Green Queen Guide: The Top 5 Air Purifier Brands To Consider For Your Hong Kong Home

Last week, we went in-depth on the whole air purifier topic and talked about why you need one. But obviously, what you all want (and need) to know is: what air purifier should you invest in? Below, we list the top 5 brands available in Hong Kong based on our own independent research. Whilst there are many companies that make air filters, we tried to hone in on brands that specialize in air purification rather than general appliance brands like Sharp or Kenmore.

All the below product comparisons list the square footage for a purifier as the maximum size of a space where all of the air can pass through two times per hour assuming 8-foot ceiling saka 2 ACH (Air Changes Per Hour), 1 ACH being the bare minimum you need, 4 ACH being what severe asthma/allergy sufferers require. These comparisons and figures are as calculated by Green Queen. Measurements are listed as height x width x depth in centimeters.

IQAir

Fabri-Technic Engineering & Trading Co. Ltd sells IQAir brand air purifiers in Hong Kong and will even offer you a free air quality test for your home. IQAir a Swiss brand of air purifiers for residential use that is well regarded and partners with organizations such as the American Lung Association. They have three models for home use: the HealthPro Series, GC MultiGas, and the Perfect 16. The HealthPro series not only has a HEPA filter capturing particles 0.3-micrometers and larger, it also captures 99.5% of all particles greater than 0.003-micrometers, which means pretty much everything. The HealthPro 250 has a four stage filtration system including an activated carbon filter. It weights 16 kg, is 71 cm x 38 cm x 41 cm and would work well in a space on average 375 but up to 970 square feet, price upon request. The Perfect 16 is a serious purifier which needs to be installed into your air ducts, but can can filter the air in a home up to about 5, 300 square feet, meaning pretty much any Hong Kong apartment we have been in. It is able to do this because it does not use a HEPA filter. Instead it boasts a micro-fiber filter that allows for the same filtering ability as a HEPA filter but has the right technology for massive spaces and air-duct based systems (HEPA filters are not suitable for these situations). The Perfect 16 is rated for hospital and general surgery usage! It is 27 kg, 54 cm x 64 cm x 54 cm, price upon request.

HealthPro 250 & Perfect 16, both: price upon request and both available Fabri-Technic Engineering & Trading Co. Ltd.

Green Queen Rating: Best for those with serious allergies- especially the air-duct system option.

Alen

The place in Hong Kong to find Alen products, an American-based air purifier brand, is Renaud Air Purifiers,  they offer three Alen models. The Paralda Air Purifier uses a HEPA filter as well as an ozone-safe ionizer- plus it is  Energy Star-certified, so a great option for the planet. It is 71 cm x 18 cm x 28 cm, weighs 6.8 kg and would work well for a space 220 square feet and up to 440 square feet on high, HKD 6, 980. The A375UV Multi-Gas HEPA Air Purifier is a powerful machine that combines a HEPA filter with two UV lights that further disinfect the air as well as an ozone-safe ionizer and activated carbon filter. That is some serious filtering power! It is 8.6 kg, and 47 cm x 52 cm x 21 cm; it can handle a of 120 square feet up to 650 square feet and will run you HKD 7, 980. Finally the HEPA-based BreatheSmart F700 will automatically adjust to the level of pollution in a room. It’s filter has four layers including one to kill germs and one that is an activated carbon layer. It is 7.3 kg, 56.5 cm x 42.5 cm x 25 cm, and can filter rooms from 560 square feet up to 1, 020 square feet on turbo speed, HKD 8, 480.

Paralda Air Purifier, HKD 6, 890,  A375UV Multi-Gas HEPA Air Purifier, HKD 7, 980 & BreatheSmart F700, HKD 8,480 are available Renaud Air Purifiers.

Green Queen Rating: Best mid-range choice, great for 3 to 5 person households.

Amaircare

Eco Shop stocks air purifiers from the Canadian brand Amaircare. The Amaircare purifiers all use a a three-filter system including a HEPA filter and an activated carbon filter to remove most particles and VOCs from the air. All of them have an optional VOC canister upgrade to remove even more of them from the air. They offer the Amaircare Roomaid which is wonderfully small at 19 cm x 22 cm in diameter, weighs only 2 kg, is quiet, and is so energy-efficient you can even plug it into your car. It covers rooms of 75 to 150 square feet depending on the speed setting but at HKD 3, 100 it is also a more economical option. The Amaircare 1100 is 3.2 kg, measures 39 cm x 22 cm in diameter and covers 130 to 375 square feet rooms depending on the speed, HKD 4, 380. Their most powerful model is the Amaircare 3000 which is 58 cm x 41 cm in diameter, weighs 10 kg and works for rooms up to 840 square feet, HKD 9, 980.

