Rabbit Air BioGS 2.0 Review (SPA-550A): Everything You Need!

Last updated on April 17th, 2020

Rabbit Air BioGS 2.0 SPA-550A review

The starters

Clean, modern and minimalist are just a few simple words of describing Rabbit Air BioGS 2.0 SPA-550A. Its pleasing to the eyes exterior without being over-bloated in size. At 16.6 x 22.2 x 9.8 in and 16.8 lb weight. The entire air purifier is made with plastic that feels more solid than it sounds. Fitting is tight that helps protect any gas by-pass other than the air coming in from bottom and sides of the air purifier. Purified air will be distributed at the top and at the back of the air purifier, you will find a convenient handle and remote control slot for its bundled remote control.

Continue with the air purifier control panel, Rabbit Air BioGS minimalist approach aka “Apple style” limit the number of physical buttons on the air purifier. Accessing the front control is easy but require some time to get used to. The sole power button control most of air purifier functions; a single tap will turn on BioGS 2.0, tap again to adjust the fan speed, and again for Auto mode sensitivity. Tap + hold to turn off the air purifier. Changes made can be seen below as there is dedicated air quality, fan speed, timer and Negative Ion Generator indicator. Beside the button there is a hidden filter maintenance indicator with 6 status bar and a filter replacement icon that lid up every quarterly as a reminder to clean the filter. Another highlight is the Smart Display indicator that will only appear when you click on the main control button or when the front panel is removed (filter indicator), the Smart Display indicator will disappear after the unit is idle for 5 minutes. As for features like timer, it is only accessible via the remote control qlong with dedicated power button, fan speed, Auto mode, and Negative Ion Generator.

To recap, standard features in BioGS 2.0 include a 4-stage filtration with Negative Ion Generator, 5 fan speed, particle/ odor sensor with Auto mode, air quality indicator, Smart Display, remote control with holder, 3 pre-set timer, Filter life indicator with usage dot status, Child Proof Safety Design that stop the air purifier from operating when front panel is removed, Energy Star Certified and 5 years warranty on motor and workmanship.

Airflow, speed, and CADR

Rabbit Air BioGS SPA-550A 42 - 147 cfm airflow speed might not be best in class, it does provide enough purifying for large room size at 550 sq. ft. coverage (divide the coverage to half if is 4 air charges per hour). Airflow speed is consistent and plentiful at speed 1 although we wish the max fifth speed is not capped at 147 cfm. Plenty of adjustment can be done via the 5 speeds plus a wonderful Auto mode that would automatically adjust the speed based on the surrounding room air quality. During our test, we find that the air quality sensors are sensitive in detecting nearby particles and odors if you set the Auto mode to higher sensitivity. This quiet HEPA air purifier is suitable for living hall, bedroom or even office use. Clean air delivery is not at the most ideal level as none of the 3 measurement passes 200 cubic feet per minute benchmark. Starting with Dust CADR at 149 cfm, Pollen CADR at 162 cfm and Smoke CADR the lowest at 135 cfm. As a result, the tag team pre-filter/ HEPA filter effort should fair better against non-smoke or gas-based particles. In real life scenario, there is no sign that the airflow distribution is sluggish or lacking to support the 4-stage filtration.

What’s inside count

Rather than the 6-stage filtration found in MinusA2, Rabbit Air BioGS tone it down with a 4-stage filtration that by no means is less effective. Filters build quality is good and well-dense as you would expect from Rabbit Air. All airborne contaminants that flown via side and bottom inlet of the air purifier would first have to go through the washable Pre-filter. As the permanent pre-filter is only capable of capturing large particles, the ever-reliable HEPA filter would come into play in eliminating smaller size allergens at 0.3 microns with 99.97% efficiency. With most contaminants out of the way, the Charcoal-Based Activated Carbon Filter is free to capture all smoke, gases, and odors. Whatever contaminants left in the air purifier would be dealt with the negative ion generator that releases ion to merge and weigh down airborne particles.

Filter maintenance and care

When the filter maintenance & replacement light is up, it’s time to replace the BioGS filters. Rabbit Air BioGS filter change is as straightforward as it can be. Remove the front panel by slowly lifting the bottom part and pulling it upwards, the pre-filter will be first in-line, remove it by pinching and pulling the top two tabs of the pre-filter. Then continue pulling out the activated carbon filter and lastly BioGS HEPA filter. Unwrap the plastic wrap from the new replacement filters and place it back one by one in exact reverse order (HEPA, carbon and pre-filter). Re-attach the front panel back from top to bottom and voilà, your HEPA air purifier is good to go.

The biggest advantage of Rabbit Air BioGS 2.0 is the tedious filter change task only happens every 18 months or more. While you still need to perform the unavoidable light vacuuming on a quarterly basis (nozzle brush on low-speed mode), it’s good to know the rest of the filters is still functioning.

Keep it down

With the help of the innovative Brushless Direct Current Motor or simply BLDC motor, Rabbit Air BioGS 2.0 Review runs silently in background at low speed (22.8 dBA), while second and third speed noise level is subtle and finally noise level is clearly but not overly audible at fourth/ max speed (48.6 dBA). Negative Ion generator noise is also a subtle hum when turned on. Despite the lack of sleep mode, no issue operating it for bedtime as you could set it to Auto mode and let the machine take over.

Similar case with power consumption as Rabbit Air SPA-550A is Energy Star rated, therefore, it uses very little energy at silent/ low speed (5 watt) and gradually increase at higher/ max speed (39 watt). Auto mode is a must to push the maximum energy efficiency of the air purifier. A neat little feature here is the smart display controls that only light up when click/ active to help conserve energy.

At what cost

SPA-550A is the least expensive in Rabbit Air BioGS and MinusA2 series; not so much so when compared with other similar high purifying range air purifiers from Winix, Honeywell. While CADR figures are not overly impressive, you do receive a great deal of premium features as standards like Auto mode, air quality sensor, timer and remote control (with holder). On the other end, annual filter replacement cost is close to flawless as the filter lifespan is lengthy (up to 3 years) and can be purchased in a bundled replacement kit. For the filter maintenance factor alone, Rabbit Air SPA-550A will be well worth the purchasing price in long-run.

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