GermGuardian AC3000 Airsafe+ review: A pint-sized powerhouse

Price When Reviewed

$109.99

Best Prices Today: GermGuardian AC3000 Airsafe+

$86.18

At just 12 inches tall and 10 inches around, the 7-pound GermGuardian AC3000 can squeeze into a spot just about anywhere—and do a pretty good job considering its diminutive profile.

The unit includes a cylindrical HEPA filter and activated carbon filter combo, as well as a little-seen feature at this price point: a UV-C bulb designed to zap bacteria and mold spores passing through. Designed to support a maximum space of 1,040 square feet (with one air change per hour), the unit offers CADR ratings of 139 cfm (smoke), 146 (dust), and 150 (pollen). For a purifier this small, those ratings are impressive.

It’s a no-nonsense operator, and the straightforward unit pulls in dirty air through all sides and emits clean, filtered air through the top. Operationally, the purifier couldn’t be simpler. Controls are all top-mounted, with access to three manual speed modes, an auto mode, and a sleep mode. Sleep mode operates the fan at its lowest speed while shutting off all ambient lights, while a separate button lets you toggle the UV-C lamp on and off.

Christopher Null/Foundry

Christopher Null/Foundry

Christopher Null/Foundry

On the front panel, a wide LED band provides a visual cue regarding ambient air conditions: green represents a PM2.5 rating of 100 or below, yellow is 101 to 200, and red is above 201. The fan speed used in auto mode correlates to these three PM2.5 conditions: low, medium, and high respectively.

This review is part of TechHive’s in-depth coverage of the best air purifiers.

Those levels, by the way, are pretty far out of whack. A typical “good” PM2.5 rating would top out around 12 and “moderate” levels would max out at just 35, in accordance with the EPA’s AQI ratings. A PM2.5 rating of 100 qualifies as “unhealthy” and 200 as “very unhealthy,” according to the most recent EPA guidelines.

That said, this isn’t a huge deal, since this just impacts the status bar light and the automatic mode, but it’s something the manufacturer should probably address for the sake of accuracy. No one with a PM2.5 rating of 100 should be fooled into thinking they’re sitting in “good” air-quality conditions.

Lasko/GermGuardian

Lasko/GermGuardian

Lasko/GermGuardian

During operation, I found that the purifier wasn’t the quietest, and even on sleep mode it puts out a low, white noise-like hiss that’s easily detectable in an otherwise quiet room. I wouldn’t use this in a bedroom, but in a more heavily trafficked daytime setting, it’s not so loud as to be a significant distraction.

Replacement filters—which, you’ll recall, combine both HEPA and activated carbon—run $30 to $38, depending on style, and each has a suggested duty cycle of 6 months. For a few extra bucks, you can obtain a filter designed for pet owners, one that targets smoke, or a filter tuned to capture VOCs. A standard filter ships with the device. Replacement UC-C bulbs cost $15 and have a lifespan of 6 to 8 months.

Unfortunately, the unit includes no smart features (it doesn’t connect to Wi-Fi) nor does it have a remote control, which means you’ll need to walk over to the device and operate it manually to do anything at all. In the absence of any kind of schedule or even a countdown timer, my best advice is to leave it in sleep mode and let it get its work done peacefully in the background.

Should you buy the GermGuardian AC3000 Airsafe+?

With its ultra-affordable street price of just $87 (after applying a $20 coupon available on Amazon at press time) and cheap replacement filters, any extra usage of consumables that might result from letting it run 24/7 seems forgivable. If you don’t need smart features, it’s definitely in the running for one of the best small room purifiers on the market.

Note to shoppers: We reviewed the white model (AC3000W); you might also encounter a functionally identical black model (AC3000B) as well as the model AP3151W (white), which doesn’t have a UVC-C bulb.