Are there sales/discounts to consider?
In terms of pricing, you need to consider how often these companies do sales as some literally have sales every 2 months while others are more stringent on the pricing. Always make sure to stay updated.
Hypo Air: Had big extended Black Friday sales of $200-300 off their flag ships and between 50$-150$ off their smaller models. It could be worth waiting till November to purchase them. As far as I’m aware, they don’t do many sales during other times of the year.
Air Doctor: The US based site does frequent big discounts, so it’s worth following them. You can save up to $200 for the EU Dutch based site; I’m not sure .
Austin Air: Not sure, best bet is to subscribe to the mailing list and visit their website. Sometimes the Ebay sellers websites can have Black Friday deals.
Molekule Air: They have sales around every couple of months with discounts varying between $50-200, so there’s an excellent opportunity to save money with them, and they also do big Black Friday sales.
IQAir: As far as the IQAir is concerned, I’m not aware of any deals. The Allergy Cosmos website does, but it’s important to keep checking especially on Black Friday.
Pricing for the Unit:
Please note I’m doing all the pricing from a UK perspectives, which included:
Austin Air :
Purchased off Ebay US
£650 for UK or $500 for US
Molekule Air Mini: £420 for the Air Mini ($250 for US based). The Air Pro can reach upwards of £1100 for UK based customers, which includes shipping and tax from
IQAir : £1000 for UK customers
https://aquatruwater.eu/air-doctor-pro-pre-sale.html
Air Doctor:
£420 + Delivery from the AquaTru EU store
Hypo Air Boomerang:
$750 Dollar for US plus tax + so can come around £700-800 for UK based customers.
Pricing of Replacement Unit:
Molekule: £45 every 6 months so £90 a year
Hypo Air: £108 every 2 years plus tax and shipping so around £75 a year
Air Doctor: around £150 every year for all three units
https://aquatruwater.eu/airdoctor-ultrahepatm-filter.html
Austin Air: Around £180 every 5 years + tax/shipping cost of the filter making it around £40 a year
IQAir Health Pro 250 : £360 every 2-3 years Making it around £120 a year.
Verdict on repair filtres: In general, there’s a good convenience factor about changing a filter every 5 years, which makes the Austin Air the stand out winner in this regard. The Molekule seems once again expensive even after a pricey initial purchase of the filter itself.
Weight:
From lightest to heaviest:
1. HypoAllergenic Air
2. Molekule
3. Air Doctor
4. IQAir
5. Austin Air
In terms of weight and portability, the Austin Air was the heaviest along with IQ. However, both these units come with wheels to help the portability. Weight should be an important consideration if you plan to move your unit upstairs and downstairs everyday as some owners wish to. HypoAllergenic Air’s lightness was impressive especially considering the strength of the filter in terms of meters covered. Molekule as well was easily portable with the handle strap. Air Doctor had no wheels or strap but was fairly light coming in at 18 pounds so doesn’t require that much strength to carry. For elderly and frail however, this would still be a problem. The IQAir also comes with a handle at the top to make it easier to carry. However, the Austin Air has none of these.
In terms of transportation, HypoAllergenic Air is the only one which I can see being easily transportable by people of all ages and strengths and also makes a great traveling air filter. The Molekule Mini is also transportable, but I personally found the Hypo Air less of a hassle. IQAir has a separate transportable model with less coverage similar to Molekule.
Durability:
Highest Level to lowest:
- Austin Air
- IQAir
- Air Doctor
- Molekule
- HypoAllergenic AIr
In this regard, Austin Air was the most impressive. Made out of sturdy metal, you really get a good quality feel. Similar too was the IQAir Health Pro. Hypo Air’s Boomerang came off feeling a little cheap especially considering the price paid.
Style:
Ranking highest to Low:
1. Molekule
2. Hypo Air Boomerang
3. Air Doctor
4. IQAir
5. Austin air
Style might not be important to most people, but if you’re putting your air filter in a corporate setting where you want it to look attractive and not be an eyesore, then the Molekule will be your shot. They’ve clearly spent a lot of money investing on a beautiful design.
