Author: Maurice Savaryego, M.Sc.Eng. (Learn More)
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Compare Wi-Fi Supporting Smart Home Air Purifiers: GermGuardian CDAP4500 vs. Blueair Classic
Air born polluters (such as dust, pollen, mold spores, pet dander, mite feces, smoke, etc.) that can be found in our homes can act as allergens causing serious allergies, even asthma in sensitive people. In addition, volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and germs (such as bacteria and viruses) that can be found in the air we breathe in our homes can cause various illnesses.
Air purifiers are used to reduce or eliminate the concentration of these harmful airborne contaminants. Nowadays, the best air purifiers are equipped at least with a HEPA filter to get rid of most of the airborne allergens. HEPA filters can capture up to 99.97% of dust and allergens as small as .3 microns in size! Certain air purifiers are also equipped with UV-C (Ultraviolet C) light bulbs whose ultraviolet emissions can kill microorganisms such as bacteria and viruses including rhinovirus, E.coli, and streptococcus. Finally, some more advanced "smart" air purifiers that support Wi-Fi allow control of the unit remotely using a smartphone or a tablet. These smart units can also adjust automatically the airflow speed based on the air quality level; and when no pollution is detected for a certain amount of time, they can automatically stop to save energy consumption. We will compare below "smart" air purifiers that were the best rated by Amazon customers. This article will compare the GermGuardian CDAP4500 and Blueair Classic 205/405/605 smart Wi-Fi air purifiers. These were not just the most popular among Amazon customers at the time this article was written, but they had also received excellent reviews from most Amazon buyers (average ratings of at least 4.5 stars each out of 5 stars!).
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Comparing the GermGuardian and Blueair Wi-Fi Air Purifiers
The following pictures show the air purifiers selected for comparison:
The following table compares the various features that come with the four air purifiers (please read the explanations to the table notes that follow for a better understanding of the features):
Table Notes 1 - 8 Explained:
Note 1:
Thanks to Wi-Fi support all the air purifiers considered here allow you to control the air quality in your home using your smartphone from everywhere and anytime as long as the units are connected to an 802.11 b/g/n router on 2.4GHz Wi-Fi network band. The product documentation/manual will explain in detail how the purifiers are configured into your home's Wi-Fi network.
Note 2:
Bluetooth communication is supported only by the GermGuardian purifier. So, if you don't have Wi-Fi in your home, you could still control your GermGuardian purifier with your smartphone using Bluetooth. However, with Bluetooth, your smartphone can not be more than about 30ft away from the purifier.
Note 3:
Note 4:
CADR stands for Clean Air Delivery Rate, and is defined by Wikipedia as ''a figure of merit that is the cubic feet per minute (CFM) of air that has had all the particles of a given size distribution removed''. The following are the CADR specifications for each of these purifiers:
Note 5:
Note 6:
HEPA filters capture 99.97% of allergens including dust, pet dander, dust mites, mold and pollen. According to the American Academy of Pediatric Allergy and Immunology, doctors recommend HEPA air filtration to reduce exposure to indoor asthma triggers.
Note 7:
GermGuardian CDAP4500BCA is equipped with a UV-C light bulb that works with Titanium Dioxide to kill airborne bacteria, viruses and germs.
Note 8:
The GermGuardian CDAP4500BCA and the Blueair Classic 605 timers can be set to run the air purifier for a specific period, and they can be controlled from their associated App.
Note 1:
Thanks to Wi-Fi support all the air purifiers considered here allow you to control the air quality in your home using your smartphone from everywhere and anytime as long as the units are connected to an 802.11 b/g/n router on 2.4GHz Wi-Fi network band. The product documentation/manual will explain in detail how the purifiers are configured into your home's Wi-Fi network.
Note 2:
Bluetooth communication is supported only by the GermGuardian purifier. So, if you don't have Wi-Fi in your home, you could still control your GermGuardian purifier with your smartphone using Bluetooth. However, with Bluetooth, your smartphone can not be more than about 30ft away from the purifier.
Note 3:
- GermGuardian CDAP4500BCA is very quiet at its lower settings (1, 2 and 3), specially at setting 1 which is ultra-quiet, while at its higher settings (4 and 5) it becomes audible.
