For eight years I lived in Shanghai, China and whilst there was always heavy pollution, the whole hype only picked up in the past few years.
Most days are like the photo above. The sky is often obscured by a dense layer of smog.
Just this year, after moving to a new apartment in Shanghai, my family and I thought it appropriate to invest in an Air Filter (Purifier).
My mum and I were browsing through a MUJI store close to our place, and we saw a white, elegant upright machine on display. Upon enquiry we discovered it was a BALMUDA AirEngine (Air Filter) - we took a leaflet and went home to do some research. I had never heard of BALMUDA, but after looking online I discovered that it is a Japanese company that specialises in home appliances; selling fans, heaters, humidifiers and of course, air filters.
We found a good deal on Amazon China and ordered one online for around 5,500RMB (£567 or US$883). I am no longer living in Shanghai, China so this review is based on three months experience. I did not initially plan to write a review, however I noticed that there are not many English reviews and I thought I would write one as best as I can. I have rated the product out of 10 for Ease of Use and Features, Performance and Design and I have concluded with a summary and total score at the end.
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| Image Source: Julien C |
Just this year, after moving to a new apartment in Shanghai, my family and I thought it appropriate to invest in an Air Filter (Purifier).
My mum and I were browsing through a MUJI store close to our place, and we saw a white, elegant upright machine on display. Upon enquiry we discovered it was a BALMUDA AirEngine (Air Filter) - we took a leaflet and went home to do some research. I had never heard of BALMUDA, but after looking online I discovered that it is a Japanese company that specialises in home appliances; selling fans, heaters, humidifiers and of course, air filters.
We found a good deal on Amazon China and ordered one online for around 5,500RMB (£567 or US$883). I am no longer living in Shanghai, China so this review is based on three months experience. I did not initially plan to write a review, however I noticed that there are not many English reviews and I thought I would write one as best as I can. I have rated the product out of 10 for Ease of Use and Features, Performance and Design and I have concluded with a summary and total score at the end.
Image Source: www.balmuda.com/jp
After finalising the order, it arrived a few days later in a (fairly) large brown box weighing around 10kg (~22lb). The AirEngine nested in polystyrene foam padding and was also wrapped in a layer of white protective cloth. The packaging was pleasant and simple; the box included an instruction manual and the power brick. Though one thing to note is that the manual only comes in one language - in our case it was in Chinese.
Ease of Use and Features 8/10:
The AirEngine is very easy to set-up. After removing it from the polystyrene foam and cloth cover it stands upright in your room. The power source is plugged into the bottom of the device, so it may be easier to lie it down to plug it in. The back cover is easily removed and the plastic sleeve can be removed from the air filter itself. Set-up should take around 5 - 10 minutes and once it's all done it's ready to go!
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| Image Source: www.balmuda.com/jp |
The AirEngine's dimension are 25cm x 25cm x 70cm (9.85inch x 9.85inch x 27.55inch) and it weighs around 8kg (18lb). It is basically an elongated cuboid shape with curved edges on the sides. In the image above we can see the front, side and back views of the AirEngine. The air that is filtered is drawn in through the bottom. Two fans are located in the AirEngine, one that draws in air through the bottom vents and one at the top which is visible. The top fan helps pull in more unfiltered air to create air circulation in the room. Therefore, air pumped out from the top of the unit is a mixture of filtered and unfiltered air. It has two indentations on the sides so that you can easily pick it up and move it around. At the back of the unit is the odour and dust sensor, and the back panel which can be removed to access the air filter itself.
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| Image Source: www.balmuda.com/jp |
The top of the AirEngine has the main air outflow vent and all the controls. The controls from left to right are the ON/OFF button, the setting button and Jet Clean button.
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| Image Source: www.balmuda.com/jp, translation and description in English done by me |
The front of the AirEngine indicates the current mode. The current setting is indicated by a green light in the circle enclosing the symbols. The Jet Clean button puts the AirEngine into Jet Clean mode, whilst the setting button lets you switch between the different settings with ease.
The most carefree, simplest and in my opinion best setting is the Auto setting as it adjusts to what it feels is necessary through a dust and odour sensor at the back of the device. The highest manual setting may be too loud for bedrooms at night, as is the Jet Clean mode. We kept ours on Auto for most of the day however we did do a Jet Clean at least once during the day.
The AirEngine requires proper care and there is a light located on the front that lights up when three weeks are up. The light indicates that it is time to clean your AirEngine to ensure that it continues to performs it's best.
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| Image Source: www.balmuda.com/jp |
The manual provided with the AirEngine has detailed instructions on how to clean your AirEngine with step by step illustrations.
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| Image Source: www.balmuda.com/jp |
The filter itself can be taken out without difficulty through the back panel and the layer of dust can be vacuumed off with ease. On the inside layer of the air filter is a carbon filter which absorbs odours. This can be removed and it is recommended that it is left out for a period of time so that it is able to remain at it's best!
