Reviews

Review: Aeris aair lite – an air purifier that gets the job done

Don’t let the $499 price tag scare you away, this thing is worth it.

by
Joe Rice-Jones
June 14, 2021

Image: Joe Rice-Jones / KnowTechie

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It’s the start of summer here in Maryland, and that means two things. Well, three things this year, as the air is full of the sound of the Brood X cicadas, to go along with the pollen and humidity that we normally suffer from. That, plus the pandemic, means we’re staying indoors as much as possible. I mean, wouldn’t you?

To tame the air in our apartment, that means finding a strong enough air purifier to filter all the crud out of the air so we can breathe easier. Most air purifiers kinda fudge their CADR (Clean Air Delivery Rate) or any number of the other statistics they use for selling points.

How do you make sure you get an air purifier that’s using kosher stats? Well, you buy from a company like aeris, which uses multiple third-party test laboratories to ensure that the numbers they use to sell their products are backed up by independent testing.

We’re looking at the $499 aeris aair lite today, the smallest air purifier in aeris’ range. Is it up to the task of cleaning my apartment, which is open-plan with a loft?

So, what’s it all about?

The aeris aair lite looks a bit like the old ‘trashcan’ Mac Pro, which is no bad thing. The cylindrical body is covered in stylish woven fabric material, and here is where the first layer of filtration comes in. That woven fabric is coated with zinc pyrithione, an antimicrobial substance that destroys bacteria and viruses. It even kills coronavirus in tests, with up to 94% reduction after two hours. That’s impressive, but let’s dive deeper.

It’s got a huge HEPA H13 filter, which can capture 99.95% of particles at 0.1 microns of size. That means viruses, bacteria, allergens, mold, and even smoke all get grabbed out of the air. Then there’s a large prefilter, to grab larger particulates before they even make it to the main filter, giving them a longer lifespan than just using one filter. The purifier also tracks filter life remaining, as does the companion aeris app.

air purifier controls — Image: Joe Rice-Jones / KnowTechie

All of the controls are touch-sensitive and feature a child lock because you know toddlers love touching glowing things. The onboard readout also shows you the AQI reading for your space, so you know exactly how well that beefy filter is doing while cleaning your air.

You can dial in your preferred airflow speed based on preferences, or let the purifier work in AI mode, where it will automatically ramp up the fan when your indoor air starts to get funky, like if you’re cooking. Heck, you can even schedule it to only run fast while you’re out of the house, so you’ll always come home to clean air.

So, how clean is clean?

air purifier parts — Image: Joe Rice-Jones / KnowTechie

It’s always difficult to talk about performance of air purifiers without specialized testing equipment, but I’ve got a wealth of anecdotal evidence for how well the aeris aair lite works. See, we used to get major mold spoilage of almost any food that wasn’t sealed up tight. That could be bread going moldy after about a week, or things in the fridge getting that horrid white fur after a few days.

After running the aair lite for two weeks, we’ve got no more mold issues. None. Not a single slice of bread spoiled, not a single thing inside the fridge went bad before its time.

The new lifespan of our produce is impressive enough, but that’s only part of the benefits that this purifier has brought to our home. We’re not going out much, as we have a toddler at home, and the outdoors has a confluence of 17-year cicada swarms, east-coast humidity, 90f+ temperatures, and some of the worst pollen we’ve ever seen. Like, our car is covered in yellowy-green pollen within hours of being parked up. Not great for allergies, not great for our sinuses.

aeris aair lite app — Image: Joe Rice-Jones / KnowTechie

At least, that’s how it was. With the aair lite scrubbing our air multiple times an hour, I can’t actually remember the last time I had a blocked nose, or saw a runny nose on the tiny tyrant that wasn’t connected to a meltdown because we wouldn’t let her eat yogurt with a fork. My partner’s suffering less from her allergies as well, with minor flare-ups whenever she has to leave the house.

It’s fair to say that the aair lite has genuinely improved the quality of the air in our apartment, and also our quality of living in that air. Oh, and in case you think I only tested in a small room? Our apartment has a loft over the living room, so it’s roughly 600 square feet. Every other air purifier we’ve tried has struggled to deal with the mix of pollutants from the open-plan kitchen and the general fluff and other gunk in the air. This thing is worth its weight in (Swiss) gold!

So, should I buy it?

For $499, the aeris aair lite isn’t cheap, but your health is worth it. Ever looked at the filter in your AC’s air handler? Yeah, you don’t want to be breathing that, or the bacteria or viruses in the air in your home.

Aeris’ purifiers are proven to capture those tiny microbes and to actually kill them so they’re not multiplying inside the filter. Oh, and it looks like a million bucks. I can’t argue with the style choices, and I can’t argue with how well it’s scrubbed my air clean. Highly recommended.

Have any thoughts on this? Let us know down below in the comments or carry the discussion over to our Twitter or Facebook.

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Just a heads up, if you buy something through our links, we may get a small share of the sale. It’s one of the ways we keep the lights on here. Click here for more.