Sensibo Pure Smart Sensing Air Purifier Review
Sensibo Introduces Their First Air Purifier – Sensibo Pure
Portable air cleaners are quick and easy ways to filter the air in a single room or area. Many use High Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) filters that can can theoretically remove at least 99.97% of dust, pollen, mold, bacteria, and any airborne particles with a size of 0.3 microns (m). HEPA filters have been on the market for decades, but we are stating to see ‘smart’ air cleaners join the market in recent month. One of latest smart options for air cleaners is the Sensibo Pure! The Sensibo Pure is a fairly small air cleaner that can be purchased for $129. It is targeted to shoppers that are wanting to improve the air quality in rooms that range in size between 173 sq ft to 294 sq ft in size.
The voice-controlled Sensibo Pure claims to be the worlds most advanced smart air purifier by using three filters to help clean the dirty air and offer enhanced protection from viruses, bacteria, dust and smoke. It works with voice commands via Google Assistant, Amazon Alexa, and Apple HomeKit, so you could speak Alexa, whats the air quality like? and find out in seconds. Thanks to a built-in air quality sensor, Sensibo Pure measures your indoor air quality at all times and turns on and off autonomously. It can also change fan speeds based on factors such as indoor air quality, outside pollution, the number of people in the house, and the time of day!
The Sensibo Pure Review Sample
Our smart sensing air purifier was provided by Sensibo and sent to us straight from the factory in China! The plain cardboard packaging actually had a hole in it, but the air purifier was received undamaged and in perfect working order. Inside we got the air cleaner, manual (not shown) and DC power adapter.
Setting up the unit was pretty simple as you just need to take the air filter out of the bag and put it back into the unit. The bottom of the unit has four anti-skid pads and a large handle molded into it. Simply twist on this handle and the Sensibo Pure opens without much effort. The build quality of the Sensibo Pure is okay, but you can tell the plastic is on the thinner side, alignment isn’t perfect and there is some play between parts. This is a low-cost air cleaner, so the fit and finish seems to be on par for value oriented devices.
The Senmsibo Pure air filter is considered a system that consists of an outer pre-filter that wraps around the main HEPA H11 filter and then on the inside is an active carbon filter. Thankfully it is all just one unit, so you don’t have to worry about pre-filter covers or wraps.
With the filter installed you can get a better idea about how the filter works. Clean air is pulled through all the holes in the side of the unit, through the filter and out the top of the unit by a single fan. The size of the unit is 7.68 x 7.68 x 15.28 (195mm x 195mm x 388mm) and you’ll want to ensure some free space is around it for proper airflow.
On the side of the unit, you’ll find four control buttons. The top button is the power button. The second button sets the fan speed to low, high or auto (pure boost). The third button is the Wi-Fi button and the final button adjusts the LED brightness with options being off, low, and high. The LED color will change based on the indoor air quality.
Checking Out The Smart Part of Sensibo Pure!
To utilize the ‘smart’ aspect of the Sensibo Pure you’ll need to download the Sensibo App for your iOS or Android device. We used v3.3.25 for Android and the experience was pretty good. We were unable to setup the Sensibo Plus on a Wi-Fi network with a hidden SSID and had to contact Sensibo for help. To setup the Sensibo Pure on a hidden network you need to connect to the Sensibo Wi-Fi network (SENSIBO-i-XXXXX) and then manually enter your SSID with these instructions. If you do need to reset the wifi for any reason, you need to press the Wi-Fi button on the air purifier for 7-8 seconds.
The app itself seemed to work fine and allows you to perform nearly all the functions that are found on the switches on the side of the unit. The one thing that we noticed missing from the app was anything about air filter changes. There was no filter reset button or countdown letting you know when the 6-month filter needs to be changed.