Sleep-Friendly:
Of course, bad air quality and molds can impact sleep more than anything; we are already aware of this. However blue light, EMF, and sound can also disrupt and impair sleep. If you’re sensitive to any of these, you really need to take them into consideration when buying an air filter.
In terms of Blue light:
The ones with 0 blue light were Air Doctor with its night mode feature and the Austin Air which has absolutely no junk light at all emitting from it’s device.
IQAir had minimal blue light that could easily be prevented with a sticker, whereas Molekule had a large amount of blue light emitting from the device which couldn’t be stopped as LED light is part of it’s Peco technology that kills mold. There was a similar problem with the Hypo Air Boomerang.
Bluelight Ranking Best (meaning the least amount) to Worst
1. Austin Air
2. Air Doctor
3. IQAir
4. Hypo Air
5. Molekule
Lowest EMF:
For EMF, you really want the one with the least wireless features. In this case, the Austin Air was by far the best for it’s simplistic design. The Molekule unfortunately was the worst. Please use an EMF meter to measure after you’ve bought. If the EMF levels are high of the respective air filter you’ve purchased, place it somewhere far away from where you usually are in your house.
In terms of sound:
For someone who’s extremely sensitive to sound, it’s an important factor to take into account. Sound can impact sleep quality, so an excessively loud air filter may keep you up at night.
Of course, on low settings…
Least Amount of Sound Issues:
1. Air Doctor
2. IQAir
3. Molekule
4. Hypo Air
5. Austin Air
I thought the Austin Air was unbearably loud, something which I personally can’t sleep next to. However others may be able to deal with the issue of sound. If that’s the case, then the lack of blue light and EMF from the Austin air may make it ideal for bedrooms.
Hypo Air, I disliked as it was the only one which didn’t have different strength speeds, so it was stuck at a pretty annoying sound level. The Molekule and IQAir could both be changed to a level that was tolerable to sleep next to even for a sound sensitive person like myself.
Customer Support:
I thought all companies had decent customer support that answered my questions. The Air Doctor support was slow to ship out their product . IQAir was the quickest, but the fact that they were EU based gives them an obvious advantage when judging it from a UK perspective. In terms of quality control, I loved the fact that IQAir does individual tests for unit quality and delivers a certificate in addition to this to notify the customer that this has been checked. I found this to be excellent attention to detail and a fine example of quality control. In contrast, Austin Air had a bit of off gassing in the first few days of usage.
Filtration Ability Specs:
I’ve Analysed all the filters in greater detail on my separate reviews for the products below:
Gas Filtration:
Austin Air seems to be the most impressive in that the 5 pounds of Zeolite can filter out dangerous gasses like formaldehyde.
Mold Filtration:
Please note if you have a serious mould problem, please remediate before buying a filter. Nothing is more effective than proper remediation with an expert.
In terms of mould, Molekule’s Peco Technology and Hypo Allergenic Air’s UVGI + AHPCO are best for killing molds. With mould, you don’t want it to be stuck into your filters and vents as it can permanently ruin your filter.
IQAir, Air Doctor, and the Austin Air don’t have technology that actively kills the mould.
Area Coverage:
Hypo Air Boomerang: 2,500 Sqft .
Molekule Air: 600 Sqft (200 for the mini)
Austin Air: Around 550 Sqft (Depending on the model)
Air Doctor: 900 Sqft
IQAir HealthMate Pro 250: Around 1125 Sq fT
Energy Efficiency:
Molekule: 20-80 Watts of energy, depending on the rating you do
IQAir HealthMate Pro 250: 60-70 watts
Hypo Air Boomerang: 15 watts
Austin Air: 90 Watts
Air Doctor: Was unable to retrieve this
Warranty:
IQAir Health Mate pro: 10 years
Austin Air: 5 years
Hypo Air Boomerang: 2 years
Molekule: 2 years
Air Doctor: 1 year
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