Airmega 300 Smart Air Purifier with 1,256 sq. ft. Coverage, White, Model:AP-1515H

So like many others in the Bay Area, we have been hit with unprecedented air levels during the Camp Fire disaster, and levels of particles in the air reached 263 on Friday which is “Hazardous” and all local schools were closed a few days ago. I had my 79-year old mother and a cousin with a 2-year old toddler coming to stay for the holidays, as well as two girls ages 9 and 11. We ended up telling the family with the toddler to stay clear of the area. My mom did fly in and we have masks we are wearing if we go outside. After researching for hours and hours and asking my friends for advice, I went ahead and purchased this air purifier. I have been using it for a few days now. It shipped 1-day from Amazon and I immediately put it to use. After an evening of use, my scratchy throat was better the next day. And the indoor air felt clean and refreshed. As if the window was opened. Here were my main considerations: • Size of Room • Effectiveness of Machine • Size and Look of Machine • Cost of Machine • Set up / Ease of Use • (Noise Level) SIZE OF ROOM: The first thing you need to identify is the actual size of the room you are trying to clear. My living room, dining room and kitchen are all in one open space so the cooking smells and airflow are an issue. Many of the air purifiers recommended only clear 300’ of space. My room is at least 700’ large. Ceiling height should also be a consideration. And ideally get one that handles a room much larger (within reason) so your purifier does not have to run on high the entire time. EFFECTIVENESS: I believe a dual filter system is the minimum for pure air cleaning. We already had the Dyson fan with HEPA filter. This is one level. Adding in an activated carbon filter for smells is another. One machine that was pricey (Molekule $799) has a third level of UV light to kill bacteria which is critical if you have mold. Maybe even if you have dogs. The UV light was overkill for my current needs and also more expensive so I opted for “no” this time around. Molecule also has 3, 6 or 9 month financing which was intriguing but they were out of same day delivery so I opted to go through Amazon. There are different filter consideration is based on air cleaning (HEPA), smell cleaning (CARBON), and bacteria/mold cleaning (UV / Ozone’s). There is an added consideration for pet dander. SIZE and LOOK: I almost bought the taller thinner machine that had customized fronts you could add — but it was too expensive to ship next day. So I did more research and decided on this model. It is LARGE. Like a small side table that unfortunately does not double as a side table because you need to keep the top clear. I personally like the way it looks and it was so easy to set up, plug in, and immediately went to work — it was a wonderful experience. It is clean looking, quality materials and the added lights and sounds really make it high end. COST: It was not cheap, but in the end was mid-level pricing compared to the other machines that cleared the same area. Over 1200 feet so I am covered. SET UP / EASE OF USE: I took this unit out of the box, took off the plastic wrap, and took the filters out of plastic bags one set on each side of the machine. Then I plugged it in and started working immediately. I loved the sound feedback when you push the buttons going up and down with the airspeed and also easy to set on auto. I also appreciate the fact that air is filtering from both sides of the unit. For this reason, when in use, It does need at least one and a half to 2 feet of open space on each side of the unit, so it does need to be pulled out when in heavy use. NOISE LEVEL: I did not really care about the noise level but it is quiet and on AUTO now and it feels cool and peaceful in the room. BONUS: The last reason I bought it is because it has an auto sensor that automatically kicks up the fan speed when there are more air particulates in the air. This is traditionally during cooking but in my case it was handy when doors would open and closed during this fire season. When I first plugged it in it was purple and took about 10 or 15 minutes to turn blue. This is after one week of no open doors or windows or airflow inside during the fires. I let my neighbor borrow it and it took about half an hour to clear his space which was read and then bright pink and purple and finally turned blue. I wondered if it just turned a different color when it was plugged in because when I brought it back into my unit it turned purple for about 15 minutes before turning blue again. Then, I made some popcorn in during the cooking of the popcorn the unit turned purple again and clean out the air for about half an hour. I found out after meeting the materials you can change the sensitivity level of the particular sensor, but now I believe it is accurate and helpful. I love having the color feedback to confirm the air is clear. I also bought a Levoit smaller fan for the bedroom at the same time and I have to say it does barely anything. And it feels cheap compared to the Conway. I am going to send it back. I am definitely keeping this Conway Airmega and highly recommend it to other people with the same considerations. I will continue to test the sensitivity level of the sensors and will post more updates if anything new arises.

