Pros: Excellent conventional HEPA filter; it's not silent but probably as quiet as you'll find
Cons: I wish it were quieter still, but perhaps this wish isn't realistic
The Bottom Line: Probably the most effective and quietest air purifier you'll find (it's not silent, but I think the truly silent purifiers aren't effective)
equusd's Full Review: Whirlpool Whispure 510 Air Purifier
I started running HEPA filters on the advice of an allergist, since I suffer from hayfever. My goal was to find an effective unit that would be as quiet as possible. There are many competing designs, both for individual rooms or an entire structure, but I gravitated towards this one. My general sense -- and I know others will argue differently -- is that an effective filter must force the air through a membrane, and the filter should be in the room you're concerned with. The various electrostatic and ionic and ozonic (to coin a term) approaches will indeed trap some airborne particles, but not with the "hit rate" that you get from a true HEPA filter. Also, I would be concerned about ionizer technology, which may cause particles to "stick" to local surfaces and make them permanently discolored. Many years ago I placed a basic ionizer in my office, and the walls next to the unit became gradually and thoroughly impregnated with dirt that would not wash off. Anyway, you can go look up all these details and hear the competing claims and decide for yourself. Also, some other units offer bells and whistles such as a UV stage to kill bacteria. I suppose that sounds nice, but I doubt it's of real importance. The Whirlpool Whispure line simply pull the air through a pre-filter (to catch the big dust and maximize the life of the more expensive HEPA filter) and a HEPA filter. They draw from about 60 watts to 100 watts, depending upon the speed (that works out to about 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 kilowatt hours per day, which may add from 10 to 30 cents to your daily electric bill). The pre-filters run about $35 for a 4-pack, which lasts for a year. The HEPA ("Filtreet") may cost about $80, and should be good for a year. Lighted indicators tell you when to replace the filter and pre-filter, and replacement is easy. I typically run the unit at low speed. It's not silent, but I find the noise tolerable, and my understanding is that this is about as quiet as it can get to clean this volume of air. The process of forcing air simply can't be silent. I tried another unit, the Honeywell SilentComfort 18150, which was slightly more pleasing in the noise it emitted (this is subjective; it was a different blend of white noise, shifted perhaps towards a lower frequency), but this Honeywell moved less air, although it seemed to do a decent job also. So I've put the Honeywell in a small room and I'm sticking with the Whispure as the best compromise I've found for larger areas. I generally run the unit at its lowest speed to keep the noise down. That's a reason to buy a large air filter: Low speed on a large unit will be quieter than, and move the same amount of air as, high speed on a smaller unit. It's also worth mentioning that, aside from any health benefit, the filter makes a noticeable difference in local dust. I have much less need to wipe dust off my monitor and furniture. So that's my report. Let me know if anyone finds any true HEPA filters that clean as much air as a Whispure but more quietly. I'll save my five-star rating for that impossibly-silent unit, but until that appears, this is my filter of choice.
The Whispure model 510 (this one) and the 450 (an earlier design which is still available and slightly cheaper) are of similar size and capacity, and they use the same filters. The major differences are that the 510 has electronic controls (push button instead of a mechanical knob), and its lowest setting is slower and thus quieter than the lowest setting on the 450.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 246 Battery Life: N/A Noise Level: More quiet than most
Air Purifierequipped With The Quiet Partner Systemfeatures A Cadrclean Air Delivery Rate Of 330 And Is Qualified By Energy Star. Works On Large Rooms ...More at Target
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