- The noise level for the Blueair 205 varies between 32db and 56db depending on the speed selected.
The noise level for the Blueair 405 varies between 32db and 52db depending on the speed selected.
The noise level for the Blueair 605 varies between 33db and 62db depending on the speed selected.
Note that the lowest setting of these Blueair purifiers is whisper quiet and even quiet enough for use in a baby's nursery!
Note 4:
CADR stands for Clean Air Delivery Rate, and is defined by Wikipedia as ''a figure of merit that is the cubic feet per minute (CFM) of air that has had all the particles of a given size distribution removed''. The following are the CADR specifications for each of these purifiers:
- GermGuardian CDAP4500BCA: Smoke: 80, Dust: 100, Pollen: 100
- Blueair Classic 205: Smoke: 180, Dust: 200, Pollen: 200
- Blueair Classic 405: Smoke: 280, Dust: 300, Pollen: 300
- Blueair Classic 605: Smoke: 500, Dust: 500, Pollen: 640
Note 5:
- GermGuardian CDAP4500BCA: It includes SmartAQM, an air quality monitor that detects the amount of particles in the air and that can be set to auto-mode to automatically adjust the speed to optimize room air quality.
- Blueair Classic 205, 405 and 605: These purifiers do not have a built-in air quality monitoring system. However, the App allows you to turn the unit's speed up and down as needed.
Note 6:
HEPA filters capture 99.97% of allergens including dust, pet dander, dust mites, mold and pollen. According to the American Academy of Pediatric Allergy and Immunology, doctors recommend HEPA air filtration to reduce exposure to indoor asthma triggers.
Note 7:
GermGuardian CDAP4500BCA is equipped with a UV-C light bulb that works with Titanium Dioxide to kill airborne bacteria, viruses and germs.
Note 8:
The GermGuardian CDAP4500BCA and the Blueair Classic 605 timers can be set to run the air purifier for a specific period, and they can be controlled from their associated App.
So which of these smart air purifies is best for you?
The air purifiers considered here are excellent products as shown by the average rating each had received from Amazon customers at the time this article was written. Indeed, they had all received 4.5 stars (out of 5 stars). There is a good chance that you would be quite happy with any of these four products.
However, there are some important differences that you may want to consider before making up your mind:
However, there are some important differences that you may want to consider before making up your mind:
- The GermGuardian air purifier is the only one equipped with the germ-killing UV-C light.
- The GermGuardian air purifier is the only one that also supports Bluetooth.
- The GermGuardian air purifier has a longer warranty than the other two brands.
- Blueair air purifiers have higher CADR ratings than the GermGuardian unit (see Note 4 above).
- Only the GermGuardian and Blueair Classic 605 air purifiers are equipped with a timer.
- The GermGuardian air purifier is equipped to automatically monitor and control the air quality, while for the Blueair units, to do the same, you will need to buy the optional Blueair Aware Air Quality Monitor unit and sink it with the Blueair purifier (offered below in the Amazon products section).
- Only the Blueair Classic 605 air purifier comes with built-in casters and is easier to move around.
- Finally, if you need to purify the air in rooms larger than 200 sq.ft., you might want to consider a Blueair purifier (see comparison table above)
GermGuardian and Blueair Wi-Fi Air Purifiers on Amazon
Please click the Amazon US link image below for the smart air purifier of your choice to see exact price information or to purchase.
Please Note: For non-US customers, when you click the links below, you will be provided with the Amazon links for your country (such as Canada or UK), if the product is available in your country.
Please Note: For non-US customers, when you click the links below, you will be provided with the Amazon links for your country (such as Canada or UK), if the product is available in your country.
GermGuardian CDAP4500
Black & White
Please Note: There is a newer version of the GermGuardian CDAP4500. It's the GermGuardian CDAP5500. It has similar features to the CDAP4500 but it is taller (28 inches for the CDAP500 vs. 22 inches for the CDAP4500). If GermGuardian CDAP4500 is out of stock, we strongly recommend to consider GermGuardian CDAP5500 which being a newer version performs even better. For more information on the new GermGuardian CDAP5500, please click below: