Alen BreatheSmart HEPA Air Purifier Review

Last updated on September 19th, 2021

The starters

At a conventional size of 17.8 x 26.8 x 10 in, Alen BreatheSmart air purifier is one of the most modern, eye-pleasing air cleaners in its class thanks to the front wood trim cover design. There are up to 14 front cover panels ranging from Brushed stainless steel to Weathered grey that will suit your home decor. Weight-wise is considerably light for its segment at only 21 lb. You could easily carry the machine via its back handle for room-to-room purifying. Continue touring the air cleaner, you have air intake grills at the sides and bottom while the air output grill is located at the top. Fitting is tight from top to bottom with no air by-pass detected during our test. Overall, Alen BreatheSmart air purifier feels solid with the durability to last for ages.

Continue with the top control panel. Alen BreatheSmart air purifier is super easy to operate thanks to the separate round button and dedicated indicator light. From left to right, you have the Ion button, Filter life button, Timer button, Power button, Speed button, and Auto button. Press the power button to start the air cleaner, press again to completely turn off the display light, again to shut down the air cleaner. Different colors will light up around the Power button to indicates its surrounding air quality. Blue equals clean air, yellow equals a moderate level of airborne particles detected while red indicates dirty air. Press Ion to enable the ozone-free ionizer (indicator light on), press again to disable it.

There are 3 indicator lights on top of the Filter life button. When the green light illuminates, the filter condition is good so no action is required. When the yellow light illuminates, the filter is reaching its end-cycle and you should start ordering the new replacement. When the red light illuminates, it is time to replace the filter. To reset the filter indicator light, press and hold the Filter life button down for 5 seconds. The indicator light should revert from red to green. To set the number of hours the air cleaner should be in operation, press the Timer button once to lock at 4 hours runtime, press again to set it to 8 hours, again to set it to 12 hours, and again to disable the countdown timer. The speed button is self-explanatory that cycles between speed 1, 2, 3, and T (Turbo). Lastly, the Auto button activates Auto mode that uses the SmartSensor technology to automatically set the right fan speed based on the number of airborne particles in its surrounding air.

As for the standard list of equipment, you have a 3-stage filtration with 4 fan speeds, HEPA-Pure filter (default choice), Ionizer, SmartSensor with auto mode, air quality indicator, quiet WhisperMax technology, Advanced Smart Filter that calculates filter life based on usage/ environment, and child lock. The Auto-off safety feature disables the unit when the front cover is not properly closed. Passive features include UL listed, Energy Star rated, and Lifetime limited warranty (with product Registration and active filter subscription).

Airflow, speed, and CADR

Excellent purifying applicable area that can cover an estimated 1100 sq. ft. in under 1-2 hours. Double the air changes to 4 per hour for a reduced 690 square footage. No doubt Alen BreatheSmart air purifier can cover most ground including a large living room, lounge, bedroom, basement, garage, office, or playroom. Airflow distribution is punchy and consistent with speed 1 start at a strong 150 cfm, speed 2 at 185 cfm, speed 3 at 225 cfm, and turbo at 286 cfm. Supporting all that is the Auto mode that is responsive and sensitive to surrounding particles. CADR is at an average of 300 cfm for dust, pollen, and smoke. Based on the purifying coverage and airflow rate, there is more than enough juice to boost through the 4 selectable fan speeds. Under most circumstances, Alen BreatheSmart air purifier can handle all types of household particles but you have to select the right type of filter for it to work. For example, to deal with smoke-related troubles, opt for the HEPA-Fresh filter rather than the standard HEPA-Pure filter (more on this later).

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What’s inside count

While Alen BreatheSmart air purifier "only" comes with 1 bundled filter set, it still shines in filtering out common airborne pollutants at a reasonable time. Starting with the washable pre-filter that traps large particles like hair and dust while prolonging the HEPA filter lifespan. Depending on which HEPA filter you choose, the standard HEPA-Pure filter is excellent at removing common allergens and microorganisms without any deodorization capability. Optional filters upgrade includes mold, germs & asthma specialist HEPA-Silver, chemical, VOCs, smoke targeted HEPA-FreshPlus (recommended) and pet & diaper odor neutralizer HEPA-OdorCell. Last but not least the built-in ionizer would release negative ions and electrostatically merge unwanted ions into one. As a result, the heavier particles would drop allowing the HEPA filter to capture.

Filter maintenance and care

Unlike every other console air cleaner that comes with a multi-layer of filters, replacing Alen BreatheSmart filter is probably the easiest task as there is only 1 filter change. With the unit standing upright, pull out the front panel from the bottom corner. Remove the used filter by pulling the pull strings and place the used filter in a plastic bag to prevent dust from re-spreading into the air. Prepare the new filter set by removing the plastic wrap and insert it into the air purifier with the pull strings facing towards you (outward). Finally, snap back the front panel but this time start with top tabs then follow by the bottom. The entire steps take less than 2 minutes excluding cleaning the washable pre-filter. To wash the pre-filter, slowly peel the black foam layer that is held on work Velcro. Proceed by lightly vacuum or wash the pre-filter off any large particles such as dust and hair. If you choose to skip the pre-filter care (not recommended), you only need to do this every 6 – 18 months.

Keep it down

The 42 to 56 dB noise level is standard in its class although on paper it feels quieter on the whole due to the WhisperMax technology. Auto mode is great in controlling the noise level for bedroom use unless you are planning to operate it at max speed. Ionizer does not generate much noise, unlike some other models. Power consumption varies depending on the fanspeed you are constantly in. Between 64 - 105 watts, it is slightly higher than we would hope but nonetheless understandable given its purifying range. Like every other Alen BreatheSmart air purifier, it is energy star certified to be energy-efficient.

At what cost

Alen BreatheSmart air purifier has a good price VS performance ratio but it can be expensive as with most air-purifying machines in this category. Features wise it is well-equipped but the cost could go even higher if you opt for a different front panel design and filter upgrade. We highly recommend doing the latter for better overall filtration. What's standout is the annual filter cost which is considerably cheap in its group as only the bundled filter set needs to be replaced. On normal use, the filter should last between 12 to 18 months, perfect time frame to stock up online with no shortage of stock.

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