Coway AP-1512HH Mighty · Effective, Efficient & Affordable; Finalist. Coway Airmega 200M · Different look, same great performance; Also great. In Auto (similar to medium; the air does not contain a particle counter to adjust to air conditions, but instead asks you to enter the approximate size of your room, after which the machine chooses a fan speed that Molekule deems appropriate), the air performed worse, reducing particles by 0.3 microns at only 18.0% (ambient) and 26.4% (clean). In Silent, it performed even worse, reducing 0.3 micron particles by 6.5% (ambient) and 7.2% (clean).
And in Dark plus Auto, with its primary PECO purification system turned off and its fan at the equivalent of a medium setting, it reduced them by 21.3% (ambient) and 18.0% (clean). Interestingly, those numbers closely reflect our results in automatic configuration with the PECO system activated, suggesting the possibility that the Molekule Air depends mainly on its physical prefilter, not its patented PECO mechanism, to remove particles. 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.
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.
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. Levoit LV-H134 covers up to 710 square feet. With a CADR of 312 CFM. This can generate some noise, and we found that the decibel range is between 18 and 45 dB.
The Coway 1512 has a coverage area of 360 m2.Ft. This suction level can generate noise in the range of 20-54 dB. The 300S uses a HEPA filter with an activated carbon layer that is easy to replace as needed. With a CADR of 141 CFM.
This is a solid amount of suction for this price and can generate a decent amount of noise. After taking a baseline measurement, we let the air purifier work at the maximum setting for 1 hour. When the hour has passed, we take another measurement of the air quality in the room and compare it with the reference measurement. Tim didn't find all of these options particularly useful and let his test unit run in automatic mode, but two other Wirecutter staff members who are testing the Mila in their homes (and are more tech-savvy) have appreciated the ability to monitor air quality from afar and control the machine remotely.
In addition to its high-tech capabilities, the Core 400S has all the essential features you want in an air purifier, namely a HEPA filter. But to qualify as excellent, an air purifier must be powerful enough to clean the air in a large living room or playroom, quiet and dark enough to sleep close to it in a bedroom, and economical enough to make it reasonable to have several spread throughout the house. These ionized air molecules then, in theory, bind to airborne particles and give them a charge, encouraging them to bind and create larger particles that may be easier to filter or large enough to deposit in air. In addition to HEPA filters, which generally have a “woven material” of different fabrics that can remove things as small as 0.3 microns, some air filters are electrostatic, meaning that air passes over a series of electrically charged plates and causes particles to stick to other things.
These filters trap and neutralize particles and contaminants as air passes over them before the Dair recirculates. This causes the particles to stick to the metal plates in the air cleaner, which can then be washed to remove the particles. This three-stage air purifier combines mechanical filtration with an electrostatic filter and, to reduce odors, an activated carbon filter. The compact air purifier uses trademarked AirSight Plus technology that quickly captures room air quality to automatically adjust fan speed to clean dirt.
We have published a separate guide for air quality monitors, which we have found are often the best way to better understand the effects of a purifier on air quality, even though they are separate devices that do not directly control the operation of the purifier. We then ran a separate home test to compare the design and ease of use of each air purifier in a real environment. Okay, if you have the money and want a super-powered air purifier, or if you prefer a purifier to cover your entire house than buy one for each room, the Coway Airmega 400 could be the best air purifier for you. In addition, the Environmental Protection Agency advises against using air purifiers that produce ozone, which will worsen indoor air quality.
While I generally consider HEPA to be the best, a good HEPA filter doesn't mean that the air purifier necessarily works well. . .
