Reviews on IQAir HealthPro� Plus Air Purifier The Tower of Purification Power

Reviews on IQAir HealthPro Air Purifier Highly effective Quick take: The IQAir HealthPro is the expensive king of air purifiers. Background: I am one of those unfortunate people who suffers from...

IQAir HealthPro® Plus Air Purifier Key FeaturesSq. Ft. Coverage:900 Sq. Ft.Filter Change Indicator:With Replace Filter IndicatorRemote Control:With Remote ...

|Introduction|

My girlfriend often makes fun of me for how much research I do when making a “major” purchase but enjoys the benefits of getting good quality products. And of all of the purchases I’ve made, the research for a new air purifier has been the most extensive I’ve done, probably over 30 hours of articles, forums, magazines and of course web sites. I have allergies and my girlfriend has asthma which means that we want something to help us with both of our conditions. Since we’re looking at having children I was concerned not just with our health but the health of our “future children”. With that said, researching air purifiers has been very difficult. There is very little third party analysis of purifiers and much of it is conflicting, however I think I have successfully selected an excellent product.

|Specifications|

%26middot; Floor coverage: 900 sq. ft.

%26middot; Weight: 35 lbs

%26middot; Air flow (6 speeds): 40, 70, 110, 140, 170, 260

%26middot; Number of filters: 3 (4th optional)

%26middot; Size: W 15″ x D 16″ x H 28″

%26middot; Remote Control: Included

%26middot; Energy Consumption (maximum): 215 watts

%26middot; Prefilter Life: 6-18 months

%26middot; Gas %26 Odor filter Life: 1-2 years

%26middot; HEPA Filter Life: 2-4 years

%26middot; Prefilter Filter Area: 25 sq. ft.

%26middot; HEPA Filter Area: 40 sq. ft.

Included in the package:

%26middot; HealthPro Plus air purifier

%26middot; 8 ft power cord

%26middot; Remote control with coin battery

%26middot; Four casters with 2 support bars

%26middot; User manual %26 Quickstart guide

%26middot; Certificate of performance

%26middot; DVD

I also purchased the optional PF40 coarse dust filter (which acts as a pre-prefilter) which came with three filters, two support frames, 8 screws and a screw driver.

|Buying Considerations|

I considered a number of other products, hoping to find a lower priced purifier which would meet our needs. The first site I always go to is Consumer Reports which has done a comprehensive ranking. The only other site that actually tests a large number of air purifiers is Air Purifiers America. Though he doesn‘t test the purifiers, Ed with Air Purifier Power has solid and impartial reviews and a lot of other resource information. Using these and other sources including Epinions and Amazon.com I narrowed the list down to five products:

%26middot; 50250

%26middot; ECO10

%26middot; Amaircair 3000

%26middot; AP51030S

%26middot; Healthpro Plus

%26middot; A350

Throughout the two months I actually shifted back and forth between the products. The two primary features I was looking for was fine particulate filters (less than one micron) and chemical filtering (VOCs and formaldehyde due to new furniture/renovations). Overall the features I considered were: price, local availability, negative health impacts, power consumption, cleaning ability, operating costs, ambient sound, size/weight, warranty, timer inclusion, corporate reputation and sustainability.

The first choice we made was that we were willing to sacrifice price for quality and functionality. This eliminated the and the which are solid performers but not top performers as they don’t offer multi pollutant filtering, built in timers or better than HEPA performance. Also, I couldn’t find evidence that either company has a strong commitment to sustainable development.

This left four products, , , Amaircair and . I really liked the Amaircair which is produced and available locally here in Canada. It also offered a specific VOC filter and large prefilter and HEPA filter surfaces at a reasonable price. Unfortunately I was unable to find any sound ratings. Also, I could not find any third party tests and when I contacted them for information twice they never even responded. The only review I could find was for the 2500 model on the Air Purifier Power website but they do not actually test the purifiers so I couldn’t get enough comfort that it would perform as advertised, so this unit was ruled out.

