Blueair Classic 280i Review: An effective air quality watchdog

Trademark Blueair Design and High-end Materials

Blueair's air purifiers have had two constants-a large, thick filter and a big fan. And in the Classic 280i too, these two combine to ensure the effectiveness of the air-cleaning process. Apart from that, the Classic 280i does add some new touches.

Blueair's Classic 280i has trademark Blueair design cues and is quite a robust machine. It further comes with a high-quality material in the chassis basically a sturdy metal high-grade plastic build making the machine weigh around 11 kg. The build quality is better than most because the steel frame and the panels really add value. Blueair should last for at least a number of years.

While the design is minimalistic it looks sleek and elegant and should blend into any room's decor quite easily. The purifier features a combination of white and gray which is pretty much easy on the eyes. The front panel is completely plain. On the top, there's a flap that opens up and reveals an array of blue lit-up indicators and controls (feather touch buttons).

The Classic 280i can address a room of about 280 sq ft, as its model number implies. It can be easily lifted to move to another room, should you need to do so.

 

Setup

Setting up the machine and running it is an easy task. All the important controls are right there on the device. However, you can also fine tune your experience. Well, the air purifier comes with IoT (Internet of Things) capabilities.

Now, this purifier can be connected to your home Wi-Fi network, and thus you can control the machine through the Blueair Friend app that is free to download for Android and iOS devices.

However, with the app, you will be able to change the fan speed, switch modes, alter the lighting intensity of the LEDs and monitor the quality of the air. This machine is among the few IoT-compatible air purifiers like Blueair's own Sense+ (Rs 42,499), Honeywell's Air Touch S (Rs 39,990) and the Xiaomi Mi Air Purifier 2 (Rs 9,999).

Blue air Classic air purifier combined with the Blueair Friend App just make things more easy for you. Most people already have smartphones and connecting yours to your purifier gives you added flexibility and functionality.

It is worth mentioning that the app does not automate your air purifier. If you want to automate it then you will have to buy a Blueair Aware Indoor Air Quality Monitor which in conjunction with your air purifier can be set to automatically turn on (or ramp up its power) when the air quality reaches a substandard level.

Performance

The thickness of the high-efficiency particulate arrestance (Hepa) filter goes a long way in defining how quickly and efficiently an indoor air purifier is able to clean the air in the room. And Blueair carries on with the tradition of a thick Hepa filter. And Blueair purifiers have been designed to deliver quality, high-performance air purification through its "HepaSilent" filtration process.

Classic 280i comes with this heavy duty filter assembly that traps bacteria and other harmful particles effectively. The company claims that the machine can get rid of a particle with a size of 0.1 micron and its carbon activated filters also block smoke, auto exhaust, chemical fumes, and harmful VOCs (Volatile organic compound).

This air purifier is ideal for a 280 sq ft room. Its CADR (Clean Air Delivery Rate) is of 340 cubic metres per hour. During testing, the Classic 280i improved the air quality from an unhealthy 121g/m to as little as 14g/min just 30 minutes.

During this, the fan speed was set to max at 3. There are three fan speeds, and the operation is noiseless at the first two speeds. On switching to the highest speed, or when it switches automatically to that, the fan noise becomes quite audible.

The air goes in through the back of the 280i machine and comes out from the top. Unlike some other purifiers, it isn't multi-directional or sweeping. The air passes through three filters including a HEPA filter and on the inside, a carbon filter.

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Verdict

Blueair Classic 280i performs as promised and is quite effective at removing pollutants from the air. The air purifier is well built and will last long. There is no denying that you will see the improvements in air quality in terms of numbers and in real. Besides, the convenience of controlling the air purifier with the help of companion app on your smartphone. is definitely a plus point.

The only thing that we are concerned about is Blueair 280i is priced significantly higher than the competing machines with the similar capacity like Honeywell Air Touch S (Rs. 36,500, Amazon.in) which has a similar CADR rating as well.

However, if you are looking for a sleek and robust air purifier and no-hassle experience, then the Blueuair 280i might be the right choice.