While Blueair has long been known as a top residential air purifier brand, their products have never really been geared towards larger office settings. In reality, most air purifier companies design products means for use in a single room, most often in a residential setting. So with the new Blueair Pro Air purifiers, Blueair steps into somewhat uncharted waters – a stand alone air purifier designed for the wide open spaces of a modern office or large home. We were fortunate to get one of each of these new models, and have used them scattered throughout our offices here at Achoo. After nearly two months of use, I wanted to take a few minutes to introduce these units.
While the look of the Blueair Pro line is familiar, there are some distinct differences between these the the Classic models. The Pro line itself is comprised of three units, each larger than the one before it – M, L, and XL. You can probably guess which is the largest of the three. While size is the most apparent difference, the reality is, they actually share more in common than in contrast.
The filtration of the new Blueair Pro air purifiers is a V-shaped HEPASilent filter. It’s a hinged filter, that when closed, is shaped like a large book. The filter slides into the unit like this, but once inside, it fans out, as if you were opening the book to read it. This creates the V-shape. Though not common among stand alone air purifiers, this design is similar to other whole home unit’s on the market. Some whole home unit Air Purifiers use this V-shape filter design for better airflow through the system.
Each unit comes standard with the HEPASilent filter, but there is a SmokeStop version available. The SmokeStop uses a thick layer of the HEPASilent filter media with a layer of granulated, activated carbon over top to adsorb odors, smoke, and chemical vapors. Each Blueair Pro model uses these same filters. They’re interchangeable. They only differ in how many of each they use. The Blueair Pro XL uses three, while the L uses two, and the M only one. One thing I noted with the XL model. If you’re buying replacement filters, you can always mix and match. The HEPASilent come standard, but say you want to reduce odors. When you reorder filters, try getting two HEPASilent and one SmokeStop. If that doesn’t work, bump it up to two SmokeStop and one HEPA. The same could be true for the L model.
With the filters, there was new feature, exclusive to this line. If you find that your regular SmokeStop filter isn’t working well enough, there are Carbon+ filters available. Each Carbon+ filter is essentially an add-on. It doesn’t replace your existing SmokeStop or HEPASilent filter. Instead it adds to it. So if you find your existing filter isn’t removing as much of the chemical vapors, smoke, or odors as you would like you can supplement these existing filters with these. Again, they’ve a universal fit across models, and they attach directly to the existing filter.
Beyond the filters, the controls of each are the same. They use a soft touch control panel on the top of the unit. Each has an LCD display that shows the fan speed and uses a molded +/- control configuration. It’s simplistic, but perfectly designed.
Here is where the new Blueair Pro air purifiers diverge from each other a bit. The XL comes standard with an Air Intelligence Module. This is a USB ported device that plugs into the air purifier, behind the filters. What it does is actually monitor air quality. It tracks both particles and vapors and can provide a basic display of the conditions in the room on the control panel with a series of color coded bars. The other two models, the L and M, have the port to use the Air Intelligence Module, but the module itself is a separate purchase. Beyond simply monitoring the air quality, this module also allows any model equipped with it to function in an Automatic mode. The module will read the air quality and when it becomes poor, it will direct the air purifier to increase fan speed to reduce the indoor pollutants. With this setup, there’s no adjustment required. The module takes care of that itself.
Blueair has long been known as one of the quietest brand of air purifiers around. The new Blueair Pro air purifiers actually seem to have outdone themselves in this regard. Though they are designed for larger spaces, on the lowest fan speeds, each is virtually silent. On medium, there is some noise, but not too noticeable, particularly in a work setting. On high, you do notice it, but it’s actually quieter than many models that move far less air than the Pro. And, like all Blueair models, each Pro is Energy Star qualified.
The construction of each is steel, so there is some weight to these machines. Aside from the M, the other two aren’t really meant to be moved from space to space, though a set of wheels on the L does allow you to tip it and roll it without having to carry it. With the XL, it’s best to find your spot, place it, and stick to it.
Last but certainly not least, the filtration! Each model has the standard HEPA filtration that Blueair is known for, removing 99.97% of particles as small as 0.1 microns. Each Blueair is ozone free and CARB certified. Whether it allergens, dust, or particles emitted from printers and copiers, the filtration of the Blueair Pro is up to the task.
In all, Blueair took what has worked and made it larger, boosting the coverage area, CFM, and ease of use while retaining, quiet, energy efficient operation. Whether used in a home with an open floor plan or an office, the new Blueair Pro air purifiers deliver solid performance, improving air quality and removing allergens, all in a durable, sleek, package.