I have had the smaller Coway in my bedroom for years now and it has been running flawlessly. Previous air purifier of a different brand began to have a noisy fan. I'm not sure how Coway has such quiet reliable fans but I was very impressed that I had to buy the 300 when it was on sale for $270. Two days later after running it on fan speed 2, in the living room, my nose is a lot clearer. There used to be gooey boogers from allergies but now it's just hard crusty ones and a lot easier to breath (sorry if gross, but this may be the case for many people with allergies!). My initial spark to buy a large purifier was when I noticed my cat's nostril had some black mucus on one side. I am fairly certain that will not return. A few important things: -I have no reason to think anyone would need WiFi capability, especially for the large price increase. Basically you just want to leave it on all the time. Energy cost is negligible and 5 year warranty means this thing is built to run. -One thing I DO NOT like about this unit is the Auto mode. There is no option to have Fan speed 1 on Auto, and have it ramp up whenever the air quality gets worse, WITHOUT having the unit shut off after 10 minutes if the air is Good. I rather have the unit run 24/7 with the ability to RAMP UP on Auto. This has been the norm for all their other Coway products, why not this? -"Eco" mode is confusing in the manual as 300 doesn't even seem to have the leaf logo. Therefore, I just leave it on speed setting "2", all the time. Finally, the unit looks great ! It's an accent piece in any room. Modern and chic. Highly recommended especially for the sale price.

I have an open kitchen + dining + living room layout and this helps a lot in containing the stove smoke as well as the smells from the food. Everytime i grill some sausages the smart sensor kicks on max, very effective and not loud.

I got one of these and a Honeywell HPA300. This Coway is made in S Korea. It is a solid, well built, quality product. It has auto-detect of air quality and adjusts fan speed accordingly. It has a light sensor as well for night mode. It has auto shut off if the air quality is stable and good. It is insanely quiet. Insanely quiet! The Honeywell HPA300 by comparison is made of flimsy junk plastic that feels like it will break when I touch it. I has none of the advanced fetures of the Coway. It is far far louder, in spite of moving less air per unit time. The HPA300 cost at this time $225 and the Conway $420. The HPA is rated 365 sq feet of floor area. The Airmega 300 over 1200. I am debating whether I should return the HPA which I am using in another room. The difference is like night and day in quality and performance both.

Bought this unit on one of the great sale, but still was hefty. This was worth every penny and still going strong after 1.5 years of use. We usually leave it on smart mode where it will decide on level of purification. You can definitely see it working when having it in the kitchen during cooking. When there were major fires, we could definitely tell the difference when this was turned on and off. When it comes to it's efficiency in purification, there is no question that this thing works. Noise is minimal. Only time you really hear it is when it's running on full capacity. Color of the ring will tell you what air quality you have. I think there is a wifi version also, but we didn't opt for that. Cleaning is easy also. It will tell you when you need to clean the pre filters and filter itself. You have to keep in mind that the air gets sucked in from both side, you do not want to place this in an area or corner where the air flow is hindered or blocked. Clean air comes out from the top. Hopefully this will still go strong for few more years.

4.5 stars! I just got it last night, this thing is much bigger than I expected, it's about the size of two large PC towers or a mini ottoman/foot rest. After opening it, I noticed no chemical/factory smell, so that was a good sign. It's very quiet operation, even the highest setting is not more noisy than a conventional fan. The filters appear to be high quality, one on each side, left and right; they're 1.5 inches tick. The filters alone cost 100usd to replace. I looked at many other air purifiers and decided this is the best one; so far I like it alot. I really like the design, and the shape of it makes it tip proof by kids; it's why I didn't want a tower. Here's why I can't give it five stars: 1) the buttons are hard, I prefer soft buttons that respond 2) the blue circle light indicator in front may be too bright if you're using this in a bedroom at night. I joke with my boy that thing is ironman fighting the bad guys 3) proposition 65? I saw this on amazon for the product only after buying, but there's no mention in the manual or label on the machine. I would take proposition 65 with a grain of salt, given that Formaldehyde in particle wood furniture and new clothes and foam beds is likely much more dangerous for you. otherwise, this is a great product, I choose this over all other air purifiers because of the large capacity to cleanse air, zero ozone, no uv light or ionization.