Next was the 350. This is in the middle regarding price and does offer fine particulate filtering based on both their claims and the tests by Air Purifiers America. They are also the only manufacturer to offer a life time warranty, though you have to participate in the filter purchase program (not a bad tradeoff though). Finally, they include dust and odor sensors to automatically fluctuate the fan speed. This model isn’t feature packed though with no daily timer, no remote, and minimal chemical filtering through a thing carbon filter. It appears to be a solid product if you’re not looking for chemical filtering but since we are, this unit was out. I should note that the 375UV does offer more robust chemical filtering but uses titanium dioxide which was recently listed as a possible carcinogen, making it a no go for us.

Now down to two products. I was very close to buying a ECO10. appears to have a very strong commitment to sustainable development. The energy efficiency of the ECO10 is orders of magnitude better than others and even has good air flow performance. Non-off gassing and durable metal casing with a life time warranty shows they stand behind their product. There were three key reasons I choose the over the . The first is an issue reported by Ed on Air Purifier Power on the similar model, the 601. Many purifiers including the models do not securing seal the filters and thus let air bypass the filters and then circulate the air that has not been cleaned. Though I couldn’t confirm that this is an issue with the ECO 10 its design is very similar to the 601 and I felt it was safe to assume that the problem has not been corrected. The second issue was the ECO 10 does not offer comprehensive chemical filtering. The last issue was that the comes with a built in timer which I’ll take about more later.

There was one notable mention, the Plasmacluster line of . This appears to be the only technology that actively cleans the air using positively and negatively charged ions, in addition to passive HEPA filtration. Unfortunately I wasn’t convinced that there would be no negative health impacts to the technology but with further evidence this could be an excellent stand alone or complementary purification system.

I should also point out that while filter based HEPA filtration improves over time (the holes get plugged reducing the space for other particulates to get through but requires more power to pull the air through), electrostatic precipitators (”“) decrease as the available surface areas gets covered by particulates. I found one test simulating long term testing of ESPs (see review section) and a lot of anecdotal evidence suggesting that performance can decrease in as little as three days, thus I did not consider any device. In addition, most devices have issues with the production of ozone (see article in review section).

|Setup|

Setup was pretty much a breeze. The packaging was solid with plastic and foam wrapping around the unit and the accessories nicely laid out in a cardboard cut out support box. It doesn’t take long to realize that this is a heavy unit, hence the inclusion of coasters. It is also very bulky, a genuine ““. Neither were concerns for us but I could see others having some issues. I elected not to install the coasters for visual reasons so there was no time devoted to that. What I did spend some time on was installing the optional PF40 coarse filter. Including a nice rubber gripped screw driver was appreciated (instead of the typical 10 cent poorly designed tool) though I’m not sure why they didn’t just use screws with a more common head. It took maybe six or seven minutes to screw in the 8 screws and the picture driven instructions were great.

The unit comes preassembled otherwise so simply plugging it into the wall and turning it on was all that was required. One concern I have is in locating the unit. Due to the design of the exit air, the unit cannot be placed flat against a wall which is a little inconvenient for us so we found a nice place at the edge of our bed.

I elected to quickly set up the timer which I really appreciated being built in. This is my third air purifier and I have always wanted to have the air purifier operate at high speed in the evening before I go to bed and then low speed during the night. Sure, I could change the settings twice everyday, but that’s just not going to happen. I wish the timer allowed for four settings per day but given this is the only manufacturer that I could find that even offers a built it timer, I’m happy with what I got. You can only set an on time and an off time and then assign a fan speed to the on and off periods. The only other options is to select days of the week in which the on setting never turns on. Again, it maybe took 5 minutes going through all of the menu options with the manual in hand to set up the timer. Very straightforward.

|Documentation|

Although the manual wasn’t downloadable from the website (the link was broken) customer service provided me a copy before the purchase. It’s a fairly good manual outlining all of the basics of usage, care and maintenance. A sufficient number of pictures are included to make things easier. There is even an included DVD which goes through the setup and maintenance step by step in case there are any issues reading through the manual. No complaints here.

|Performance|

We have only had the unit for a month and it appears to be functioning fine. I plan to vacuum the PF40 filter which will hopefully extend the life of all of the filters. One very nice feature is that each unit comes with a hand filled in performance test which tests both the air flow rates and the efficiency rate with 0.3 micron particulates and larger. I don’t like that they include “and larger” because if they used 10 micron particulates they could easily get 100% efficiency, but I think it is an indication of the care they put in to their product and that they do test each and every unit. I would like for them to state that, for example, 90% of the particulates were in the 0.3-0.4 micron range for the test to have more meaning. And the Air Purifiers America test showed that they are an excellent performer having given their highest overall rating.

