Winix 5500-2 Air Air purifier with True HEPA, PlasmaWave and Odor Lowering Washable AOC Carbon Filter Medium

Fantastic Machine, Automatic, Very Quiet, Great looking
** 3-week update **After a few weeks a clicking noise developed in the fan when running on the sleep (lowest) speed. Looking at the fan it appears there maybe an imbalance that over the weeks developed into a motor shaft tapping. Make sure to inspect your unit for a balanced fan. I just issued a replacement on the 5500-2 so we’ll see what happens.** Original **I spent weeks comparing units on Amazon and elsewhere. I didn’t want to spent > 200 on an overbuilt fan, or be stuck buying overpriced filters. I ended up buying the Winix 5500-2 and Renpho AP002 and first impressions with the two units are that they both appear well built, quiet, and have the automatic mode I really wanted.TL;DR;Winix 5300-2 – Quieter w/Smarter hands off Automatic technology & Ionizer – Set and Forget!Winix 5500-2 – Identical in Black w/Remote & washable carbon filterRenpho AP001 – Incredible unit, Amazing filters, Low cost ownership!Renpho AP002 – Almost identical, slightly more air volumeFILTERSThe Renpho filter has a price and feature advantage over the Winix. Both units have H13 Hepa filters, both have the honeycomb active carbon filters (for capturing VOC), and both have a washable pre-filters for catching large particles. The Renpho however has 2 bonus layers, a microbial coating on the Hepa filter, and an additional charcoal filter sitting before the carbon filter to collect larger particles. The Winix does claim the active carbon filter is washable – Renpho does not make this claim, however both appear similar so it maybe purely marketing. The Renpho filter is shorter and fatter – if you ran the numbers they both likely have similar surface area, thought the Winix is CADR rated for 360 sqr/ft while the Renpho is 330 sqr/ft. They are close.Renpho OEM filters sell for $25 for a full replacement. Winix OEM filters sell for $50 for a full replacement. Renpo claims the filter should be changed every 6 months, Winix claims every 12. I assume this is reflected in their price strategy, however since the filters are so similar, I doubt both claims can be true – and this all depends on how dirty your air is! So cost of ownership is likely less with the Renpho.AIR IONIZATIONThe Winix comes with an Ionizer (called Plasmawave) and Renpho does NOT. The Ionizer charges any particles passing through the unit so they are heavier and will float to the ground and out of air. If you’re concerned about Ozone gasses, then this is a feature you can disable and is not a feature on the Renpho.SOUNDThis is a real issue for me – I am sensitive to sound and like the home quiet at night. Deciding on a unit for my children makes this even more important, and I don’t want to force them into a white machine for air filtration. In Sleep mode the Winix is significantly more quiet at (advertised) 26dB where the Renpho is at 35dB. With the Winix 10ft from the bed I can just barely hear it. The Renpho is noticable but not “loud”. The Winix appears to have 5 speed modes, Sleep, Low, Med, High, and Turbo. The Renpho has just 3 modes, Low, Med, High, with Sleep mode being the Low mode with lights off. Here’s the rub however – outside of Sleep mode, the Winix sounds “louder” having a higher pitched whine while the Renpho is more of a hum. If I was going to just set this on High in a corner and forget it, then Renpho is the winner. For a quiet bedroom the Winix appears the winner.AUTOMATIC MODEThis was a huge feature for me and the Winix is a much “smarter” unit. Both units have a similar Automatic feature, sensing the air, bringing the fan speed up or down according to the readings. Both have light(s) indicating the current air quality reading. The Winix however had a light sensor that, when the unit is in Automatic mode, will place the unit in Sleep mode when the lights go out (for more than 1 min). In the morning the unit goes back into Automatic mode. This is huge if you appreciate how quiet the unit is. You can set the Winix to Automatic mode and not touch it until your next filter cleaning. If you wish to use the Sleep mode on the Renpho you will need to push the Speed button to cycle through the speed options back to Sleep – and then again in the morning cycle back to Auto. In reality you maybe better covering the lights with black tape and leaving it in Auto or just leave it in Sleep mode permanently.REMOTEWinix has one, Renpho not – for my needs this is a non-issue.CHILD LOCKRenpho has one, Winix does not – this is a great feature if young kids are around!APPEARANCEPersonally I think the Winix looks clean, modern, and the black color blends well into a corner near furniture. The Renpho AP002 like the Renpho AP001 have their signature funky look which is fine but not as refined. It’s an air purifier, so who cares, but it is also a visible piece of equipment in your home.For us the Winix seems more appropriate for a bedroom, the Renpho for a living room. Winix higher cost of ownership justified by the features and sound levels, Renpho for lower ownership cost.If the Renpho unit was QUIETER (ahem – hint hint Renpho) then I would just go that route – save on upfront and ownership cost.SIMILAR MODELSThe Winix 5300-2 and Winix 5500-2 are the exact same physical unit in different colors with different filters. The 5300 is gray, the 5500 is black. Only the 5500 has a remote. The 5500 has their “advanced” AOC Washable Active Carbon filter, while the 5300 has a disposable active carbon. The 5300 Hepa filter is slightly thicker (good) and you get 4 disposable filters with each replacement. If you buy the 5500 and don’t like the washable filter it comes with you can buy the 5300 replacement pack and use them instead. For $23 more we went with the Winix 5500-2 to test the AOC filter, and for the black aesthetic. Currently you can get the 5300-2 for $129 (Amazon) and when I purchased the Winix 5500-2 for $152 (now listed at $159 on Amazon).The Renpho AP001 (often found as RP-AP001 or AP-001) and Renpho AP002 are very similar products, both using the exact same filters, having different aesthetic designs, and with the AP002 having more airflow (for supposedly the same sound levels) and covering 30 sqr/ft more space. The AP001 has a dedicated Sleep button while the AP002 Sleep mode is the first option on the Speed cycle button – more daily button work for you. Currently the AP001 sells for $99 (Renpho direct) while the AP002 for $137 (Amazon). I bought the AP002 thinking the newer model maybe more quiet than advertised. If we get another Renpho it will be the AP001 for $37 bucks less.

