I have already reviewed another Sharp air purifier (FU-A28e) which was disappointing to say the least because of a misleading spec. Thankfully Sharp admitted their mistake, took the product back and made a refund.
TL;DR
This model is Great! Can't find anything wrong with it accept for the expensive replacement filter set. If you are not an allergy sufferer you should consider Smartair's Sqair instead. The Smartair is most certainly an inferior air purifier (for several reasons) but it's got a lower cost of ownership.
Why I needed an air purifier...
My mom has had chronic asthma for over 30 years.
After certain breakthrough medications she is now practically free of Asthma. Though her respiratory system remains sensitive and she has allergies to airborne contaminants which result in frequent sneezing, eye irritation, discomfort in breathing etc.
Did this purifier help?
Yes! After just 24hrs of continuous running her sneezing reduced as did eye irritation. So what I do now is cycle the purifier in each of the rooms. It's practically running 24x7 in one room or the other. For reference, we have an airy house with plenty of large windows which aren't completely sealed (= lots of dust) and I also allow fresh air for limited time in the morning & late evening for cross ventilation. During monsoon we have mold issues, requiring frequent cleaning of cupboards, walls and hard to reach spaces.
EDIT 4th Dec '20 : My mom's sneezing has almost completely stopped as has her eye irritation and redness. I run the machine for about 15-16hrs/day.
Pros
1. Plasmacluster tech – is NOT your typical ioniser, doesn't flush your lungs with harmful ozone and DOES neutralize a lot of pathogens and odours too. They have a lot of literature, certificates from 28 labs from all over the world, and comparative videos to substantiate their claims. After going through all of that and doing a ton of related research I believe Sharp makes the best air purifiers for those having allergies... Unless you have a lakh or so for IQAir (which still ships with H13 HEPAs!) or some of the other more industrial looking units that cost as much as a small car. **My experience on its deodorising abilities can be found later in the review.
2. A proper high grade and Big HEPA – most of the air purifiers sold in the market (price no bar!) come with H11 or H12 or in some cases H13 HEPAs and are also smaller than this one... But Sharp has been generous in endowing this model with an H14 unit. Resulting in better filtration rates, especially for the finest particles. It also has better filter life.
3. The deodorising filter is in fact one of the best fine filters out there (it may be a mediocre deodoriser though). It has a fine mesh filter sandwiched between 2 coarse filters. I have used a PM2.5 filter from 3M before and this one is in a league above it. This will also significantly increase the life of the HEPA.
Edit 4th Dec '20 : The deodorising filter is past it's life. The nature of active carbon is such that it cannot last more than a few weeks or a month at best. I simply removed it while retaining the coarse filters to test whether the plasmacluster can remove smells effectively. It did! My large typical indian kitchen (masala, tadka, achaar, meat smells) almost gone within 30mins and totally absent in 45-60mins.
The jump in Airflow and hence CADR is MASSIVE! Even after putting on 2 sheets of pm2.5 filters (from 3m, naso etc.). The only trade-off is noise level goes up by the same magnitude and of course if you MUST put the 3m filter now else the expensive HEPA will end up with a significantly shorter life.
4. Not too loud even on the highest fan speed. You can be 7-8ft away from it and sleep undisturbed. On medium speed, from 7-8ft you almost cannot hear it at all, your mileage may vary.
5. The menu is simple, modes aplenty and the dedicated Haze mode button runs a pretty smart algorithm (check the pattern in the manual).
6. Indicator lights and even the other smaller lights can be shut off.
7. According to Japanese standards (JEM 1467) it's suitable for rooms upto 322 sq.ft. The biggest room where I may use it is 256 sq.ft so it's more than sufficient for my use-case.
8. Power consumption on High is 31w, for reference the ceiling fan in your room likely consumes 65w or thereabouts. On Medium it's consumes just 12w which is more relevant for longer runtimes or smaller rooms (202 sq.ft. as per the same standard). And sleep mode is a mere 3.7-5.9w!
Cons
1. The deodorising filter doesn't seem as robust as other such filters on the market simply because a very small volume of activated carbon has been used. Though Sharp counters that by saying that Plasmacluster neutralizes odours too which is why their products don't necessarily even need a carbon filter. And there's enough evidence of their claim being legitimate.
2. The Air quality indicator is by no means trustworthy, it doesn't react to changes in some instances and in others it randomly switches to orange/red.
**Edit: The nature of a dust sensor is such that it will show volatile results. Nothing wrong with the sensor per se. Tested it several times. Goes Red when there's tadka smoke (if the filter is 12-15ft away), Orange after about 5-6mins and Green after about 15-20mins... And every time a door or window is opened it'll momentarily go Orange. Performs just like it should.
