Air purifiers today come with a variety of different features. Many of these are smart features, which aim to offer a higher automatization level and increase ease of use. Air quality sensors or monitors are one of these popular features that quite a few air purifiers have and users love. These sensors come in different shapes and sizes, allowing the user to see, in real-time, their indoor air quality. Air sensors/monitors are basically one concrete way of seeing the effects of your air purifier. Also, air purifiers with air quality sensors are usually very cost-effective as they automatically change the settings based on current air quality.
These are my top 5 best air purifiers with air quality sensors:
- Coway-AP1512HH – top pick for small rooms.
- Coway Airmega 400 – top pick for large rooms
- RabbitAir MinusA2 – top pick for quietest air purifier
- TREDY TD-1500 – top budget-friendly pick
- Blueair Classic 680i – top pick for premium performance
Make no mistake – all of these 5 listed air purifiers have air quality sensors. Usually I do a comparison table next, to highlight the differences and eventually pick the winner. In this case, however, I will not compare them side by side as these 5 are all individual winners in their own categories.
That being said, let us take a closer look at each one of these best air purifiers with air quality sensors.
Coway-AP1512HH – #1 pick for small rooms
The first on my list is the Coway-AP1512HH which I selected as the best air purifier with air quality sensor for small rooms. Having measurements of 16.8 x 18.3 x 9.6 inches and 12.3 lb, this small and portable air purifier packs quite a punch performance-wise.
It comes with an impressive 4-stage filtration system, which consists of a pre-filter, HEPA filter, carbon activated filter, and an optional air ionizer function. HEPA filter is graded as H13, which is the highest tier for commercial air purifiers. The added ionization function gives the Coway-AP1512HH and edge when it comes to similarly priced air purifiers. In terms of cleaning effectiveness, you get the whole package as the air ionizer neutralizes harmful particles that are smaller than 0.3 microns (HEPA filter limits).
The filtration system and fans are powerful enough to cover up to 361 square feet and give a CADR rating of 240/246/233 (pollen/dust/smoke). All of these numbers are backed up and verified by AHAM, which means that they are accurate and can be trusted. This makes the Coway-AP1512HH the ideal solution for any small and even medium-sized rooms.
It comes with 3-speed fan settings, the lowest one being very quiet at just 24 dB (decibels). The highest fan speed produces 53.8 dB of noise, which can interfere with sleeping so it is probably not the best idea to run it at full capacity in the bedroom during the night. The air quality sensor can be found on the control panel and shows different colors, depending on the quality of air. This is how the air quality looks like on the control panel:
Here is a short summary of pros and cons.
Latest price and availability of Coway AP1512HH: See on Amazon
Coway Airmega 400 -#1 Pick for large rooms
In terms of the best air purifier with an air quality sensor for large rooms, I went with another Coway model – the Airmega 400. It has measurements of 22.8″ (H) x 14.8″ (W) x 14.8″ (D) and weighs 24.7 pounds. It is not the most compact and portable air purifier out there, but can still be moved from room to room with relative ease.
The Coway Airmega 400 comes with an interesting 2-stage filtration system: a pre-filter and so-called Max2 filters. Max2 is a sort of a combination of a HEPA and Carbon activated filter which lasts you around a year before they need to be replaced. This filtration system cleans the air very effectively, removing virtually all air pollutants and VOCs (volatile organic compounds) from the air you breathe) as small as 0.3 microns.
This air purifier can cover spaces of up to 1500 square feet, which makes it suitable even for really large rooms such as a living room, garage, a combination of rooms (open space concept), and offices. While the manufacturer does not list an official CADR rating, many users report the effectiveness of Coway Airmega 400 in large rooms to be as good as advertised. No CADR rating just means that the company did not decide to have to officially tested by AHAM, but instead just did its own internal testings. Coway is a powerful air purifier brand that has many of their models CADR rated, this one just happens to be one that is not.
Air quality sensor can be found on the control panel, which *can* be controlled remotely (only 400S model) and has other convenient features, such as eco mode. The noise range of the fans is between 22-52 dB (decibels), which is kind of surprisingly low for such a powerful air purifier. Here is a picture of the control panel (top view), where you can also find the air quality sensors.
I have prepared a short summary of pros and cos below.
Latest price and availability of Coway Airmega 400: See on Amazon
RabbitAir MinusA2 – Quietest air purifier
The RabbitAir MinusA2 happens to be the quietest and one of the most powerful top tier air purifiers at the same time. It is my top pick for the best air purifier with air quality sensor when it comes to noise. It has dimensions of 20 x 21.4 x 7 inches (H x W x D) and weighs 19.4 lb. It is also a very slim device which makes it possible to mount it on a wall, making it very convenient to place virtually anywhere. There are three different variations of Minusa2 air purifier – SPA 700/780A/780N which have some minor differences.
In terms of the air filtration system, the RabbitAir Minusa2 is at the very top. You get 5 different filter types and an extra 6th one, tailored to your needs. This makes it a true flexible powerhouse and you can be sure that any and all air pollutants will be effectively removed from your air. Even the HEPA filter is not a normal one, but a BIOGS HEPA, which comes with an antibacterial coating.
As for the room coverage, the RabbitAir Minusa2 covers spaces as large as 700 / 800 square feet (SPA 700/SPA 780A+N model). It has a CADR rating of 171/173/176 for pollen/dust/smoke (SPA 700 mode) and 200/193/180 for pollen/dust/smoke (SPA 780A+N models). While 700 or 800 square room coverage might be pushing it a bit, it is perfect to use in medium-sized rooms, and can even be very effective in large rooms.
