Reviews on IQAir Healthpro
And IQ Air Healthpro Compact

If you are an allergy sufferer and have been looking for an air purifier which really works to alleviate your condition, you should give IQAir Healthpro HEPA air purifier consideration

IQAir is a famous manufacturer of home HEPA air purifier and its products are literally the cadillac of air purifier. They do what they're supposed to do, effective and more importantly, making a difference in the life of people with specific issues which need their indoor air to be clean. Even Department of Health in Hong Kong trusted IQ Air back in 2003 to supply them with air purifier in fight against SARS, a lethal respiratory disease.

IQAir Health Pro Reviews

1. Filter Capability Reviews

Both IQ Air Healthpro and IQAir Healthpro Compact air cleaners have two high-quality filters:

• First, is the micro-particle prefilter (6-18 month life span, $59).
  The word 'prefilter' does not do the this filter justice, because really, the IQAir prefilter is comparable to other brand's HEPA filter. Like HEPA filter, IQAir prefilter filters particles up to 0.3 micron in size, which means that it captures mold spores, pollen, dust, dustmites and pet dander. To prolong the life of this prefilter, especially in areas with an elevated level of dust, IQAir offers optional installation of IQAir PF40 Coarse Dust Pre-Filtration Kit for $139. When need replacing, the coarse dust prefilter can be bought for a mere $10.
  
  
• Second, is the Hyper HEPA filter (17-35 month life span, $189)
  This Hyper HEPA filter is essentially HEPA filter on steroid. It is capable of filtering particles up to 0.003 micron in size, or 100 times smaller than what other brand's HEPA filter is capable of filtering of. Therefore, it basically captures 99% of airborne ultrafine particles, including smoke, odor-causing gas, and smaller size of dust, pet dander and dust mite's dropping.

2. Filter Efficiency Reviews.

When we talk about filter efficiency, including HEPA filter efficiency, we should talk about the practical value, instead of the theoretical value of filter efficiency. Yes, HEPA filter is theoritically supposed to filter out particles higher than 0.3 micron at the efficiency of 99%. However, in practice, this efficiency would not be achieved if there's an internal leakage in the housing. This leakage occurs when there is a space between the filter and the housing. This causes a fraction of the dirty air to bypass the filter. As a result of this less-than-perfect construction, dirty air from the air purifier can escape back into the room unprocessed.

Therefore, if a HEPA air purifier allows the bypassing of a fraction of dirty air, then it means that the efficiency of that air purifier is no longer 99%.

Premium air purifiers like IQAir prevent the bypassing of dirty air by constructing a tight housing to ensure no air escapes its filter.It means that the efficiency of that purifier remains the same as the theoretical value at 99% or close to it.

Indeed, the efficiency of IQAir Healthpro to reduce the number of particles in the air is confirmed by several independent reviewers which used a laser particle counter to detect the number of particles in a room before and after treatment with the IQAir HEalthpro. All air-purifier-america.com, aircaresystem.com, air-purifier-power.com, Reviewboard magazine and allergybuyerclub found out that 99% of particles were removed at within 24 hours.

Reviews from satisfied IQAir Health Pro allergy customers in amazon.com and allergybuyersclub.com also corroborate the findings from independent reviewers above. Many even report significant reduction in their allergy symptoms only hours after using the IQAir HEPA air purifier in their homes.

3. How The IQAir's Filters Work

• First, air is sucked up to the bottom of the air cleaner. It is then passed through the IQAir's prefilter.
• The unretained air particles are then routed to the IQAir Hyper HEPA filter which is located on top of the prefilter.
• Clean air is circulated back into the room through side opening just under the top of the machine.

4. Quietness

IQAir HEPA air purifier has six levels of fan speed. While it has a double-wall casing and rubber pad to help curbing the fan noise, IQAir air purifier can still be considered pretty noisy if the fan speed is set to the high setting (level 4 thru 6). However, if the purifier is over-installed (meaning, it's installed in a room with the area much less than the maximum recommended area, or 1000 sq feet for IQAir Healthpro), then the fan does not have to be set to the high setting. In fact, for maintenance, the fan speed of three, which is the highest level you can go if you want it to be quiet enough, is sufficient. Moreover, the newest IQAir HEPA air purifier release now has the 'red label' fan which is a huge improvement from the previous fan. As a result of the improved fans, these new IQAir HEPA air purifier are more quiet than the older siblings.

5. Other features

Here are other nice features of IQAir Healthpro air cleaner:

• Completely safe. No offgasing from the material or paint. And it does not emit questionable particles, like ozone and other charged particles.
  
  
• Intelligent filter sensor. This filter sensor will let you know when the filter or prefilter needs changing.
  
  
• Remote controlled-operation.
  
  
• Ability to program the air purifier to be on or off at certain hour.
  
  
• It's easy to change the filters. No tools required.
  
  
• The two filters are independent of each other, which means they can be changed individually.
  
  
• The newest IQAir air cleaner release now has 'red label' fan which improves air delivery, so that it uses less energy for the most fan speed levels (level 2 thru 5).
  
  
• Manufacturer's guarantee on performance. IQAir tests each and every one of IQ Air Healthpro going out of their warehouse to ensure that only quality products get to the customer's hands.

6. Reviews on Potential Drawback of IQ Air Healthpro.

• At high setting, it's not quiet enough for a bedroom. However, a setting from 1 to 3 can be used in a bedroom.
• High price.
• No automatic sensor which determines whether the machine needs to be on or off.
• Heavy to move around. It's also not a purifier which will win the beauty contest.

In addition, it is important to mention that IQAir purifiers are not rated favorably by AHAM (Association of Home Appliance's Manufacturers) and Consumer Report Magazine. However, AHAM and Consumer Report measures effectiveness of air purifiers based on the clean air delivery rate (CADR) or the rate of air changing, not the efficiency of the air purifier in capturing airborn particles This means, the one who has the strongest fan capable of both sucking up and delivering the air quickly gets good rating, even though the machine might not effective in removing the particles it's supposed to remove. For more discussion on this, see our article on air purifier consumer report.

So, who is the best candidate for IQAir Health Pro ?

Since IQAir Healthpro is expensive, it's best to be reserved for people with real health problem. IQ Air Health Pro and its compact version is adequate for addressing the needs for people with allergy problem since it removes virtually all allergens:

• pet dander.
• mold
• dust mite and its dropping.
• pollen.
• various size of dust (up to 0.03 micron).
• bacteria and viruses.
• some smoke and gases.

Some asthma patients which do not react strongly to gases and smoke can also use the Healthpro air purifier.

IQAir Healthpro Compact and IQ Air Healthpro - What's the difference?

At close to $800, Healthpro air purifier is obviously not cheap. For people who want to save a bit of money and do not think will need to upgrade to the plus version of Healthpro (the Plus version has V-cell carbon filter aimed to control more gases and odors) can buy the IQ Air Healthpro Compact for at least $50 less. IQAir HEalthpro compact is also ..... compact, which makes it a better choice for small rooms or apartment.

Other Types of IQAir Purifiers :

IQAir Healthpro Plus and IQ Air Healthpro Compact Plus
Suitable for allergy and lung disease sufferers.

IQAir Multigas
Suitable for people suffering from allergy, lung diseases and multiple chemical sensitivity. It is also capable for high level of cigarette smoke removal as well as removal of odors.

Return to IQAir purifier main page or for other brand's reviews, visit our air purifier reviews page.