Which Air Filters are the Best for Your Home?

In the world of air purifiers, there are many options to choose from. From the Molekule Air to the Levoit 400S, Coway-AP-1512HH, Blue Pure 221, and KOIOS EPI810, it can be difficult to decide which one is best for your home. To help you make an informed decision, we've tested each of these air purifiers and compared their performance. The Molekule Air performed worse than expected in our tests.

In Auto mode, it reduced particles by 0.3 microns at only 18.0% (ambient) and 26.4% (clean). In Silent mode, it reduced 0.3 micron particles by 6.5% (ambient) and 7.2% (clean). And in Dark plus Auto mode, 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). These results suggest that the Molekule Air depends mainly on its physical prefilter, not its patented PECO mechanism, to remove particles. The Levoit 400S was the best performer in our home tests, capturing at least 99.5% and up to 100% of particles during testing.

It has a built-in particle sensor that can give you an idea of the air quality in your home with its color coding system on top of the device. It will show a blue light when the air is clean, purple to indicate pollution and red for high pollution. The Coway-AP-1512HH has sensors that can adjust fan speed to keep the air clean, so you don't have to alter settings. We especially liked the Eco Mode of the Coway AP-512HH, which worked well to turn off the air purifier when air pollution was low, saving energy and money. Our tester also found that the automatic mode worked well to toggle between fan settings based on indoor air quality.

The Coway AP-1512HH is suitable for small room spaces up to 361 square feet.

Blue Pure 221

was consistently better than all the other air purifiers we tested in our home tests. Despite its lack of Smart technology, it outperformed purifiers at almost double the price. In a Level 2 setting, we found that the purifier absorbed 99.7% of particles smaller than 0.3 microns, 99.5% of particles smaller than 2.5 microns, and 100% of particles smaller than 10 microns.

Levoit H132

is lightweight and compact enough for any desk or shelf, making it an ideal air purifier product for someone who wants to try their first air purifier at home. Unfortunately, it did not live up to expectations when it came to testing how well it absorbed particles, steadily falling below the 99.97% expected of a device with a HEPA H13 filter.

KOIOS EPI810

is the smallest air purifier we've ever reviewed and is suitable for small apartments or bedrooms.

Our at-home incense smoke test evaluated how well the purifier worked after burning five incense cones simultaneously and found mixed results - while it absorbed an impressive 99% of particles measuring 10 microns, it only absorbed 52% of particles smaller than 2.5 microns. It's not yet clear if air purifiers are doing anything to prevent the spread of COVID-19 indoors; however, HEPA filters have been found to remove some viruses from the air. For context, most dust particles are approximately five microns in size, and pollen has a staggering 10-1.00 microns - all of which a HEPA filter can trap and remove.

Levoit LV-H134

covers up to 710 square feet with a CADR of 312 CFM; however this can generate some noise in the range of 18-45 dB.

Coway 1512

has a coverage area of 360 m2 ft., with a suction level that can generate noise in the range of 20-54 dB.

When choosing an air purifier for your home or office space, consider factors such as size, noise level, coverage area, filter type and performance in tests before making your decision. With this information in mind, you'll be able to find an air purifier that meets your needs.

Dianne Katzenberger
Dianne Katzenberger

Hardcore pop culture specialist. Extreme entrepreneur. Typical zombie specialist. Passionate twitter geek. Award-winning coffee maven.

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