3. I also wish there was a thermometer and hygrometer. Perhaps too much to ask for at this price? But there are other brands like say, Mi that do have some of these features. Such features obviously do nothing for air purification itself but are a nice-to-have.
4. No end-of-life indicator for the filters.
5. A set of HEPA + Deodorising filter costs ₹4,600. Though it's an H14 grade and Sharp also claims their filters out last competition by a significant margin. Did you know Sharp supplies HEPA filters to some of its 'premium' competitors?
6. They could've given more colour choices (off white, beige... black?) The bluish white that it comes with may not be to everyone's taste.
This is the best purifier for you if...
* You live in normal sized home with rooms no bigger than 400 sq.ft. each. Don't fall for an excel calculation for CADR & room size because this standard takes into account cleaning rates for 1hr and don't measure pathogen kill/trap rates. Which is why brands like Molekule and Dyson don't reveal CADR numbers. Sharp does because it wants to appeal to a larger audience, including the measurebators.
* Someone in your family is suffering from airborne allergies (pollen, dust, pet dander, pet hair, pesticides, dust mites, fungal spores etc.)
So why isn't this breaking the internet already?
Because most reviewers, 95% of them, simply don't know how to test a product that sidesteps the herd. In this case, reviewers fail to understand that airpurifer performance isn't only about measuring AQI numbers or running particle counter tests which can't measure the vast majority of smaller contaminants (dust mite faeces, body parts of dead dust mites, bacteria, viruses etc.). MANY ALLERGENS are <PM2.5 this is something none of the reviewers tell you neither do they have the tools to measure them e.g. dust mites faeces, dust mite body parts (though dust mites themselves fall in PM 3-10), airborne pesticides, bacteria & viruses – which are the real challenge ARE ALL SMALLER THAN PM2.5! and this is why allergy sufferers get air purifiers to begin with. There's also what breakthrough products do that you cannot measure with traditional instruments at all, so you need to come up with ways to test their claims (e.g. how many reviewers have you seen that test the plasmacluster function?!) Instead they ignorantly make passing references to it or foolishly call it just another Ionizer and raise false alarms about ozone risks. This, after Sharp has provided volumes of data & certifications to prove otherwise. Plasmacluster is now certified to almost fully eliminate coronavirus too!
https://global.sharp/corporate/news/200907-a.html.
Maintenance tip – After a while all air purifiers lose efficiency, simply because the filters start clogging. You will notice the airflow has reduced as months go by. Clean the deodorising filter at least once a month and chuck it out after 2-3 months, max! replace it with a third party PM2.5 fine filter like what naso, 3m, Smartair etc offer. They usually cost about ₹400/pair. This will most certainly extend the HEPA's life and make a HUGE difference to the airflow and hence CADR too. You cannot and should not try to clean HEPA filters. Not only is it a health hazard but there's also NO WAY to clean them!
Edit 4th Dec '20 : The coarse filters that hold the fine filter together (which has activated carbon blended in it) is washable! Though the fine/carbon filter itself has to be thrown away. I washed the caorse filters with a showerhead and sun-dried it for a day and it seems to work just like before i.e. after about a week it starts greying out again.
When do you replace the HEPA?
Sharp claims 2 years though Smartair ran a test on their Sqair model which came down to 50% efficiency after 6 months, in Bejing air! But note that Sqair does not have a fine mesh filter and it uses a H11 HEPA, a significant downgrade. So, I'm quite sure the Sharp's unit should last for at least 1 full year if you live outside Delhi and run it for 8hrs daily. By the way, the Sqair is a seemingly cost effective alternative though one can also use H13 HEPAs in Sharp (sold by ilovecleanair) and reduce the cost of ownership significantly while meaningfully increasing CADR too... H13s retain fewer smaller particles but have 6-8% better CADR... the Sharp will now have greater CADR while also retaining the plasmacluster advantage. This, only if you want to reduce cost of ownership or use it in a bigger enclosure.
A good airpurifier must have a balance of; filtration methods, effectiveness, efficiency, minimal intrusion in our lives, low cost of ownership and reliability.
Sharp has almost nailed that brief with this model.
If they can bring down the cost of replacement filters to what Philips, Coway etc. charge this will go on to be the Value King.
Strongly recommended!
At this price (or even at it's MRP) it is absolutely peerless!
| Manufacturer | SHARP |
|---|---|
| Country of Origin | India |
| Item model number | FP-J80M-H |
| Package Dimensions | 79.2 x 50.2 x 35.8 cm; 13.11 Kilograms |
| ASIN | B07N8ZC557 |
