Alen T500 Air Purifier

Alen T500 Tower Air Purifier

The T300 air purifier was a great selling model for Alen, but as with most things, eventually it was due for a change. Taking some of the best components from that model, Alen now introduces the T500 air purifier. A tower air purifier similar to the T300, the new T500 offers HEPA style filtration in a compact, economical package. So how does this new model compare to its predecessor? Here's what we found when we compared our showroom model of each.

What I like about the Alen T 500 Tower

A full three pounds lighter, the T500 is more compact and fits right into most rooms, on tables, desks or the floor. Ideally, this model works best in a small to medium sized room, like bedrooms, dorm rooms, office cubicles, or even nurseries. With the CFM that the T500 has, any larger than this and you're going to get fewer air exchanges per hour.

Filter options are another nice plus to this model. The standard filter is similar to a basic HEPA filter, as it focuses mainly on particle allergens and irritants in the air, like pollen, pet dander, dust mite allergen, mold spores, etc. The prefilter is washable (rest of the filter is not), but should you need more specialized filtration, say a focus on removing microbes, bacteria and viruses or a focus on smoke, odors and VOC's, there are a couple other filter options available that integrate activated carbon or silver technology to achieve these more specific filtration goals.

Optional ionizer. They key to this is the "optional" part. One of my biggest complaints with some air purifiers is that the ionizer is not optional. With the T500, if you don't want it on, simply turn it off. Though I've never been a big fan of this style of filtration, that fact that it is optional AND that is does not produce any ozone make it a decent option.

As an Energy Star qualified appliance, the Alen T500 tower uses very little power. Even with continuous operation, power consumption will be less than if you kept a 60 watt light bulb on. So the yearly impact on your electric bill will nearly be unnoticeable.

The warranty is a big plus with any Alen air purifier. They back each of their products with a limited lifetime warranty, which is far better than air purifiers that cost four to five times as much.

What I do not like about the Alen T 500 Tower

My biggest issue with the Alen T500 air purifier is the lack of a true HEPA filter. The HEPA style filter of this model provides the equivalent of N95 filtration (95% of particles 0.3 microns or larger). This standard meets the CDC recommendation for preventing the spread of things like the flu, and it also provides enough filtration for light to moderate allergy and asthma sufferers. No matter how well this type of filtration works, it doesn't change the fact that the industry as a whole, uses HEPA as the benchmark.

Overall, the Alen T500 is easy to use, blends right into most rooms, is lightweight, has a great warranty and will provide decent particle filtration for most folks dealing with allergies or asthma. For heavy odors, chemicals or smoke, you'd want to consider another model, and the filter does need to be changed about twice a year. The initial cost is fairly inexpensive, and the lifetime warranty surpasses most others available. Provided your filtration needs match the T500, this model will be a good fit for most people.