The Hidden Monthly Charge
Maybe we missed it on the Sensibo Pure product page, but there is an optional premium monthly plan called Sensibo Plus that you can sign up for. It runs $2.99 per month or $29.88 per year. Purchasing this plan enables some of the smart features we previously talked about. For example, you need to have Sensibo Plus to get realtime data about local air quality and the weather outside. You can only see the current days events for free. You need to have Sensibo Plus to look at events over the past week or the past month. The plan is also needed to get Climate React to work with geofencing and scheduling. So, to get full Sensibo Pure experience you’ll need to pay for Sensibo Plus. Otherwise you can just set it to at low, high or in Pure Boost mode and forget about it. Oh, and the filter reminders that we talked about? You get those if you pay for Sensibo Plus.
How Much Power Does The Sensibo Pure Use?
When it comes to power consumption at the wall outlet we weren’t sure what to expect as Sensibo doesn’t talk about power consumption in their specifications. We were pleasantly surprised by the results as the power consumption was 1.3 Watts turned off, ~3 Watts on the lowest speed and ~20 Watts at its highest speed. Turning on the front LED light and having it on the brightest setting pulls ~1.5 Watts of power. If your electric costs 14 cents per kilowatt-hour you are looking at an annual expense of $3.80 per year on low (3.1W) and $24.53 on high (20W) with 24/7 use.
How Loud Is the Sensibo Pure?
When it comes to sound levels, the Sensibo Pure is rated at 53dBA in the specifications, but we aren’t sure what fan speed or distance that is at. We measured the sound levels at distances of 1-foot and then again at 5-feet. The lowest speed blends in nicely with the background noise of a home or office that might have ceiling fans or a refrigerator running. You won’t really notice it is running from 6-8 feet away.
The high speed setting is fairly loud and it came in over 60dBA within a foot and was under 54dBA at five feet. You’ll certainly hear it running on high in the size of a room it was designed to be in! It would have been nice to have a third fan speed for a middle fan speed setting. This is something Sensibo could possibly offer on future models and we hope they do.
How Much Do Replacement Filters Cost?
The Sensibo Pure has a 3 phase filtration system that consists of a pre-filter, HEPA filter and active carbon filter. It should last 6 months under typical conditions and usage. We’ve been told that the replacement filter will be made available soon from Sensibo and will run $34.99 for the Pure. There will also be subscription options that can be signed up for that will lower that price even farther. That means you are looking at around $70 per year on the high-end for replacement filters.
1st Year Total Cost of Ownership?
Right now the Sensibo Pure is on promotion for $129, so you are looking at about $168 to $189. This factors in the cost of the unit, 1 replacement filter and electric costs before any taxes and shipping costs. This cost estimate is based on manually setting the fan and running it 24/7. The electric costs may be lower on Pure Boost mode that can turn off the unit if the air is deemed clean.
Final Thoughts and Conclusions
The Sensibo Pure seems to be a well constructed air purifier that isn’t overly priced for a smart device at $129. Even the replacement filters at $35 each isn’t really that bad. It works using proven HEPA technology that has been around for decades and the app is pretty solid. This should be a nice air cleaner for smaller sized rooms! It is also simple and you don’t have to use an app with it. This makes it great for both younger and older people that might not be needing the ‘smart’ functions.
The only thing we didn’t like was the optional Sensibo Plus premium subscription plan. Having to pay extra for alerts on when to change the filter and what the outdoor weather is like seems a bit much. You can set reminders on my mobile devices in mere seconds and we all know how many free weather apps are around. It just doesn’t feel like the premium services are worth an extra $2.99 per month. The one thing that is interesting is that with the Sensibo Plus plan you get a 1-year extended warranty beyond the original 1-year warranty. The details around this plan are lacking, so be sure to reach out to Sensibo if you had any questions.
Lastly, the Sensibo Pure is available as a single unit or in kits that have 2 or more units in them. You get free shipping when you order two and the price per unit drops to $119 when you order three or more. Sensibo offers a 30-day money back guarantee for those that try it and don’t like it.
