In the market for an air purifier? You're not alone. With the pandemic, air purifiers have become increasingly popular as people look for ways to protect themselves from airborne particles that may carry the virus. But with so many models on the market, it can be hard to know which one is right for you. The best air purifiers will help you breathe a little easier at home.
Air purifiers are designed to filter essentially any unwanted particles in the air, such as dust, pollen and smoke. Some models even claim that they help protect against the coronavirus COVID-19 by filtering airborne particles that carry the virus, according to Consumer Reports. By filtering the air, air purifiers promote a healthier breathing environment, reducing allergy and asthma symptoms. With charcoal filters, these appliances are also natural deodorants, making them ideal in the kitchen.
However, most tend to store them in the bedroom, to help them sleep better at night. After testing 10 models, both in the laboratory and at home, we believe that the Blueair Blue Pure 211+ Auto is the ultimate air purifier, combining quality, efficiency and value in one elegant package. It surprised us with how effectively it cleaned the air in a room, without being annoying. If you buy on a budget and need an air purifier for a small space, then the BlueAir Blue Pure 411 Auto is unbeatable with its automatic mode, perfect for children's room or office. It's easy to set up and its operation is also quiet, making it ideal for nighttime use. Throughout our tests, one cube-shaped air purifier stood out above the rest.
Blueair Blue Pure 211+ Auto dominated the competition. It has the ability to clean the air in a large room while using minimal power and generating very little noise. It may not be as flashy as its more expensive cousin, the Health Protect 7470i, but it doesn't need the extra expense to get the job done. Designed for large spaces (rooms up to 550 square feet), its average clean air supply rate (CADR) of 360 for smoke, dust and pollen was the highest of any we tested.
That means it's fast and efficient at removing pollutants from the air. The Honeywell HPA300 is a bulky device that offers good value for money considering its impressive performance. It's a large oval air purifier with slats around it, which makes it look like it belongs in the office of a dystopian future. It's also quite heavy, weighing 17 pounds, so this is the type of air purifier you won't want to move once you put it in. A truly powerful device, the HPA300 ranked second in the CADR test, behind the Blueair Blue Pure 211+ auto, with its three filters capable of removing most contaminants in a large 465-square-foot room. With an average CADR score of 306, it performed slightly better on dust than on pollen and smoke.
Replacement filters are very reasonably priced and only need to be changed every 12 months. It's noisier and has a higher energy output compared to others on the list, but the purification capabilities make it easy to overlook, which is why it's one of the best air purifiers. The most expensive and heaviest air purifier we tested is also one of the best air purifiers. It can clean a room of contaminants efficiently, increasing its resistance relatively easily when needed. With two lights in the front, one representing gas pollutants and the other for larger particles, Blueair Health Protect 7470i has the clearest indicator of air quality we've seen on any of the devices.
Every time we started cooking, those lights would turn bright red and the fan would go into overdrive. The weight of this air purifier makes it a bit cumbersome when trying to move it to different rooms, but it's the only device we tested that includes a pair of wheels to help with this. Even though it's the quietest of the bunch, it's also worth mentioning that it tends to consume more energy than other devices at 0.241 kWh in 24 hours, so all that data comes at a cost. The recommended room size for this model is slightly smaller than its sibling, the 211+ Auto, but it still performs well in a fairly large living space of approximately 418 square feet. It had an average CADR score of 275, performing better on pollen compared to dust and smoke.
If you want a quality air purifier and you don't mind the high price tag then we recommend Blueair Health Protect 7470i. It's an ideal purchase if you want to see the impact your air purifier is having in real time. It received an average CADR of 240 with similar performance in dust, smoke and pollen and would fit a room size of 384 square feet. It's a pretty strong performance considering its compact design. The Winix 5500-2 performed well only below some of the others on our list. It is the only device that uses relatively unknown “Plasmawave” technology which creates hydroxyls that easily bind to other molecules to neutralize air faster.
It received an average CADR score of 240 as a result roughly same as Coway Airmega and would fit rooms up to 360 square feet. The Blueair Blue Pure 411 Auto is unbeatable with its automatic mode perfect for children's room or office. It's easy to set up and its operation is also quiet making it ideal for nighttime use. When shopping for an air purifier there are several factors you should consider such as size of your room CADR ratings noise levels energy consumption filter replacement costs and features such as auto mode or smart home integration. No matter what your budget or needs are there are plenty of options available from budget-friendly models like BlueAir Blue Pure 411 Auto or Honeywell HPA300 to more expensive models like Blueair Health Protect 7470i or Winix 5500-2.So if you're looking for an effective way to improve your indoor air quality then investing in an air purifier may be just what you need.
