Operation (without App and/or wifi)
Just simply plug the purifier to the power socket turn on the power. Wait a few second for the purifier to “boot up” with a short beep and you are ready to power up the purifier by a press of the top button.
Only 3 modes are available through this method, auto, night and jet. Jet mode will put the purifier in turbo speed for 15 minutes before kicking back to auto, great for initial deep cleaning of air. For 3 other modes of low, medium, high, you will need the app to set the purifier. To turn off just hold the power until there is a long beep.
The App
All the talk about smart home and internet of things, I thought were bullcrap until I got this purifier. Xiaomi air purifier allows control of the air purifier through its smart home app.
Download this app through the QR code label at the top of the purifier. The smart home app is available for iOS and android. The app is in chinese though but translated app can be found in miui forum.
Setting up can be a little confusing and tedious due to the lack of documentation but once connected the app allows you control the air purifier remote as long as the purifier is connected internet enable wifi.
The main page shows the list of xiaomi smart device registered to your micloud account.
Going in gives you access to different modes of the purifier, on/off, auto, night, jet mode and display the level of pm2.5 and air quality advisory. However do note the air quality advisory is based on China’s AQI which is a lot stringent that USA EPA standards. The auto mode follows the China standard which is too low for sensitive people. I do not recommend people to use this, the best would be manually choose the mode, be it medium or high depending on conditions.
Side scrolling given you access to 3 other modes that is not available physically on the purifier, low, medium and high mode.
Tapping the centre of circle will display the life remaining of the filter, this is purely based on purifier runtime and can only be used as guide.
The setting page allows scheduling(requires wifi connection to be on), blue sky notification(to open windows when outside air is better; does not work in Singapore), on/off purifier lights and sounds(a feature that missing in many brands and real time detection which is real time monitoring of air quality in the house.
I find that the static air at house and static air stuck within air purifier will cause real time monitoring to be under reported, so this feature is not useful. In order for the sensor to be accurate, on the purifier at auto and allow the air to circulate for about a minute, the true air quality figure will show up after some air circulation.
Performance and noise
Unlike conventional air purifier of back/front intake, top exhaust, xiaomi employs a bottom intake, top exhaust layout. Together with a small impeller at the top with mixes filtered air with ambient air, this layout reduce the chance of short circuit whereby the air purifier taking in clean air it had just purified. This decreases performance due to poor air circulation.
The inherent small foot print of the purifier is also its greatest weakness. How much air a fan can push depends on the fan diameter and the fan speed(rpm). If you limit the size of the fan (in this the purifier) the only way to increase air flow is to increase fan speed(rpm) and creates a lot of noise.
This is the noise data compared to my Sharp A50.
All noise taken @ 1m distance
Xiaomi, Jet, High, Med, Low, Night.
Noise (dbA): 61, 54, 46, 44, 43
Flowrate m3/h: 406, 271*, 174*, 93*, 68*
*estimated
Sharp A50, High, Med, Low
Noise (dbA): 50, 44, 41
Flowrate m3/h: 306, 216, 60 (Published Spec)
For comparison I just measured my vacuum cleaner: Bosch 2000W GL-30
73dbA @ 1m at max speed.
This Xiaomi purifier is loud, but not as loud as what people have exaggerated like it is as loud as a vacuum cleaner.
As such here are my recommendations for use at different speed:
Jet Mode (auto switch to auto after 15 minutes)
For temporary usage everywhere in the house, great for precleaning large space when you are not home, or clean individual room after airing.
High speed mode
Too loud for bedroom or study room but is ok for living room. Looks great in the living room as well.
Medium speed mode
Not too loud for bedroom and study room, very very light sleepers might have issues.
Low/Auto speed mode
Good for bedroom and study room under less hazy days (AQI<150)
Night mode
Don’t bother, too low an airflow to effect any changes in air quality.
Pricing
The xiaomi purifier cost $250-$290 depending on where you buy from, filters are pricing at $45 for standard, $55 for high density at qoo10 before coupons. Definitely a steal compared to my Sharp A50 (machine: $459, hepa filter: $109).
At this price bracket, all local distributed brands cannot fight the Xiaomi. The comparable ones are the Samsung AX40(<$300 from qoo10), Baomi and the Mfresh M8808A. Very few purifiers can sell at this and give this sort of performance.
Conclusion
The Xiaomi air purifier jet mode with CADR 406m3/h which can be remotely start is the main selling point. Before having this xiaomi, every time I reached home, I have to continue to wear my N95 mask, set my Sharp A50 at full speed for a good 10-15 minutes before the air quality reaches acceptable level.
Now, 10 minutes before I reach home, I would switch on my Xiaomi air purifier to jet mode. Once I am home, I would just simply remove my N95 mask and walk around my house like a free man without the effective of leaking nose and sore throat.
The Xiaomi is not without its drawbacks, I wished it could be a bit less noiser, I wish I could switch the speed to low,med,high without using the app and I wish I can switch the auto speed threshold to kick in earlier.
Still, at end of the day, the benefits together with the low life cycle cost of changing its filter, the Xiaomi has dislodged my Sharp A50 to become my primary air purifier in my house. The A50 kept aside as a backup, secondary air purifier when conditions worsen.