In terms of noise production, you will not find a quieter air purifier with such a powerful air cleaning system. The noise levels on minimum fan speed is 20.8 dB, and 45.6 dB on maximum fan speed. Around 45 decibels is the limit above which noises have a chance of waking us up from sleep. This means that you can run the RabbitAir Minusa2 on maximum fan speed (this equals maximum effectiveness) even while you sleep, making it the best choice for bedrooms as well as any other medium-to-large sized room.
The air quality sensor can be found on the control panel, which includes plenty of other features such as ionizer on/off button, fan speed control, time, auto mode, light & odor senor. Plenty of adjustable settings and smart features to play around with. The Control panel can be seen on the right side of the device if you look at the product photo above.
Here is a summary of pros and cons.
Latest price and availability of RabbitAir Minusa2: See on Amazon
TREDY TD-1500 – Top budget-friendly pick (below $100)
This is my budget-friendly pick for the best air purifier with air quality sensor. You can usually get the TREDY TD-1500 for less than $100 (prices do vary!), sometimes even lower if you can catch a discount. You get everything you would want in a solid and durable air purifier for such a low price. A very portable and flexible device that has dimensions of 8.5 x 8.5 x 15 inches (LxHxW) and weighs 6.4 lb.
It comes with a 4-stage filtration system: a standard combination of a pre-filter, HEPA filter, and activated carbon filter. In addition to that, you also get an extra 4th filtration stage – a protective net filter which basically protects the particles from entering the fan system, extending the lifespan and lowering the maintenance cost of TREDY TD-1500. While the filtration system is not as strong as top tier air purifiers, it is one of the best for this price point.
In terms of room coverage, you can expect this unit to cover 200 square feet, making it an optimal solution for any small (and potentially medium) sized room. It has a CADR rating of 100 cfm and has 4 air changes (ACH) in an hour, which is slightly above average and especially great if you happen to suffer from allergies. While the CADR is not really that impressive, it is more than enough for small rooms and retains most of its effectiveness in medium-sized rooms.
TREDY TD-1500 is quite average when it comes to noise levels. On the lowest fan settings, it produces 28 decibels (dB) which is whisper-quiet, making it suitable to run right next to your bedroom the whole night. On highest fan settings the noise increases up to 52 decibels which is not very loud, but noticeable. To give you an approximate idea, 50 dB sounds like a normal refrigerator running. Fan speed can be adjusted on a nice looking round control panel, which also has a timer feature, sleep mode, light, and a filter replacement indicator. In the middle of the control panel, you can find the air quality sensor which can show 4 colors, based on the air quality – from blue (good) all the way to red (very bad). This sensor enables the auto mode to automatically change fan speed settings, based on the current air pollution level. In the picture below you can see how this control panel looks like. Air quality sensor is in the very middle.
Here is a summary of the pros and cons.
Latest price and availability of TREDY TD-1500: See on Amazon
Blueair Classic 680i – Top pick for premium performance
I pick the Blueair Classic 680i as the very best air purifier with air quality sensor when it comes to premium cleaning abilities. This is a top-tier air purifier that is not for someone who is very price sensitive. It is the most expensive purifier on this list, but is worth pretty much every penny. With dimensions of 29.8 x 24 x 16 inches and a weight of 43 lb, this device is rather large – which is kind of expected, since it brings so many features and so much power on the table.
In terms of the air filtration system, it is simply the best of the best currently on the market. It even outperforms the RabbiAir Minusa2, which I already praised for a ridiculously good air cleaning system. The Classic 680i comes with three very special particle filters which are a combination of electrostatic and mechanical filtration, called HEPASilent. It is so powerful that is removes 99.99% of all air pollutants as small as 0.1 microns (in comparison to max 0.3 microns that regular HEPA filters can remove). You also have a possibility to add a SmokeStop air filter that is used to further increase the effectiveness of odor removal up to 4x. The most complete air cleaning system you can get today.
Blueair Classic 680i is AHAM certified which is what you want when looking at commercial purifiers for very large spaces. It has a verified CADR rating of 400/450/450 cfm (dust/smoke/pollen) and can be effectively used for large spaces of up to 775 square feet. It also comes with 5 air changes per hour (ACH) which is just great for such a large room coverage. 5 ACH makes it even that much more appealing to any asthma and allergy sufferers. You can safely use this air purifier for very large rooms or spaces.
The noise range of Blueair Classic 680i is between 32 dB – 62 dB (decibels). For a device that has such big fans, 32 dB on the lowest fan setting is nothing short of impressive and is the result of the HEPASilent filtration technology. On max settings, you get 62 dB noise, which is noticeable – again, a small price to pay for such a performance. To put this a bit into perspective – a normal conversation has noise levels of around 60 dB.
The air quality sensor of the Blueair Classic 680i can be found on the control panel. You actually get two sensors: one for PM 2.5 particles and one for VOC (volatile organic compounds) levels, both color-coded. Naturally, you also get the automatic mode, LED light controls, temperature and humidity levels, night mode, and child lock. You can access all of these features on your smartphone/tablet/Alexa through WiFi and control them remotely. Below is a picture of the control panel where the air quality sensor is located.
Here is a short summary of pros & cons
Latest price and availability of Blueair Classic 680i: See on Amazon
Thank you for reading and I hope you found some use of my list of the top 5 best air purifiers with air quality sensors.