Best Investment We Made!
If you are here, I’d be willing to take a bet that you did your research and saw this air purifier recommended across the internet. I’m here to say, the research you did led you to the right place.TL;DR:Amazing, cut down on airborne pet hair, but a bit loud (when running on high) and may need multiple for a living area. Great value for your money. 5/5 ⭐️UPSIDES:This air purifier is simply amazing. Me and my wife purchased this due to our two dogs (Husky mix and a Shiba Inu) constantly shedding to the point you could visibly see hair floating through the air. While running one of these in our living room (which exceeds the 360 sq. ft. rating of the purifier) is not the end-all solution to the shedding, it has drastically increased the air quality, and after just 8 hours of running, it decreased amount of hair floating around. I had my doubts as air purifiers don’t particularly work to eliminate pet hair, but this puts in the work to bring it back to a manageable amount.We have identified “hot spots” of where the dog hair tends to conglomerate due to fans and the A/C, and decided to place it in one of those areas. Within a half hour, the air quality was NOTICEABLY cleaner and easier to breathe. Me and my wife would walk in the area of the fan, then go to another room and physically feel the difference in air quality.Around the 8 hour mark I opened the front face and removed a significant amount of pet hair that had been built up on the mesh screen. If you plan on using these to cut down on pet hair, I personally believe it would be beneficial to identify those areas where the hair tends to build up to position your air purifiers. I’m not saying that this has eliminated or even cut down on the amount we have to vacuum and sweep, but it has helped with the floating dust and hair that accumulates in the air.DOWNSIDES:Noise. (Potentially)So if you’re expecting this to be super quiet and unnoticeable, I’m sorry to say this may not be it if you’re running this on turbo. If you only need to run this on a low to high settings to help remove small amounts of particulates from the air, it will be quiet. However, for our pet hair removal needs, we keep it on Turbo, leaving it sound a little louder than any average fan you get from the store. If you are okay with a bit of white noise running in the background, you will be fine. The noise is much quieter (borderline non-existent) when running on sleep mode to high fan, which could be enough based on your needs, but is not enough for us.Rated Area. (Potentially)This fan is rated for a room 360 sq. ft. While that is large enough for most bedrooms, it may not be enough to satisfy a living area, especially if your house is open concept. I would recommend considering investing in two fans for a larger room (but keep in mind how loud the fan is). If you think you need multiple for a single room, consider investing in one to start so you can hear how loud it is, if you like it and want another for a second room and a second for the same room, only get one more and see how well you can manage the noise of two running at the same time in the same room.Air Quality Light:The purifier has a built in light indicator to indicate air quality which is nice, but not super informative, as there is no guide to tell you what it’s measuring or what the measurements are… honestly it could just be a light on a timer schedule for all we know, as the manual only says it indicates air quality in “red (poor), Amber (fair), and Blue (good)”VALUE:If you can continue to find this around $150 dollars (how much I was able to purchase it for), the value for the amount you’re spending is perfect.I will try to update this review when we purchase a second system and have it running in the same room as the first.

Es un buen aparato, buen diseño y silencioso (solamente al nivel alto hace un tanto de ruido) incluso tiene modo sleep para que no haga nada de ruido (al punto que puede ser casi imperceptible) tiene una luz que indica en momento real la calidad del aire y del filtrado.Se me hace un producto caro, pero me lo recomendaron por la calidad de sus filtros hepa, aparte del filtrado de polvo, y el filtro de carbono. El aire se siente igual o al menos a mi parecer (ya que algunas reseñas dicen que el aire se siente diferente) es cuestión de gustos o de cada persona, mi hermano es alérgico al polen y con este aparato literalmente se le quitan las molestias (entonces ahí podríamos decir que ciertamente si tiene una efectividad)Estuve viendo más aparatos similares y ya viendo varias opciones hay aparatos más económicos y con funciones similares.

Realizo esta reseña después de usarlo durante tres meses, lo compré por que actualmente vivo en la CDMX y me estaba afectando mucho la contaminación. Puedo decirles que realmente funciona, ya que el aire se siente más fresco (sin llegar a ser frío) y limpio, dejé de tener problemas para respirar.Al encenderlo o apagarlo se escucha ese tono musical del vídeo y se enciende una luz de acuerdo al grado de partículas en el aire (Rojo=Muy contaminado, Naranja=Contaminado y Azul=Limpio), además cuenta con varios modos.Limpiar los filtros es sumamente fácil y en las fotos podrán ver (con la misma sorpresa que yo) todo el polvo y partículas que acumuló en estos tres meses, me encuentro casi en shock al saber que todo eso es lo que respiramos día a día en un espacio cerrado.