Honeywell Bluetooth Smart Air Purifier, HPA250BC

Everything from pet dander and cooking smells to musty sports equipment and seasonal allergens can wreak havoc on indoor air quality, which, in turn, impacts your health. Fortunately, an air purifier can help you and your family breathe easier, and one of our top picks for medium- to large-sized rooms is the Honeywell Bluetooth Smart Air Purifier (HPA250BC), which is designed to filter particles as small as 0.3 microns in rooms up to 310 square feet. It features true HEPA filters to trap airborne particles like dust, pet dander, mould spores and some bacteria and viruses, as well as an activated carbon pre-filter to absorb odours and volatile organic compounds. The Honeywell HPA250BC offers general clean, allergen and germ modes, as well as a Turbo setting for intense air cleaning and speedy odour reduction, and a VOC function that automatically turns on the air purifier when VOCs are detected. Plus, it has a shut-off timer that can be set to one-hour intervals up to 18 hours.

To test for effectiveness, editors placed the Honeywell Bluetooth Smart Air Purifier in an air-tight 8- x 8- x 4-foot space along with an ultra-fine particle counter and then sprayed dry shampoo into the space for five seconds. This Honeywell air purifier made quick work of cleaning the air, bringing the particulate levels down to under 100 particles per cubic centimetre (well below what’s considered clean air) within just five minutes. Editors in the Today’s Parent Approved lab also looked at the clean air delivery rates, a score that indicates how quickly a device filters the air; this independent testing is carried out through the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers. According to the CADR scores, it does a good job of filtering the three particulates tested (tobacco smoke, dust and pollen) in rooms up to 310 square feet. Given the low-range price point, it offers a lot of air purifying coverage.

Families who tested this air purifier said it did a good job of cleaning the air in their homes. Some testers said they noticed there was a lot less dust in their home, and a couple of parents also found seasonal allergies weren't flaring up so much. Editors and testers appreciated that Honeywell designed this unit with modes instead of fan speeds—there's no guesswork. It's worth noting that the Honeywell Bluetooth Smart Air Purifier doesn't have a nighttime mode. While there is a light dimming function, which includes options to both dim and turn off lights, the power symbol and Bluetooth icon always stay illuminated, and that could be an issue for anyone's who's especially light-sensitive during sleep. One parent tester noted that automatic settings can cause the air purifier to go into Turbo mode, which could easily wake a sleeping baby or child, though others praised how quietly it runs in less powerful modes. When placed in the living room, a basement or a common space, testers hardly noticed it was on. It's also easy to move around a room when needed thanks to it's fairly light weight and inset handles on the sides.

Our editors and testers like that this air purifier is really easy to use. Our testers loved the user-friendly tap-controlled panel: They said it has a super-clean layout and is intuitive enough they didn’t need to keep referring back to the manual. Everything also has its own button, so you don’t have to cycle through settings to turn the air purifier on or off, select a mode or set a timer.

This model also connects to the Honeywell Portable Air Purifier app via Bluetooth, allowing you control all settings of the air purifier and access additional features. You can set allergen alerts based on your postal or zip code and activate the automatic allergen setting based on local allergen levels—something you can't do without the app. There's also a Proximity Sensor, which automatically turns off the air purifier when the Bluetooth goes out of range (30 feet) and turns it on again when you come back into range—great if you tend to leave home forgetting that you've left something running. You can also schedule settings for weekdays, weekends and individual days, access the user manual and register the air purifier direct from the app (always recommended so you know about any recalls and can easily make use of the warranty!). It's worth noting that because the app and air purifier are Bluetooth connected, you'll need to be within range to change settings. That said, our testers loved the convenience of being able to adjust and control the air purifier direct from a smartphone—and it'll definitely come in handy when you want to adjust settings from the hallway outside your sleeping kid's room.

We know you've got more important things to think about than remembering when to change a filter, and that's why we like that the Honeywell Bluetooth Smart Air Purifier has indicators on the display that light up when it's time to check and replace the two HEPA filters and the pre-filter. You can also find the filter status in the app, as well as direct links to buy from select retailers, which is really handy. Editors and testers found it very easy to open the front panel and pop new filters in place.

FINAL WORD 

Cleaning the air in your home is a breeze with the Honeywell Bluetooth Smart Air Purifier, and with it's lower-than-average price point, it offers good value. Ideal for medium and large spaces, this air purifier is easy to use and offers just enough modes and features without feeling overly complicated. Most of our testers rated the ease of use very good and the quality either good or very good, and all ratings for value were above average. In fact, four out of five testers would recommend this air purifier to other families. Considering how effectively it filters the air, the simple settings and the convenience of managing your air purifier through an app, it's a very user-friendly product.