Honeywell AirGenius 5 HFD320 review: I Ain’t Paying Anything More!

The highest lineup in AirGenius series. Honeywell AirGenius 5 HFD320 is not your typical filterless air purifier. It is a hybrid model blessed with innovative technology. Among all its features, the QuietClean ifD filter is the most interesting one. The permanent ifD filter is quoted to have a 99.9% filtration efficiency and can be reused over and over again. If that is the case, will the filter stand out in this fearsome and competitive industry? Let’s find out.

Honeywell AirGenius 5 HFD320 Specification

Product	Honeywell AirGenius 5 HFD320

Dimension	11.5 x 29 x 11.5 in (29.2 x 73.7 x 29.2 cm)
Weight	14 lb (6.4 kg)
Fanspeed	5
Coverage (up to)	250 sq. ft. (23 m²)
Airflow speed
Dust free (CADR)	160 cfm (272 m³/h)
Pollen free (CADR)	170 cfm (289 m³/h)
Smoke free (CADR)	161 cfm (274 m³/h)
Filtration	3-stage
Pre-Filter - Lifespan - Replacement cost ($)	Washable Pre-filter
HEPA filter - Lifespan - Replacement cost ($)	-
Carbon filter - Lifespan - Replacement cost ($)	-
Ionizer/ Technologies	Electronic Ionizer
UV-light/ PCO	-
Other filter	ifD Micro-Filter Permanent
All-in-one filter - Lifespan - Replacement cost ($)	-
Optional/ Addon	HRF-K2 Filter K Household Odor & Gas Reducing Pre-filter (2 pack) 3 months+- 15.95
Noise level
Timer/ Scheduler	1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12 hours
Sensors
Auto mode
Air qualityAQ indicator
Filter change indicator
More color options
Wi-Fi/ BTBluetooth
ENERGY STAR
Remote control
Child lock
Warranty	5 years
Email/ Phone support

Report incorrect information

Key features

3-stage permanent filtration
2 pre-filter options - Washable foam pre-filter or odor & gas reducing pre-filter
Permanent QuietClean ifD filter
Optional on/off Oscillation
5 cleaning mode - SLEEP (almost silent operation), GERM (cold flu season), GENERAL cleaning, ALLERGEN (peak allergen season),MAX Cleaning Power
Auto shut-off timer - 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 or 12 hours
Electronic filter gauge and filter change indicator
5 years limited warranty

Honeywell AirGenius 5 HFD320 review

Sleek, airflow resistance tower design that is modern and practical.
Support either permanent, wahsable pre-filter or odor-reducing pre-filter. Our votes goes to the odor-reducing pre-filter.
Practically no annual filter maintenance cost as the ifD is reusable.
Effective ifD filter that will capture most microscopic household allergens.
Easy to use Smart controls with optional oscillation and accent light.
Electronic Filter Check reminder with live gauge indicator.
Highly customizable timer (up to 12 hours).
5 years warranty.

Loses out to traditional media filtration that tends to have stronger filtration. Smoke and odor filtration efficiency is not great either.
The permanent filter requires regularly clean up to prevent particles congestion.

The starters

Dimension

11.5 x 29 x 11.5 in

(29.2 x 73.7 x 29.2 cm)

Weight

14 lb (6.4 kg)

Unmistakably Honeywell, AirGenius 5 has a standout black housing with blue accent light. At 11.5 x 29 x 11.5 in dimension and 14 lb weight, it’s the same size as AirGenius 4 but with an added premium touch screen control. Surrounding HFD320 is the airflow grille with air coming in from the rear and exit through the front. Build quality is good with a sleek tower body that allows quick filter installation.

Continue with the premium touch screen control. There are 5 operable controls including a dedicated power button. Starting with the 5 cleaning setting. Level 1 is Sleep mode where you will use it during night time for silent operation. Level 2 is Germ mode where it will slow down air movement, forcing the germs to dwell longer in the filter. Best used during cold and flu season. Level 3 is General mode: the default setting each time you turn on the air purifier. Level 4 is Allergen mode where the speed is set to captures allergens like pet dander, mold, and pollen. Best used during the spring and fall where allergens outbreak is high. Level 5 is Max cleaning mode where you want the highest airflow speed to deal with stinky odors and dusty room. Next to it is the Timer button that will cycle between 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12 hours and off. Oscillate will gently rotate the purifying from side to side to increase circulation. Above the Oscillate button is the Accent Light that will cycle between off, low, and high. Lastly, the Filter Rest “OK” button will reset the fill ‘chart’ when tap and hold more 2 seconds. Use it when the filter chart status if full and after you have cleaned the filter.

Let’s recap on the spec again. You have the permanent 3-stage filtration with 5 cleaning mode. Optional Oscillate, Accent Light, timer, and electronic filter gauge. Finally, AHAM/ ARB certified (ozone emission), Energy Star rated and 5 years warranty.