One of the reasons I really like the is that it advertises that it significantly exceeds HEPA by eliminating 99.5% of particles sized 0.01 to 1 micron. I’m much more concerned with the smaller particles as is industry. For example, in the electricity industry significant focus is being put on PM 2.5 which is particulate matter that is 2.5 microns and smaller, as it has a more significant health impacts than larger particles. has had this model certified to the stringent EN 1882 standard, with a H12/H13 level received, which is consistent with their claims.

Another great feature of this model, which is the only thing that differentiates it from the non-Plus model, is the inclusion of the V5 gas and odor filter. The filter includes activated carbon, which is common in many purifiers, though I doubt to the same degree. It also contains active alumina, which based on some limited research, appears to corroborate the claim that it destroys formaldehyde.

One area of concern I have with the unit is the way the air flow is managed. With the air intake on the bottom and the air outlet at the top, it would seem to separate the air streams and not lead to any unintended repurification of air that has already been purified. However, the air diffuser on the outlet greatly reduces the velocity of the air. Second, the air is directed horizontally out from the top. This would lead me to believe that a fair amount of air would actually find its way quickly back into the inlet. I would like to see as an option (which would further differentiate the Plus model) to include an additional top piece which can be switched out. This new piece would direct the air straight up and have reduced surface area to increase the velocity. Given that the top piece easily slides off it would be easy to provide an alternate. An additional advantage of this new design would be that you could then place it against a wall which would increase the locations you could use the purifier.

Having 6 speeds is very nice as it allows choosing a speed at night which balances noise and cleaning effectiveness. For us having it run at 2 (70 ) is just as loud as our old Holmes air purifier at it’s lowest setting, and about as loud as our furnace when it’s operating. At it’s highest setting it really does sound like a muffled turbine and should only be used when no one is in the room. But I’m thinking this would be the similar for any purifier delivering 260 . I should also note that 260 isn’t stellar performance, especially for the price. However given the resistance offered by the extensive filtering, this is a trade off that one has to accept. The great thing about having the timer is you can automatically have the unit run at higher speeds if you routinely are not in the room, which is our case in our bedroom.

This unit definitely isn’t Energy Star which is unfortunate. However, it simply takes a lot of energy to pull and push the air through several layers of filtration and given the standard nature of the Energy Star program, I couldn’t envision any multi-filter purifier getting Energy Star rated unless they actually compared them based on an assessment of cleaning performance.

I know this is a really nice to have but it would be great to actually have the air flow measured over the filters to determine filter life. Or alternatively, use particulate sensors similar to the units. I do believe ’s claim that they use a more complicated calculation to determine filter life than others, who often just use run time, instead of including the actual flow rate setting as well. But using more accurate techniques which actually measures how clogged the filter is or measuring the particulate input rate would give me more comfort when the change filter light turns on.

Lastly, it was nice that they made the purifier from non-off gassing plastic, something I saw no other unit advertise, though companies like use metal which may be better depending on the type of paint applied.

|Other Reviews/Links|

I need to address the low ranking of the purifier in the Consumers Report website, which was just updated in December 2007. Instead of reiterating other’s assessments I will simply suggest reading through the recent update to the consumers search article. Also, an article on Air Purifier Power discusses this and can also send you a copy of their press release rebuttal.

