I was inhaling fresher air in under five minutes!
Over the last year many of us tried to replicate our old office environment at home, with various degrees of success. Printers and laptops were the easy part, but extras like ergonomic chairs and air purification seemed like pricey additions. However, working from home looks to be a permanent fixture now and home visits will bring back friends and relations, so air purification is something I’m keen to get right in my home.
There are big-brand offerings from Dyson and Philips that have smart-tech features, but at over €500 they’re not impulse purchases.
Instead, this week I tried the Proscenic A9 air purifier, a lower cost alternative, that the maker says has the capacity to purify a 90m2 home.
Unboxing the A9 reveals the unit accompanied by a quick-start guide. The unit is not small at 56cm tall, but it’s discreet enough to be stowed behind a chair or
CLEAR DISPLAY TO TRACK AIR QUALITY IN YOUR HOME
sofa. However, it’s really stylishly designed, so it doesn’t look out of place in a hallway or kitchen.
On top of the unit are a number of control buttons and indicator lights to regulate the four-speed fan. There’s power and wind-speed buttons as well as auto mode to regulate itself based on the quality of the air in your home.
Also, there’s a child-lock setting, a timer and a filter-use light to see the high-efficiency particulate air filter or HEPA at a glance.
On the front of the A9 is a clear display panel that uses traffic-light colours for the air quality status in your home. The smart sensor inside the purifier analyses the air and displays what’s referred to as the PM2.5 air index. This measures fine particulate matter – air pollutants that have a diameter of less than 2.5 micrometers. As those pollutants are small and light, they tend to stay in the air longer and therefore have a greater chance of being inhaled.
Using a purifier with a HEPA filter can reduce this particulate for a fresher, healthier home or office.
The A9 has a decently long power cable and an access panel for the HEPA filter, which should last around four months.Be sure to check the panel before use as the filter supplied with the unit has a plastic cover that needs to be removed.
When you do go to order a new filter, there are different colour options with various functions – for instance antibacterial or pet allergy versions. This is a clever offering, allowing you to customise your air purification.
Of course, there’s an iOS and Android app for the A9 that works well and has a pleasing, uncluttered display. As well as air quality and filter life, the fan speed and timer can be controlled from the app.
You can also control the mains power and switch off the lights on the unit – useful if it’s in a bedroom.
The app can be used wherever you have internet connection, so you can activate the purifier as you’re heading home after a day out.
Operating the unit, whether by app or manually is straightforward. Surprisingly, there is also support for a Bluetooth connection – useful if there’s is no wifi. The Alexa and Google integration works fine, but I’d like to see more of the unit’s functions available by just using voice.
Overall though, this is a really good performer. It may not have the additional functionality of a Dyson or an LG, but it really gets the job done.
The fan is not excessively noisy and in less than five minutes I could feel the air quality improving and almost sense a pleasant, sharp bristle to the air in my living room.
PLEASANT SHARP BRISTLE TO THE AIR IN MY LIVING ROOM