I had the IQ air for several years and it is a great unit, a workhorse. However, the filters so very difficult to change. The main reason I had to replace it is the fan started making a “car alarm” type whirring sound, only heard at certain head height…like a frequency type thing. Middle of the night = no. Of course it was out of warranty so instead of getting another $350 filter pack, I researched the heck out of newer models and opted for a different maker’s unit. Over 15 years, I've owned an Austin Air, a BlueAir, an IQ air, and now AirMega (yes I have mega allergies), I can say they all pretty much work the same (although I’m sure the manufacturers would beg to differ): bring air in through bottom, sides, etc, filter it through HEPA and charcoal filters, spit clean air out the top. Pros of AirMega 300. Very well made. Super smart design. Quiet. I literally had this unit set up and running in 5 minutes. I like how the sides clip in with magnets (very strong) so you literally just pop them off to change the filters and clean; same easy removal with the top grated area. With use, all parts of an air filter do get dusty so this is very handy. Finally a design that disassembles quickly so the whole thing can be cleaned! With my IQ air, it had to be pried open, then I had to balance it open carefully to slide out the bottom filter unit; it was always top heavy and the filter that needed changing most was at the bottom where the air intake was. I literally had to straddle the thing, balance it open with my feet, then wiggle out the filter, un-clip it and vacuum. I had to vacuum this several times during the 4-6 month filter life as dog hair would be the “first” level of trappings. In it’s defense it did trap a lot of dust and dog hair even with daily Miele vacuuming sessions. Filters: Loving the AirMega’s first washable level. Easy to clean and re-useable!!! Thank you. The unit's Max2 filter is a HEPA and charcoal all in one and is a cinch to replace and install. Approx. life is 12 months (we'll see). There is a filter change % indicator which is great; with other air filters I've owned a red light just comes on so you aren't sure how urgent a filter change really is. I also appreciate the Max2 filter's high quality and low cost ($99 set). There are two filter units in a set, one on either side of the unit. IQ’s charcoal filter was much beefier so if you are going for gas/smell filtering, IQ might win out here simply because the very heavy filter is literally thousands of little charcoal pieces (as a side note, after use, these charcoal pieces can be removed and work great in the garden). The charcoal filter resides in the upper middle of the IQ unit and makes it top heavy. The AirMega filters are light. Both units claim to filter about 1200 sq ft. Based on filters I’d say they both have similar “sq inch” of folded filter material. Noise: As mentioned, the AirMega is very quiet. I use it manually and have it going all day/night on level 2. It also has a "nightime mode" for sensitive sleepers. Smart mode works well too (this "reads" the air and filters appropriately). I did not get the Mobile App “S” version, I’m a low-fi gal. Also, it's very easy to take the front cover off to clean the smart mode sensor periodically. You can turn the "air quality lights" off for nighttime use. Overall, the best looking, smartest made, quietest air filter I’ve owned that seems to do a fabulous job filtering the air. It seems like it will easily give me the “average 5-7 years” of use that I find to be the life of most of these units. The AirMega 300 is also small, my IQ was like a piece of furniture! :)

Updated: Sept 2020 Both units are still going strong. One has developed a slight hint of a high pitch whine in the fan. But since they are still being used in the basement, it's not a big deal. Also they are both still running on the original filters that came with the units in 2017!! I simply open the cover and vacuum them, maybe once a month. I used to rinse off the pre-filter screen but I don't even do that anymore, the vacuum works fine. There is literally no need to buy new filters for these, perhaps unless you're a smoker. They still primarily run on auto-sensor mode, or continual low speed. Occasionally I bump them up to mid-speed for a few days. Original Review 2018: I have 2 of these in an unfinished basement in a 100 year old house. They run on auto-mode and have worked perfectly since 2017. I have actually never purchased replacement filters. When the filter light comes on, I simply remove the outer cover on both sides and get out the vacuum and clean off each layer of filter. Put them back in and reset the light. If you do that as soon as the filter lights come on and don't let them get too overloaded with dust, there is no need to keep buying more filters. If I turn them on high fan speed (not auto mode) and let them run, the filters need to be cleaned more frequently. These things definitely work.