A quick summary from my point of view is that Consumers Reports test measures how quickly a purifier can remove certain types of particulates from the air in a limited amount of time and allows for particles to get “stuck” to other objects such as walls, which the electrostatic precipitators units do. However, Air Purifiers America tests how clean the air is which exits the purifier. Also, Consumers Reports does not measure the size of the particulates that are being removed so units that exceed HEPA aren’t given any credit. I personally don’t find the Consumers Report test that useful as not only does their test not benefit purifiers that have excellent odor %26 chemical control, such as , it penalizes them because it reduces the air flow. The sites mentioned above can be found at:

http://www.air-purifier-power.com

http://www.consumerreports.org

http://www.air-purifiers-america.com/ed_APA_test_results.asp

http://www.consumersearch.com/www/house_and_home/air-purifiers/review.html

And here are great articles on ozone and real life tests of ESPs.

http://www.texairfilters.com/news/unsafeozonelevel.htm

http://www.aprilairecontractor.com/pdfs/2322.pdf

Also, no one I could fine currently tests for cleaning and/or destroying other substances such as formaldehyde and VOCs so one has to assume the company’s claims are accurate. I was able to substantiate most of the claims that makes regarding third party reviews and support of their product which in some cases included testing of the units (e.g. Wired magazine, Consumers Digest, Discovery Health).

|Customer Service|

My only interaction with customer service was to request information via e-mail in which there was a prompt and correct response. I found no complaints of customer service from but given it’s a relatively small company there should be fewer complaints as well.

|Wish List|

Although I really like this unit, it’s not perfect so I’ve included my wish list hoping some nice person from stumbles upon this at some point.

%26middot; Include either a particulate sensor or air flow sensors to determine when filters need to be changed (something like the Generalaire G-99 Gage would be cheap to add)

%26middot; Include a different diffuser to allow for the air to be directed straight up

%26middot; 4 settings per day for the timer.

%26middot; Include more specifics on the certificate of performance around the types of particulate matter used.

%26middot; Use a more efficient and more powerful motor to deliver higher flow rates with less power

|Future Proof|

The unit comes with a 5 yrs parts %26 labor warranty which is excellent. I couldn’t determine when the model was released so it’s hard to forecast when this model will be replaced. And with air purifiers, there is a very long cycle time for new models. It appears that IQ Air simply makes small improvements over time instead of major model revamps. Different pictures and video show different interfaces for the control panel and different remote controls being included. They still appear to be at least two steps ahead of most of their competitors that I wouldn’t expect any major model changes in the near term (unless they read this and release a new model with all of my suggestions incorporated in!).

|Recommendation|

I have no issues recommending this unit whole hardly. I have never found a product with so much third party support and having the American Lung Association as a partner is just another indication to me of the top notch performance of the unit. It is pricey though so if you’re on a budget you’ll likely want to look at the mentioned above.

I’d love to hear if you have any comments or what your experiences have been with .

IQAir HealthPro Plus HEPA Air Purifier A king among princes, IQAir rules supreme. When we tested this air purifier, virtually nothing escaped its Hyper-HEPA filter. Packed with s...

IQAir HealthPro Air Purifier Product MPNMPN:HealthPro Key FeaturesSq. Ft. Coverage:1100 Sq. Ft.Quiet Operation:With Quiet OperationFilter Cha...

Reviews on IQAir HealthPro Air Purifier Helped with Sleep Apnea My daughter has a serious case of sleep apnea which we know is aggravated by common allergies to pollen. We also live less than a mile fro...

IQAir Cleanroom H13 Air Purifier Key FeaturesSq. Ft. Coverage:1200 Sq. Ft.Filter Change Indicator:With Replace Filter IndicatorHEPA Filter:With HEPA Filt...

IQAir GC Chemisorber Air Purifier Product MPNMPN:iqair-1cbubohgb Key FeaturesSq. Ft. Coverage:900 Sq. Ft.Quiet Operation:With Quiet OperationFilte...

Reviews on IQAir HealthPro Air Purifier Outstanding Air Purifier Filter: The filter on the IQAir will filter microns to 0.003, which is the size of viruses. Most HEPA filters air at about 0.3 microns, whic...

IQAir GCX MultiGas Air Purifier

IQAir GC MultiGas Air Purifier

Tags: Alen, Aprilaire, Blueair, CFM, ESP, Honeywell, IQAir, Jet, Sharp, Tower, Whirlpool

You must be logged in to post a comment.