IQAir New Edition HealthPro Plus Review

by Review_Crew
In Featured Articles · Household Products
— 22 Nov, 2012

Download article to your eReader:

The original HealthPro Plus became a legend among allergy and asthma sufferers – it was the air purifier that actually worked. And just as the product gained respect from consumers for its high level of effectiveness – it also gained the respect of Reviewboard. IQAir was the very first company to earn two consecutive “Editor’s Choice” awards here at Reviewboard. This is why when we heard IQAir was about to release a new version of their classic HealthPro Plus – Reviewboard wanted to be the first to put this new product through its paces. I mean – just how much better can a product be when it is already #1? Well, our testing has given us an answer that even surprised us – it can be a lot better, a whole LOT better!

For starters, the New Edition HealthPro Plus now provides:

• Up to 25% more clean air across all six fan speeds
• Up to 38% longer filter life (without increasing the cost of their replacement filters)
• And with up to a 32% noise reduction – IQAir’s New Edition HealthPro Plus is now the quietest high performance room air purifier in the world

Up to 25% More Clean Air – What does this really mean to you?

It means a much healthier indoor environment for you and your family!

First of all, we aren’t just talking about clean air – we’re talking about the cleanest air an air purifier has ever produced. Most air purifiers only filter larger airborne particles, pollen, dust, pet dander, etc… that is 0.3 microns and larger. But 90% of all the particulates in the air we breathe are smaller than 0.3 microns. IQAir is the only air purifier manufacturer whose systems are tested and certified to filter down to 0.003 microns with a guaranteed minimum efficiency of over 99.5%. The EPA and the American Heart Association have gone on record stating that it is the ultrafine particle range (those particles smaller than 0.3 microns) that are the most dangerous to our health. These ultrafine particles when inhaled can penetrate your lung tissue and enter your blood stream – increasing arterial plaques, the risks of heart attacks, strokes and even cancer. So it’s pretty easy to understand why someone with severe allergies and asthma would want IQAir level air purification. Simply said – ordinary air purifiers just aren’t designed to meet their needs, and thus began the legend of IQAir. They made air purifiers that did something other air purifiers didn’t do – they worked.

Air cleaning in a home is a constant process. Just as an air purifier removes particulates from the air – new particles are constantly being introduced. This is why for allergy and asthma sufferers to truly experience relief from their symptoms – they need an air purifier that cleans as much air as possible and as quickly as possible – and it can’t just clean large particles. For an air purifier to be truly effective it must also remove ultrafine particles from the air at the highest possible speed and efficiency. IQAir’s original HealthPro Plus had already established itself as the #1 recommended air purifier for people with allergies and asthma. Now, by increasing the amount of air cleaned by a whopping 25% – the New Edition raises the standard for air cleaner effectiveness that leaves the rest of the industry in the dust… literally.

Up to 38% longer filter life – Fewer filter replacements with no increase in costs!

The New Edition’s filters last up to 38% longer than IQAir’s original model. IQAir was able to achieve this without increasing replacement filter costs. This makes the New Edition a significantly better long-term value. Best of all, owners of IQAir’s original models can upgrade to New Edition filters when they are ready for replacement. This will allow them to get near New Edition performance without having to buy an entirely new air purifier. Best of all, owners of IQAir’s original models can upgrade to New Edition filters when they are ready for replacement.

But how did IQAir improve filter efficiency by up to 38% without changing the size of their filters and at the same time increasing airflow so dramatically? (Wouldn’t any normal person expect a 38% better filter to be 38% larger? And shouldn’t that increase in size reduce airflow?) We actually had to cut apart the New Edition’s HyperHEPA filter to answer this question. IQAir’s literature says that their filters now use “the most complex pleating pattern ever applied to an air purifier’s filters.” This innovative design allows IQAir to both increases the amount of filtration media they use, making a much denser filter, but at the same time increasing the airflow through the filter itself. Technically, this should be impossible, but somehow IQAir did it.

Photo caption “The pleating pattern of the New Edition’s filters are a remarkable achievement – improving efficiency by increasing density and simultaneously increasing airflow dramatically. We had to cut two filters in half to confirm this was possible.”

Up to 32% less perceived sound – the quietest high performance air purifier in the world

Perceived sound is one of the most important qualities of any room air purifier. Noise levels are crucial to getting a good night’s sleep. But when you have severe allergies or asthma – you don’t just want, you need the cleanest air possible and you need it from an air purifier that doesn’t keep you awake at night. When we first read the claim that the New Edition was now “the quietest high performance air purifier in the world” – we knew we couldn’t just take that claim at face value. We needed to put this to the test the strictest way possible, with a decibel meter. And we would need to test it against other air purifiers in the high performance category. For this comparison we chose the Austin Air and the Blueair 650E. (We also tested the New Edition against IQAir’s original HealthPro Plus so that we could verify it really achieved such a significant noise reduction over the original.) The below chart shows our decibel readings to the other air purifiers on comparable fan speeds:

And there you have it. The numbers speak for themselves. The New Edition has achieved a significant reduction in perceived noise. In fact, during testing we thought it was virtually silent until we got it to fan speed 4. And even top fan speeds 5-6 seemed pretty quiet. And it definitely was the quietest of the air purifiers we compared.

Summary:

All in all, we could not have been happier with IQAir’s New Edition HealthPro Plus. In fact, we are so happy we are naming it a Reviewboard “Best Buy.” In our judgment, it is the best high performance room air purifier available to consumers – by a mile. The New Edition HealthPro Plus is exceptional in its air cleaning ability, and people with severe allergies and asthma need just that – the very best. By not raising costs and keeping their original price of $799 – with all of the amazing improvements the New Edition is even a better buy than IQAir’s original model. Add to that the greatly improved filter life without raising filter replacement costs – and the New Edition is a significantly better long-term value. More clean air. Longer filter life. Better cost average. We predict it’s going to be a long, long time before anyone can come up with a better air purifier than the New Edition HealthPro Plus, but if anyone does – we bet it will be IQAir themselves.