Air purifiers to get under Rs 10,000

Pollution in Indian cities is at an all-time high, and with no signs of slowing down, clean air is no longer an unlimited resource. Rather than have children and aged parents breathe contaminated air that will adversely affect their health, we suggest you take a look at these air purifiers that will clean up the air wherever it is placed.

Philips AC1215/20 Air Purifier - Rs 8,999

Philips offers a well designed, entry-level air purifier with the AC1215/20, priced at Rs 8,999 on Flipkart. The device (a part of the brand's 1000 series) has a honeycomb mesh on the front, a touch panel above it, and the overall sleek and compact design ensures that it will not look out of place in a living room.

The touch interface is user-friendly, with the option to power the device off, switch on Night Sense mode, auto mode or smart light mode, adjust the fan speed, and activate the child lock, while the display also shows the device status. The Night Sense mode activates rapid cleaning so that the purifier can ensure the air in a bedroom is safe to breathe by sleep time, and the air quality is constantly monitored. The Smart Light mode adjusts the speed of the fan and the light so people sleeping in the room will not be disturbed, while the child lock ensures the settings cannot be accidentally changed.

The device is equipped with a pre-filter to catch large airborne contaminants, and a High-Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) filter, which uses glass fibers to collect 99.99 % of airborne impurities that are bigger than 0.3 microns. The 4-colour air quality sensor shifts from red to blue as the air in the room becomes more breathable, while the healthy air protects alert makes it more convenient to replace the filters, as periodically checking the dust levels is not required. The cost of a replacement pre-filter is about Rs 1,000, while the HEPA filter is around Rs 2,295.

The Clean Air Delivery Rate (CADR) of the purifier is 270 m³/h, which makes it more than capable of making the air in a bedroom or a small office quite safe for breathing. A word of caution, however, extremely polluted environments above and beyond general polluted city environments might overwhelm the device.

The Philips Air Purifier AC1215/20 is a great bang-for-the-buck air purifier that makes sure you don't have to pay a premium to be able to breathe clean air.

Mi Air Purifier 3 - Rs 9,999

Xiaomi just released the successor to the Mi Air Purifier 2S - the Mi Air Purifier 3. The device has a similar design language to the previous model, with a tower body housing a sensitive touch OLED display and a 360-degree triple-layer cylindrical filter design on the inside. The OLED display shows the real-time Air Quality Index (AQI), and can be swiped to change functions like fan speeds, operation modes and so on. The device also connects with the Mi Home app, which enables remote controlling of the purifier, as well as getting the AQI readings directly to your smartphone.

The 360-degree design of the cylindrical filtration system means the air will be pulled in from all sides, and the vent at the top of the device will push out clean air rapidly. The triple-layer consists of a polyethylene terephthalate (PET) primary filter for larger pollutants, a HEPA filter that has been improved over its predecessor, and an activated carbon filter for removing bad odours. The purifier also has a CADR of 380 m³/h according to Xiaomi, which is an improvement from the 310 of the 2S. This makes the device capable of purifying the air in rooms as large as 484 square feet, making it ideal for both bedrooms and larger living rooms alike.

The Mi Air Purifier is the one to get if you're searching for the latest and greatest, sells for Rs 9,999 on the Mi store.

Honeywell HAC25M1201W 53-Watt Room Air Purifier - Rs 7,999

Honeywell is a reputed global brand in the consumer appliances space, and the Honeywell Air Touch A5 brings the quality of the brand at quite an affordable price. With an all-black control panel and two color options of Champagne Gold and Classic White, the device fits into any setting while being easy on the eye.

The LED indicator on top of the control panel turns red, orange or green for polluted air, moderately breathable air, and clean air respectively. The touch control panel offers fan speed control at three levels, an auto mode that adjusts fan speeds according to pollution levels, a child lock mode that disables button control, and a sleep mode toggle switch that turns the LED's off or on. The laser dust sensor in the device assists it in determining the pollution levels, although there is no Real-time Pollution Sensor.

The purifier releases clean air at an optimum angle for the best dispersion of the air, while the funnel design makes it even more far-reaching. The sides are for sucking in the polluted air, and the base is fall-resistant, while even if the device is pushed down, it will automatically turn off. The triple layer filtration system has the pre-filter for large particles, and HEPA filter for small particles and an activated carbon filter to remove odour. The CADR is 250 m3/hr, perfect for bedrooms and small offices alike.

Kent HEPA Aura air purifier - Rs. 6,714

The Kent HEPA Aura air purifier may not have the best design among the others on this list, but it gets the work done quite efficiently. With a white exterior body and a silver button panel at the top, the device weighs 5 kilograms and is built for smaller spaces like bedrooms. The buttons on the panel control everything from the speed of the fans to the sleep mode time, and the white front body panel can be removed to reveal the multi-layered filters inside.

LED indicators reveal bad air quality, ranging from blinking purple to static purple to blue for extremely polluted, somewhat polluted and clean respectively. Three fan speed levels can be set manually, while auto mode adjusts the fan speed depending on the level of pollution in the air. The HEPA filter has an anti-bacterial filter coating and works with the activated carbon filter to produce pleasant, clean, breathable air. The ionizer mode breaks down particles to enable better filtration and improve the air quality, while the silent mode reduces the fan speed for lower fan acoustics.

The Kent HEPA Aura air purifier is capable of effectively cleaning the air in a small room, all the while consuming just 45 watts of power, making it a very good option for the budget-conscious at its current online price of Rs 6,714.

Samsung AX3000 Intensive Triple Purification Portable Room Air Purifier - Rs 8,499

Samsung's AX3000 Intensive Triple Purification Portable Room Air Purifier is a mouthful, but the actual device is a compact yet powerful air purifier that will blend in with the rest of your room's decor. The front of the device has a wavy fabric pattern with rounded corners, and buttons on the top can be used to power the device on or off, change the operating mode, or open the filter for replacement, while the LED light alongside them indicate Auto mode, strong mode, weak mode (for lower fan noise), sleep mode, and also indicate when it's time to replace the filter.

The purifier is far more effective than many others at this price point, with a 3 step filtration system and activated charcoal that not only removes pollutants like dust but also remove odorous gases. The S Plasma Ionizer is effective in reducing bacteria, viruses, and allergens such as pollen, while the pre-filter and the 2-in-1 PM2.5 and Deodorization filters ensure that the air is not only clean but pleasant to breathe in. The pre-filter is washable and does not require frequent cleaning, making it more economical in the long run. Child lock ensures that unintentional usage by children is prevented, and the quiet mode reduces the fan noise to a mere 20 decibels, providing a relaxing environment to sleep in or study.

The AX3000 Intensive Triple Purification Portable Room Air Purifier is an impressive performer made even better with a large CADR of 325.7 m³/h, and is one of the best-valued purifiers at its present price of Rs 8,499 on some online retail stores.

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