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.
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 alen breathesmart 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.
Its smaller brother, the FIT50, shares similar design styles and capabilities and effectively cover medium-sized rooms such as your family room or master bedroom up to 900 sq ft. Onboard controls are basic but functional, including a color-coded ring around the power button that indicates one of five levels of particulates in the air. alen breathesmart The front panel pops off to reveal a large HEPA filter (no rating specified) underneath. Air is pulled in from around the sides of the panel, through the filter, and emitted through a large grille on the top of the device. A child-friendly vent guard attachment is also in the box if you’re worried about Junior sticking a hand inside.
It runs on average quieter than air purifiers with similar clean performance and is backed with a lifetime warranty as long as you purchase a filter subscription. While the BreatheSmart 75i isn’t too expensive to run for a year in terms of electricity, you will need to replace its combined HEPA and carbon filter once a year. The capacitive control panel allows you to cycle through the settings easily.
This is quite a long lifespan for a HEPA filter, with many other manufacturers suggesting replacing the filter after 6 months or a year if used infrequently. However, as the replacement filters cost up to $119, I hope it proves true. In reality, the power consumed will be much lower as the purifier operates on the lowest setting 99% of the time. Each of Alen’s True HEPA filters can capture 99.99% of airborne contaminants down to 0.1 microns, which are certainly impressive figures and was something we saw for real in our performance tests. However, these results reflect controlled lab testing, so I was keen to see how these figures translate in the real world. Once everything is unwrapped, open the front hatch via the air inlets on the side of the machine and slot in the HEPA filter, with the pre-filter facing towards you.
Alen’s BreatheSmart 75i is the company’s largest air purifier, and it’s one of the largest I’ve tested altogether. The 75i is also quite powerful–indeed, maybe too powerful for most residential users, making it a better fit in commercial venues. Our experts test thousands of products each year using thoughtful lasko pedestal fans test plans that bring out key performance differences between competing products. And, to assure complete independence, we buy all the products we test ourselves. Reflects how intuitive and easy the controls are to use, carrying ease, ability to remove the filter, and filter life indicator.
On Auto mode, a built-in dirt sensor or other inputs will allow the fan to run on a higher fan speed when the air is determined to be dirty and on a lower speed when clean. While the initial purchase price is hefty, the performance offered by the BreatheSmart 75i is outstanding. If you have a large space and need serious performance, this machine is up for the task. If you have a smaller space or are on a budget, other models will likely be better suited. Even if used continuously, running the purifier as recommended, Alen claims the filter will last 12 months.