Amaircare Roomaid, HKD 3, 100 & Amaircare 1100, HKD 4, 380 & Amaircare 3000, HKD 9, 980 are available at Eco Shop.

Green Queen Rating: Best for those on a budget- get the Roomaid for the room you spend the most time in.

Oxyvital

Hong Kong-based brand Oxyvital offers German-made air-purifiers using that famous Deutschland technology, with models for both residential and commercial use. They have one model recommended for residential use, their Oxyvital AirOLife Purifier. This devise uses a four-stage filter which includes a HEPA filter as well as their patented ZeoSieve filter which was designed to specifically break down gaseous pollutants, such as VOCs, and actually turn them into to harmless gases instead. This purifier works slightly differently than the other HEPA-based filters as it takes in air much more slowly to allow it’s technology to focus on really eliminating gaseous pollution, as such OxyVital does not believe the standard ACH applies. However, they are the only air purifier to meet the WHO guidelines for all indoor air pollutant classes. The machine is also able to provide medical grade oxygen and actually reduces ozone gas levels in your home. This is a slightly larger unit, while being incredibly quiet, weighing 21 kg, measuring 53 cm x 54 cm x 21.5 cm and they recommend for a room 200 to 400 square feet. HKD 29, 000.

Oxyvital AirOLife Purifier, HKD 29, 000 is available Oxyvital.

Green Queen Rating: Best for massive spaces and commercial use- OxyVital has special technology that de-natures noxious gases (i.e. makes them safe).

Swedish Air HK

Swedish Air HK offers the Lightair Surface IonFlow 50 air purifier. Developed by the Swedish government, this is an ionizer purifier that is filter-free and because of this, the IonFlow 50 is virtually silent and very energy-efficient. Most importantly, it claims to be the only ionizing purifier that is able to operate without producing any ozone molecules- what this means for you is that there are no replacement filters to bother with- more convenient and less waste overall! Their magnet-particle-removal-based system is rated as efficient as a HEPA filter removing most airborne particles including dust, smoke, pollen, bacteria, virus and pet dander. Because it uses ions to act as “magnets” for air pollution, particle size is not an issue and even teeny nano particles of less than 0.1-micrometers can be filtered out from your air. Actually for this purifier larger particles such as dust and pollen that are bigger than 25-micrometers can pose a challenge. It is 56 cm x 18 cm, weights only 2.6 kg, and according to their website can purify a room up to 540 square feet.

Lightair Surface IonFlow 50, HKD 3, 580 is available here.

Green Queen Rating: Best for small spaces and those on a budget.

Additional Resources: Greenbox

For those of you looking for an Amazon-like selection of air purifiers, Greenbox is your best bet. Selling a variety of air purifiers brands including Austin Air, Airgle, Blueair, Alen, IQAir, Dyson, and Philips, Greenbox has the largest selection of air purifiers in Hong Kong, with 49 models to choose from. They have air purifiers that cover from under 250 square feet to over 1, 000 square feet and multiple price points from HKD 1, 698 (the Philips AC4025) to HKD 19, 900 (the Airgle AG900). We also love that their site makes it easy to filter for the type of air purifier you need. Most of their purifiers are based on HEPA-filter technology with some models offering additional filter-types as well.

Special Mention: Clair

Distributed by Chariot Enterprises in Hong Kong, Clair is a new brand of air purifiers made in Korea. These purifiers using static electric forces but also have a filter. This is different from many ionizing devices that do not use a filter at all, the purifiers use Clair’s e2f filter to remove ulta-small particles such as smoke as well as VOCs. As with other ionizing purifiers Clair’s purifiers work very well for small particles, the TD1866 removes over 99% of 0.1-micrometer particles, but larger particles can pose a problem. Also, Clair brand purifers use ionization but do not produce ozone. There are two models the BF2025, 25 cm x 15 cm x 26 cm and 1.7 kg and the TD1866 24 cm x 26 cm x 32 cm and 2.2 kg. Both of these very compact purifiers are quiet and use little power to run. They are recommended for rooms size 550 square feet and 320 square feet respectively.

Clair BF2025, HKD 1, 598 & Clair TD1866, HKD 1, 998 are available at IMI in Central and Discovery Bay.

Photo Credits: IQAir, Alencorp, and Swedish Air/Lightair.