The top fan blade and fan grill can also be removed as you may see dust gathering here (the dust is not from the filtered air, but from the unfiltered air vents that help push out more air to create air circulation). These can be washed and must be dried before use. One thing to note is that the fan blades seem quite brittle and we were a little worried that they might snap off if we weren't careful.
The special green coating of the air filter is advertised to contain a special enzyme that deactivates viruses upon contact. The air filter removes bacteria, viruses and fungi from the air.
It is recommended that the air filter is replaced after one year, these replacements can also be purchased on amazon or other online stores!
I have given 8/10 for ease of use and features as it would be nice if this could be remotely controlled through an app - as well as a possible display showing the quality of air in the environment. These features would make this the perfect air filter, however without them the AirEngine is still an excellent product.
Performance 9/10:
BALMUDA's website and information leaflet are filled with charts and diagrams on it's performance.
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| Image Source: www.balmuda.com/jp conducted based on Japan Electrical Manufacturer's Association voluntary standards (HD-128) |
BALMUDA's website shows this chart that says that after 23 minutes of Air Engine operation, it removes 99% of all PM2.5 in the room. PM2.5 are particles smaller than 2.5 microns. These particles are so small that they are invisible to our eyes and we breathe them into our lungs. They are so small that they can even transfer into our blood system causing long term health problems.
Whilst these charts are nice to look at, I feel that the only way to truly judge the AirEngine's performance is through everyday use.
My mother and I both suffer from fairly mild dust allergies. This was amplified by the air pollution. The AirEngine did not completely remove all dust in the air from our apartment, but it was definitely showing results. At night my nose would not be as blocked as usual and overall there was much less allergic reactions.
On days with particularly bad pollution, the auto setting would work the AirEngine harder - this would also happen when we were folding clothes and cooking.
Video Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B21dFOH_2z8
When we cleaned the AirEngine for the first time, we were shocked to see the thick layer of dust that had been gathered and stuck on the air filter. We subsequently sucked it up with our dyson vacuum cleaner. We thought to ourselves: if this dust was not filtered out of the air, where would it go? Wouldn't we just be breathing it in?
Whilst the AirEngine removes a large portion of dust particles out of the air, we knew that it couldn't remove it all. We felt better knowing that it was at least taking out some, if not most of the dust in the house.
Overall, the AirEngine's performance did not disappoint.
Design 10/10:
The ease of use and performance is very much down to the brilliant design of the AirEngine.
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| Image Source: www.balmuda.com/jp |
The AirEngine has an elegant, modern, almost futuristic look about it - yet it has no difficulty blending in to the setting. People who came round to our house could not help but notice the futuristic sleek design of the AirEngine.
The AirEngine is made from a white plastic with the top vents being black. I believe there is also a white and light grey edition. Even though the product is made of plastic, it still has a very premium feel to it though it would be a level higher if it were, lets say, crafted from aluminium.
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| Image Source: www.balmuda.com/jp |
The AirEngine draws air in through the main air filter and amplifies it through the second air intake port at the top. This pushes out large volumes of air to help create air circulation flow in the room.
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| Image Source: www.balmuda.com/jp |
BALMUDA illustrates that conventional air filters are inefficient at filtering the entire room's air due to their design.
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| Image Source: www.balmuda.com/jp |
The AirEngine's design allows all the air in the room to be filtered. I could definitely feel this movement of air taking place as if I held a hand against the wall, I could feel the air flowing downwards past my hand.
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| Image Source: www.balmuda.com/jp, translation and description in English done by me |
Another clever design aspect is the 360 degrees filtration. As the air filter is a cylindrical shape, the air is filtered 360 degrees as it enters the AirEngine. This allows a larger surface area and therefore more air is filtered. The dust layer was on the entire face of the air filter, so I guess the 360 degree filtration holds up!
The design and look of the AirEngine is simply put amazing. It has a circular green light at the bottom to indicate it is on. This light dims at night (I'm assuming there is also a light sensor) at the top. It isn't anything flashy, but just a subtle green glow.
The AirEngine is a very well designed product. Everything just seems to seamlessly work together.
Summary:
Overall Score: 9/10
The AirEngine is a beautifully crafted, well thought out air filter. BALMUDA has done a great job in standing out from the field of air filters now on the market. We loved our AirEngine so much, we bought another one so that we had one for each bedroom at night and one for the living room at day.
Hope this review helps! Please leave a comment as this is the first review I have ever written :) Your feedback helps me a lot.
If you have any questions about the AirEngine, please do leave a comment below.
I'm interested in the current air pollution (PM2.5) where you live! I used http://aqicn.org/ everyday in China to check the air pollution - what is the PM2.5 where you live? (You can just search for your city). The PM2.5 where I live in England right now is only 35!
Pros:
- Excellent product design
- Fast set-up
- Helpful user manual
- Excellent performance
- Many modes and settings to choose from
- Easy to clean and maintain
Cons:
- Missing some remote control connectivity features
- No information on air quality
- Can be quite noisy
- User manual only in one language
