Home Air Filters - Honeywell HHT-011 Compact Air Purifier with permanent HEPA-type filter

Although I've been searching for a clean-air solution for my home for a while now, the real impetus came when the annual haze in 2013 exceeded the 'Hazardous' range. With a PSI (Pollutant Standards Index) of over 300, all outdoor activities are deemed dangerous if an N95 mask is not worn.

With this gloomy backdrop in mind, I set out to procure an air filter (not purifier as I realised; more on this later) with all haste. Of course, this being Singapore, all the units at every electronic/departmental/provision store were all gone by the time I got to looking, so I turned to Amazon to find a unit.

The beauty of online shopping, and of shopping on Amazon in general, is that you can do copious amounts of research before deciding on which product to purchase. With Amazon, you can even read verified customer reviews. After comparing for 2 days, I finally decided on the Honeywell HHT-011 Compact unit for a few reason:

• I don't need a true-HEPA filter (more on this later)
• I need an air filter only, not an air purifier
• I would like the filter to be user-servicable and not have to change filter units every 'n' months
• I need a small unit
• I wanted to buy many units, for my parents and in-laws
• I wanted it cheap (affordable)
• I wanted product with good reviews (this link sends you to the most in-depth air filters/purifiers website I have ever seen; more in-depth than normal electronics review sites even and perhaps on a par with only DPreviews for camera buffs)

The main difference in units you can buy are these; whether they are air purifiers (using 'true' HEPA fiters) or air filters (not that stringent a criteria, and HEPA-type filters would do).

HEPA stands for High-efficiency particulate air, and true HEPA air purifiers remove 99.97% of particles that have a size of 0.3 micrometres and above. Compare this to the Honeywell HHT-011, a 'HEPA-type' filter which removes particles above 2 microns in size only.

However the price of HEPA-clean air is steep; units have to be properly sealed (which means the motor pushing air through has to be powerful, incurring higher electricity charges) to ensure all the air passing through the unit is filtered, replacement filters are expensive, and the HEPA air purifiers themselves can be expensive.

With all these considerations, I decided that a HEPA-type air filter unit that I can vacuum every now-and-then is good enough. Due to the right combination of low price, good reviews and fast promised delivery date, I chose the Honeywell HHT-011 from Amazon.

• Filters 99% of air pollutants down to 2 microns in size
• Permanent HEPA-type user-servicable filter
• Changes the air in a room (up to 85 sq. feet) 5x per hour
• Ioniser/Ionizer function
• 3-speed motor
• Electronic filter-change alert

The more dangerous air pollutants are below 2.5 microns in size. The Honeywell HHT-011 would help since it filters 99% of particulates down to 2 microns in size.

Vacuum the filter every now-and-then.

Changes the air in a room (up to 85 sq. feet) 5x per hour

For those who do not keep track of filter changes (who does?!)

An important piece of information; check the voltage of your country before plugging the unit into your mains. The Honeywell HHT-011 from Amazon runs on 110V , and will not work in countries using 220V without a step-down transformer.

Also, ensure you use a step-down with a rating of at last 150W. I bought (and promptly fried) one locally with a rating of only 90W, thinking that the air filter would draw no more than 60W. My goodness... how wrong could I have been...

I bought, and recommend the Simran SMF-200 Deluxe 200 Watts Step Down Voltage Converter for International Travel to AC 220V/240V Countries. The 200 watts limit is more than enough for the Honeywell HHT-011.