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Journalism of Courage
The smog season is back in Delhi and the rest of North India and those PM2.5 numbers can keep climbing higher as we struggle to figure out policy. While the various state governments and central government remain clueless on how to tackle air pollution, Air Purifiers are the new rage. If you’ve got someone in your family who has a breathing problem, asthma or sinus, an air purifier is a must. Panasonic has come with a new Air Purifier model with the series number F-PXH55M priced at Rs 29,995. This one claims to get rid of PM2.5 particles and has a filter with a lifespan of 10 years. Here’s what we thought of this during our review.
Specifications: Dimensions 580 x 200 x 305 mm, weight 5.8 kg | Applicable area 452 sq feet | Air volume m3/min 5.5 at high and 1 at low | Power Consumption: 49 W at high settings | Noise [dB] 52 at high | Child Lock | ECONAVI mode | Sleep Mode | Light sensor | Filter Replace Indicator
Price: Rs 29,995
So what’s good?
First up, this Air Purifier has a special mode/ button that you need to press in order for it to filter out all the PM2.5 particles. In Delhi, the light sensor to indicate the air quality was inevitably red at all times, even when the Air Purifier had been left on for quite a while in a closed bedroom. The problem is the Air Purifier doesn’t show by how much the levels have dropped. Panasonic didn’t give a counter to check how effective this was; thankfully, I managed to get one for a few days.
According to the counter, at one point the PM2.5 level in my room was around 500 μg/m3 on average. Yes, that’s Delhi for you. With the Panasonic Air Purifier, the levels would drop to around 123 μg/m3 for PM2.5 under an hour, which I’d say is fairly effective. Most air purifiers struggle in this kind of pollution. The basic Philips model I have in my own home took a lot longer to get to this number. BTW: 123 is still not acceptable, but that’s the best you are going to get in this place, I suppose.
The air purifier is also supposed to be effective for allergens, bacteria as well. The other positive about the Panasonic Air Purifier is that it’s not too big or heavy; if you have a small apartment you shouldn’t have trouble creating space for this one.
Also the HEPA filter has a ten years of life, according to the company, which sounds a lot more cost effective. Both the composite and de-odorisation filter have a 10-year life, according to Panasonic. But there’s a catch.
What’s not so good?
The HEPA filter has a long shelf life, but you need to use a vacuum clean this every two weeks to remove the dust collected on it. So if your home doesn’t have a vacuum cleaner, get one if you plan to buy this air purifier. I’m not sure everyone will want to make that investment or even bother to clean the air purifier regularly.
There’s also a feature called EcoNavi by Panasonic, which is supposed to reduce consumption of energy as it relies on activity sensors to figure out if someone is in the room or not. The only problem is that in conditions like the ones in Delhi, I’d want my air purifier to stay at full blast at all times. I keep the air purifier on for an hour in the bedroom (door locked) before I go to sleep to get the PM2.5 levels down. However, you can turn off EcoNavi mode as well, which is good.
The Panasonic Air Purifier is also among the louder ones I’ve used; certainly not as quiet as the Mi Air Purifier 2, and the number of lights on this thing can be an annoyance.
Verdict
Overall, the Panasonic F-PXH55M is a powerful air purifier. It was effective in quickly cutting down the PM2.5 levels in the house, despite the terrible conditions. And the HEPA filter has a longer life than some of the others in the market. But remember, this air purifier is high maintenance and also more expensive.
