Using an air purifier with a built-in humidifier offers a range of benefits for indoor air quality and overall comfort. Combining these two essential features creates a powerful system that cleans the air and adds moisture to create a healthier environment.
An air purifier effectively removes airborne pollutants such as dust, pet dander, pollen, and allergens, improving the air quality and reducing the risk of respiratory issues. Meanwhile, the integrated humidifier adds moisture to the air, helping to alleviate dryness and its associated problems like dry skin, irritated sinuses, and chapped lips.
By maintaining an optimal humidity level, the air purifier with a built-in humidifier creates a more comfortable living space, especially during dry seasons or in areas with low humidity.
I’ve been testing the Sharp UA-HD60E-L for the last few months for this long-term review to see if it’s something you should consider for a small office or home.
Design and features
I have used and tested several air purifiers over the last few years, and many of them are fairly generic, apart from the iconic Dyson unit, which offers both form and function. While I enjoy the latter, the Sharp UA-HD60E-L combines style and tradition.
It’s large, measuring 9.5D x 16.5W x 25.1H cm and weighs 8.6kg. The size and weight aren’t a problem, though; thanks to four wheels on the base, it glides along the floor, but only sideways. When moving it to a new location, two inlets on each side are perfectly placed to make it easy to lift.
Located at the rear of the unit, the air purifier has an air intake to draw in room air. The air is directed through a sequence of filters, including a pre-filter, a deodorising filter, and a HEPA filter. Finally, the purified air is discharged through the top air outlet via an automatically opening louvre vent.
Sharp claims that its HEPA filter can eliminate 99.97% of dust particles as tiny as 0.3 microns, effectively reducing indoor air pollution. Additionally, the HEPA filter aids in absorbing unpleasant odours. Meanwhile, the deodorising filter gradually captures and neutralises odours as they pass through.
The triple-layer filtration system has limitations, as it is primarily designed to filter dust and odours suspended in the air and may not effectively eliminate all harmful gases like carbon monoxide in cigarette smoke.
One of the things I love about the UA-HD60U is that Sharp recommend users clean the filters, which, if properly looked after, should last up to 10 years. I had no issues removing and cleaning them after a couple of months.
Around the side is where you’ll find a three-litre container for the humidity function. It pulls out from the right side and has a convenient handle, making it easy to remove and carry. On the base of the container is a twist-off cap for refilling. When installed, you’d don’t notice it as it seamlessly follows the curves and shapes of the unit.
A small display on the Sharp UA-HD60U-L lets you see the humidity level and whether the humidify and plasmacluster features are active. It has six-speed modes: auto, advanced, max, medium, low, and pollen. Using the buttons in front of the display, you can switch between these modes.
When set to one of the automatic modes, the air purifier’s sensors continuously monitor the air quality and adjust its operation based on the detected air purity and humidity levels. The dust and odour monitor is equipped to detect dust particles in the room and displays the intensity on a five-level colour scale. The colours range from green (indicating clean air) to green with orange in the middle, orange, orange with red in the middle, and finally red (indicating impure and polluted air). This colour-coded system helps users gauge the air quality and take appropriate action.
Unfortunately, the UA-HD60U doesn’t have any app support, so all controls are done through the eight buttons on the top panel. This isn’t an issue regarding performance, but it takes time and practice to become familiar with all the controls and features. I generally leave it on the auto setting to do its thing.
Performance
The unit’s fan has three speeds ranging in noise levels from 25dB up to 54 dB. I didn’t hear the fan during normal use as the ambient noise was louder than the minimum setting. However, at full tilt, it does get reasonably loud.
Enabling the ‘clean ion shower’ mode is a 60-minute cycle that releases high-density plasmacluster ions and discharges strong airflow that gets fairly loud. The strong airflow collects dust while decreasing static electricity for 10 minutes and then starts humidifying with strong airflow for the remaining 50 minutes. I like to do this at least once a week, and this is where an app would have come in handy for scheduling.
I used the UA-HD60E in my home office and bedroom for most of my testing. The unit is quiet enough not to be a distraction while sleeping. It did a great in keeping odours and dust to a minimum and the air clean.
Power usage ranges from 0.9W while the unit is off and plugged in. I measured 75W during the initial 10 minutes of the ‘clean ion shower’ mode, and this dropped to 5.3W in automatic mode and rose to 7.2W while it was humidifying the air.
Humidity feature
The unit’s internal water tank humidifies the air, maintaining a humidity level of 60%. However, it cannot dehumidify the air if the humidity exceeds 60%. Also, there’s no way to change it up or down from 60%.
Over the last few months, the humidity levels in my home were between 48% and 68%. I was amazed at how much water it used in a week, but if the humidity levels were much lower, you might have to refill the water tank more frequently.
I can also see a major benefit in maintaining a good humidity level during the winter when central heating can dry up the air causing irritations and other health issues.
Verdict
The Sharp UA-HD60E-L is a powerful…
