The Korea Consumer Agency said Thursday that not all premium air purifiers were functional, high-quality products.
The consumer watchdog evaluated the performance, efficiency, noise and maintenance requirements of 22 air purifier models made by six companies. The air purifier makers were LG Electronics, Samsung Electronics, Coway, Chungho Nais, Kyowon L&C and Whirlpool.
It said that Chungho Nais’ CHA-310BA had many functional options, but fell short in terms of efficiency, and that its maintenance costs were too high. The product sells for 443,000 won ($403), the second most expensive after Kyowon’s KW-A02G1 in the category of products covering an area smaller than 30 square meters.
The consumer agency gave a moderate rating to LG’s LA-S066DW in terms of deodorization efficiency in the same category, but a high rating for its functionality and energy efficiency. Kyowon’s KW-A02G1 received a high rating for its deodorization efficiency.
Samsung Electronics’ AC-375CPAWQ was given the highest marks across the board in the category of products that cover 30-40 square meters. It was relatively cheap, but had better efficiency in terms of energy consumption, deodorization and maintenance than other, pricier products, the consumer watchdog said.
Coway’s APM-1211GH was the most expensive in the group at 604,000 won, and was rated lower than Samsung’s AC-375CPAWQ priced at 358,900 won.
Whirlpool’s APR25530K distributed by Electrom in Korea was relatively inexpensive in the group of products sized between 40 and 60 square meters, but had low performance with high maintenance costs.