Airflow, speed, and CADR

Purifying coverage

250 sq. ft. (23 m²)

Fanspeed

For a permanent tower air purifier, Honeywell AirGenius 5 has a pretty remarkable 250 sq. ft. purifying coverage. The consistent airflow distribution is spread across the 5 cleaning mode. Choose either from SLEEP, GERM, GENERAL, ALLERGEN or MAX Cleaning setting. Needless to say for more comprehensive cleaning, go with the MAX Cleaning mode. There is no Auto purifying or Eco mode but that should not stop you from placing HFD320 in the bedroom.

Dust CADR

160 cfm (272 m³/h)

Pollen CADR

170 cfm (289 m³/h)

Smoke CADR

161 cfm (274 m³/h)

Most filterless air purifier will skip the CADR test. Honeywell AirGenius does not. Clean air delivery rate is equally impressive for its class. You have the dust CADR at 160 cfm, pollen CADR at 170 cfm and smoke CADR at 161 cfm. None passed the 200 cfm bar set by us but it would have no problem covering large to fine particles.

What’s inside count

Let's start with the washable pre-filter. Designed to be reusable and for non-smoke, large particles capturing. For smoke particles, opt for the odor-reducing pre-filter that requires a change every quarterly. Switching to the main "dish, the QuietClean ifD tech with 99.9% kills efficiency on allergens as small as 0.3 microns. This patented filter is perfect to target the pesky airborne microorganisms and germs. Right at the end, there is an electronic ionizer that charges air particles to fall to the air purifier. The whole purification cycle works reasonably well although it's incomparable against traditional HEPA. Another thing to note. Since it is filter based, you would need to regularly clean the filter to prevent dust from clogging up.

Honeywell Air Genius 5 250 sq. ft. plus 160 cfm dust CADR would have no problem dealing with dust mites, pet dander, pollen, mold, and mildew. The odor-reducing pre-filter is somewhat weak in handling chemical fumes like VOCs, cigarette smoke, and vapor.

Keep it down

AirGenius 5 QuietClean technology generates little noise particularly in the first 3 mode. For night time use, you can run the air purifier in Sleep mode where it will be set to whisper quiet operation. Max Cleaning Power (fifth speed) noise is audible but still bearable. Power usage is considerably low too even without any energy-management system. The official statement from Honeywell that it uses less than a light bulb energy. We have not tested it yet but the usage figure should not be too far off.

At what cost

MRSP/ RSP**

+- 299

Annual Filter Cost

+- 0

^ Replacement filters/ estimated cost

Reasonable price tag after online discount. Honeywell AirGenius 5 would fall under the inexpensive price bracket but at the way end. With the washable pre-filter and ifD filter, HFD320 won't cost you any dime upon purchase. Even if you do opt for the odor-reducing pre-filter upgrade, at most +- 64 would be the annual filter replacement cost.

You can find Honeywell AirGenius 5 in Target, BestBuy, Walmart or Kaz official website. The pricing varies depending on the respective stores and seasonal sales. My advice is to skip through all the hassle and buy straight from Amazon. They always have the best deal, free shipping (Amazon choice), and 30 days return policy. Best of all, you don't need to register an account again since everyone will have an Amazon account.

Honeywell AirGenius 5 HFD320 VS the challengers

Honeywell HPA300

Fall back to the conventional, HEPA filter powered air purifier. HPA300 will rock you on outstanding filtration, coverage and high airflow delivery rate. On the flip side, there is the high filter maintenance cost that will come back and haunt you annually.

Airfree Onix 3000

Another filterless, no maintenance air purifier that you could also consider. Both use different patent technologies with Airfree Thermodynamic TSS VS Honeywell ifD filter. It has the advantage of wider purifying coverage but the trade-off is a much slower purifying.

Honeywell AirGenius 4 HFD310

If you want something similar but cheaper, this is exactly the air purifier you should go for. Drop 1 cleaning setting (GERM mode), and Advanced timer, everything else is exactly the same.

Honeywell AirGenius 3 HFD300

Even cheaper option with a smaller dimension and white housing. Choosing and you will have to give up on 2 extra speed (Allergen and GERM mode), Touch Smart control and timer.

Final thoughts on Honeywell AirGenius 5 HFD320

If you need a hassle-free air purifier to kick start your journey to cleaner air, this is the one. 74% of the users gave it 4-5 stars rating because they like the no filter replacement setup. They also agreed on the filtration efficiency against microbes allergens. Few people are happy with the pricing. The rather high 19% that dislike the air purifier complains on many things. Mostly on the poor build quality that broke down after couple of months. The non-existence filtration that barely does anything. Noisy fan noise and Kaz customer support that is not helpful in resolving a claim. We only have our test unit for a couple of weeks but so far we did not experience any of the issues mentioned. In any case, you have the 5-years warranty standing by if anything goes wrong.