Dust, pollen, smoke removal is how well a model cleared air of fine clay dust and cigarette smoke when operating at a low speed that was typically one setting above the lowest speed. Many models have multiple speeds and the lowest is not as effective at cleaning the air. A model that scores well for dust removal should perform comparably for pollen. Although its price lasko pedestal fans comes in at the higher end of the mid-range market, you’ll struggle to find another purifier for under $450 that boasts 5 air changes per hour in an 800 sq. Ft room with a CADR rating of 245, along with the real-world performance to back it up. The smart features include App support and an accurate auto mode that switches on when it detects pollutants in the air.
To you and me, that ranges from a whisper on the lowest level to a box fan on the highest. This was the same time as the Levoit Core 400S and the budget TaoTronics AP-003 but 3 minutes quicker than the Mila Air Purifier. The 45i has great performance for a smaller to a medium-sized room but would not be the best choice for a larger room, which is why the Alen 75i exists, which managed to clean our test room in 24 minutes. The Alen Air mobile app offers all of the onboard features and more, at least once you manage to get to them. The lengthy setup process includes more onerous security than my bank account, but while the process is a hassle, I completed it without any hiccups. This gargantuan purifier is best suited for commercial environments, but it really shines when it comes to power.
You have to drill down to an individual device to access its controls and a detailed graph of both indoor and outdoor air quality history. When testing each machine’s ease of use, we looked at a couple of key features. First, we timed how long it took to get the device out of the box and set it up. It took our testers about five minutes to get the BreatheSmart 75i up and running, which is pretty average when compared to most other models.
Noise is based in instrument measurements with the model running at a low speed. The lowest speed may provide even quieter operation but alen breathesmart will not be as effective at cleaning the air. The amount of electricity the device uses and how often you have to replace filters.
To measure the amount of electricity used, we hooked the device up to a watt reader and recorded how many kilowatts per hour it used while running on a medium setting. Assuming 12 hours of use per day, it costs around $9.00 to run the BreatheSmart 75i for a year. While quite a few devices were cheaper to run, this was nowhere near the highest annual cost. For those looking for a quiet and powerful purifier for under $450.00 and are happy to pay extra for the lifetime guarantee and smart features, the lasko pedestal fans 45i could be the air purifier for you. The app isn’t the most intuitive, in part because it seems to be designed to service multiple devices instead of just one. All status indicators include the number of devices which are in the given state, so you might see “1” running, “1” with “blue” air quality, and “1” with good filter life.