent med room size HEPA air purifiers that we absolutely believe would be a benefit to you without costing you too much upfront or on the back end with filters.
Honeywell HPA 300
- Sq ft covered 465
- Technology- true HEPA and carbon filters
- Filter cost-Hepa $18.62 replace once a year
- Carbon filter three pack $21.68 replace once every 3 months.
The price of replacement filters is quite reasonable considering the true HEPA only requires changing once a year.
Effectiveness- filters the air of a 450 ft room 5 times every hour. Comes with a turbo setting to filter the room faster.
Pros-
- Endorsed by doctors.
- Trusted brand.
- 5 year warranty.
- HEPA Filter only needs replaced once a year.
Con’s
- The Carbon filter serves as the pre-filter.
- The style of the machine is pretty dull. The look of it makes easy to mistake it for your paper shredder.
Thoughts-
Honeywell HPA is your basic true HEPA air purifier with a carbon filter.
The odd thing about this air purifier is that the carbon filter is used as the pre filter.
Activated carbon is very porous and binds gases to the inside of its pore walls. Having the activated carbon filter serve as a pre-filter will quickly block the area of the carbon and make it inefficient.
You can easily see that keeping the carbon filter vacuumed off would lengthen the lifespan of the filter considerably in this case.
Bissell air400 professional
The Bissell air 400 is comparable to Honeywell’s HPA 300. It is a very nice air purifier.
- Sq Ft. It covers 400 square feet
- Replacement filter cost –Pre filter and HEPA filter combo $24.99 Suggested replacement every 6 months.
- Carbon filter $25.99- Also replaced every 6 months.
The primary difference between the Bissell air 400 and the Honeywell HPA 300 is the addition of a air quality sensor that monitors the air and adjust the speed of the fan to accommodate the amount of air purification you need.
Pros
- Honeycomb design on the carbon filter helps adsorb odors and gases better.
- Smart sensor with automatic adjustment allows for the unit to be set and left.
- Very well reviewed on Amazon.
Cons
- Filters are more expensive and the HEPA filter requires twice as many replacements per year.
- The Initial price of the air purifier is also more expensive.
- Style- This air purifier also could be mistaken for your paper shredder.
A nice air purifier that uses the standard three stage filter system. Pre filter- carbon filter-HEPA filter.
The main difference between this HEPA midsize air purifier and it’s competitors is that it has a smart sensor that adjust the fan speed to match the air quality.
Winix 5500-2
Style wise, maybe your paper shredder just needs a boyfriend.
But performance wise it has something you’re not going to find with most med to large size room air purifiers.
That something is Plasma Wave.
Plasma Wave is a type of ionizer that emits both positive and negative ions.
It is effective at not only reducing or trapping germs and viruses, it actually destroys the membrane and leaves them inactive.
Yeah but don’t ionizers create ozone?
Winix plasma wave does not create a harmful amount of ozone. It is well within the federal limit.
Plus Plasma Wave is only one function on the Winix 5500-2 and it can be turned off and used only when you need it.
Winix plasma wave also employees the standard true HEPA and carbon combo.
The carbon filter uses pellets. A technique that is becoming very popular in the air purification industry.
Pros
- Air Quality indicator that shows you through a series of lights how bad or how good your air quality actually is.
- Dual smart sensors that monitor your air quality and adjust the speed of the fans to the amount of air purification needed.
Cons
- Though the air purifier itself is not the most expensive, filter prices for this air purifier are a little higher.
- Filter prices run $59.63 for the carbon filter and $39 for the HEPA. Replace HEPA every 6 months. Carbon every three.
- Style wise. Black and boxy. Not too much chance of it adding to the decor of your room.
Levoit Core 300
The Levoit Core 300 is a smaller room air purifier that only covers about 250 ft.
The reason we have decided to include the Levoit Core 300 here is that it comes with a price that makes it possible to buy two outstanding air purifiers the cover 500 square feet combined for the price of another air purifier that only covers 400.
Price is only the first reason.
Secondly.
When it comes to cleaning the air in your house, it is much more effective to play small air purifiers around the house rather than try to get all the air in the house or large room through one big air purifier.
This little air purifier gives you the chance to do just that.
There is a couple of downsides to employing too small air purifiers in a large room compared to one:
The price of filters is not that much cheaper for one air purifier and it’s going to take twice as many because you have twice as many air purifiers now. $30 for the original. $36 for what they call their pet version. They recommend changing it every 6 months.
Warning: The sound the air purifier makes is going to be louder because now there is two air purifiers making the same sound.
But if air quality is the central reason you are purchasing an air purifier, the Levoit core 300 is a excellent choice.
It uses the HEPA 13 filter combined with the carbon filter in a 360° design that pulls and cleans air from all sides.
Pros
- Super nice small air purifier that will fit into the decor of any living room.
- Uses the HEPA 13 360° filter that can filter particulates even smaller than the true HEPA.
- The initial cost is very low.
Cons
- Filters are pricey and require changing every 6 months. And of course, you’ll use twice as many if you run two small air purifiers in the place of one large air cleaner.
- Also the filter is a combination filter that combines the HEPA, Carbon filter and pre-filter in one.-Sounds awesome, but it also means that you cannot just buy the Hepa without getting the carbon.
- And there’s no doing any type of DIY cleaning on the HEPA filter because you would end up tearing up the carbon filter.
