Alen BreatheSmart HEPA Air Purifier Review

Last updated on March 21st, 2020

Alen BreatheSmart Classic review

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 cleaner in its class thanks to the front wood trim cover design. Up to 14 front cover panel to ranging from Brushed stainless steel to Weathered grey, there is definitely 1 design that would 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. Continue touring the air cleaner, you have side air intake grill at sides and bottom just above the stand while air output grill is located at top below the carrying handle. Fitting is tight from top to bottom with no air by-pass detected during our test. Overall Alen BreatheSmart air purifier might have a plasticky built, it feels solid with the durability to last for ages.

Continue with the top control panel, operating Alen BreatheSmart air purifier is super easy with separate round button and dedicated indicator light. Starting from left, you have the Ion button, Filter life button, Timer button, Power button, Speed button and finally Auto button. To begin, press the power button to start the air cleaner, press again to completely turn off the displaylight, continue pressing again to stop the air cleaner from operation. Different colors will light up around the Power button to indicates its surrounding air quality. Blue means low level of airborne particles detected, yellow means moderate level of airborne particles detected while red indicates significant level of airborne particles detected. Press Ion to enable the ozone-free ionizer (indicator light on), press again to disable it. There are 3 indicator lights on top of Filter life button, when green light is illuminated, filter condition is good so no action required. When yellow light is illuminated, the filter is reaching its end-cycle and you should start ordering the new replacement. When red light is illuminated, 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 and it will lock at 4 hours runtime, press again to set it to 8 hours, again to set it to 12 and again to disable the countdown timer. Speed button is self-explanatory, pressing the button will cycle between speed 1, 2, 3 and T (Turbo). Lastly, press the Auto button to activate Auto mode where the air cleaner would rely on its SmartSensor technology to automatically set the right fan speed based on the amount of airborne particles in its surrounding air.

Quickly go through the standard list of equipment: 3-stage filtration with 4 fanspeed, HEPA-Pure filter (default choice), Ionizer, SmartSensor with auto mode, air quality indicator, quiet WhisperMax technology, Advanced Smart Filter that calculates filter replacement life based on usage/ environment, child lock, Auto-off safety feature that disable the unit from functioning when front cover is not properly closed, UL listed, Energy Star rated and Lifetime limited warranty.

Airflow, speed, and CADR

Excellent purifying applicable that can cover an estimated 1100 sq. ft. in under 1 - 2 hours at max speed (690 sq. ft. for speed 2). No doubt it can cover most ground including large living hall, lounge, bedroom 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. Auto mode would adjust between the 4 speed and is fairly responsive to surrounding particles. CADR 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 fanspeed. Alen BreatheSmart air purifier can handles all types of household particles and allergens but you do have to select the right type of filter in order for it to work. For example, to deal with smoke related troubles, opt for HEPA-Fresh filter rather than the standard HEPA-Pure filter (more on this later).

What’s inside count

While Alen BreatheSmart air purifier "only" comes with 1 bundled filter set, the filter quality is always there, therefore it still rocks in filtering out common airborne pollutants at a reasonable time. Starting with the washable pre-filter (attached above HEPA filter), the first stage pre-filter would trap large particles 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 from the air and allowing the HEPA filter to capture.

Filter maintenance and care

Unlike every other console air cleaner that comes with 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 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 as the HEPA filter is non-washable.

Keep it down

42 - 56 dB noise level is standard in its class although on paper it feels quieter on the whole (probably due to the WhisperMax technology). Auto mode is great in controlling the noise level for bedroom use unless you are planning to operate it constantly 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 W, it is slightly higher than we would hope but nonetheless understandable given is purifying range. Like every other Alen BreatheSmart air purifier, there is energy star certified so it's somewhat energy-efficient if you manage to meet its criteria.

At what cost

Alen BreatheSmart air purifier has good price VS performance ratio but is expensive as with most air purifying machine in this category. Features wise is premium level well-equipped but the cost could go even higher if you opt for different front panel design and filter upgrade. We highly recommend doing on the latter for better overall filtration. What's standout is the annual filter cost which is considerably cheap in its group as only 1 filter needed to be replaced. On normal use the filter should last between 12 - 18 months, perfect time frame to stock up online with no shortage of stock.

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