Coway Airmega AP-1512HHS (AP-1519P) review – does it have washable filter?

Coway Airmega AP-1512HHS (AP-1519P) air purifier has true HEPA and Activated Charcoal Filters to capture and reduce up to 99. 97% of particles 0. 3 microns in the air, including pollen, pollutants and other allergens. It also reduces more than 90% of volatile organic compounds and reduces fumes such as NH3 and CH3CHO. And it comes with a washable and permanent pre-filter to catch larger dust particles. It is energy efficient air purifier with three manual fan speeds plus Auto mode. Auto mode automatically optimizes the fan speed based on the level of indoor air quality. When no pollution is detected for 30 minutes, the fan will automatically stop and enter Eco mode to save energy. Discover details in Coway Airmega AP-1512HHS (AP-1519P) review. Can you alter Coway Airmega AP-1512HHS Max2 filter set?

Who is this for?

Asthma and Allergies
Helps people with asthma and allergies by capturing airborne particles including dust, pet dander and mold that may trigger asthma and allergies. 

Home Air Quality Control
Continually monitors and controls indoor pollution, which may be two to five times higher than outdoor levels.

Pets
Three-stage filtration effectively reduces the odor, pet dander and other pet-generated contaminants from indoor air.

Secondhand Smoke
Ideal for smokers and those who live with smokers, the Coway Airmega AP-1512HHS efficiently reduces air contaminants and odors related to second-hand smoke.

Living Room
Though compact, the Coway Airmega AP-1512HHS generates enough purification power to reduce contaminants in rooms up to 325 square feet.

Does Coway Airmega AP-1512HHS (AP-1519P) cover large room areas?

Coway doesn’t necessarily need to change everything inside this Coway AP-1512HHS from the original product. The fan power is remaining, so I believe the room coverage is still 360 square feet. The ACH of Coway AP-1512HHS is 4X. With such high air changes per hour rate, this air purifier can clean your room every 15 minutes. The CADR of Coway AP-1512HHS is 246 Dust/ 233 Smoke/ 240 Pollen (cfm). It is enough to clean the suggested room size of 360 square feet.

Price

Adding a Smart air purifier version seems to be favored more and more in low-range segment. Many big air purifier brands are including the Smart features to their most popular budget products, to give everyone with tight budget a taste of high-end user.

Coway AP-1512HHS is such device, to import all Smart features from the luxury AIRMEGA lineup, like AIRMEGA 300S or AIRMEGA 400S, and bring to the most popular Coway AP-1512HH. If you are looking for the AIRMEGA AP-1519P, it is just the same as our today unit. Finally, the AIRMEGA we want to have (not the AIRMEGA 200M, without any upgrades from the original one).

It looks quite identical to the original model, and you might think that not a lot has changed – but it’s inside where the differences lie. In terms of the price, the good (ish) news is that it hasn’t risen too much from the incredibly successful AP-1512HH, with the Coway AP-1512HHS coming in at $299 at launch.

Coway Airmega AP-1512HHS (AP-1519P) comparison

Coway Airmega AP-1512HHS (AP-1519P) review

Looks

The bottom-to-top air flow system concept is used here, with the air intake behind the signature iPod-like front plate of Coway AP-1512HHS, which I was mightily impressed with the beauty of the air purifier blending with my home’s decor.

Design

the Coway AP-1512HHS has improved color selection, at least in my opinion. With less white and more pink, the air purifier brings an alternative look to Coway’s device. It feels closer to Rose Gold than anything else, but there’s a definite coffee tinge to the coloring that I’m not wholly enamored with.

WIth its rounded corners, glossy plastic surface, and nifty looking ring in the front, the 16.8 x 18.3 x 9.6-inch Airmega AP-1512HHS manages to look more like, say, a stylish subwoofer than an air purifier, and that’s a good thing. An integrated handle lets you pick up and move the 12.3-pound appliance, which is rated to cover rooms up to 325 square feet, with relative ease.

Buttons and indicators

Sitting along the top of the AP-1512HHS are buttons for power, fan speed (which includes auto and “Eco” settings, which we’ll cover in a moment), a Wi-Fi toggle, and a filter-reset button that lights up when you need to clean or replace the unit’s air filters.

There’s also a large circular indicator light that glows blue when the nearby air quality is “good,” dark purple when the air quality is deemed “unhealthy,” and red when the AP-1512HH detects “very unhealthy” levels of air pollutants. You can turn off the bright indicator, which glows distractingly in a dark room, by toggling a light button.

Air filters

Let’s talk a little more about the AP-1512HH’s filters. First, there’s a mesh “pre-filter” that acts as the first line of defense against dust, hair, and other relatively large airborne particles. Then there’s Coway’s two-part “Max2” filter, which is comprised of a honeycomb activated-carbon filter plus a “true” HEPA (short for High Efficiency Particulate Air) filter. Combined, the filters are rated to catch up to 99.97 percent of air particles as small as 0.3 microns, including fine dust, mold, pollen, and even cigarette smoke.

The pre-filter can be cleaned once or twice a month with water or using a vacuum cleaner, while the two-part Max2 filter needs to be replaced annually. A replacement set of Max2 filters will set you back $70, so you should factor that into the AP-1512HH’s sticker price.

1. Pre-filter – A washable pre-filter will help you capture the large particles of contaminants, from pet hair, human hair and mold. Keep in mind that this pre-filter is washable and therefore, is permanent to use.
2. Activated Carbon Filter – This improved honeycombed carbon filter works its best to deodorize and trap harmful gas to keep your place fresh and odor-free. It reduces more than 90% of Volatile Organic Compounds and reduces fumes such as NH3 and CH3CHO.
3. True HEPA filter – The high-performance composite True HEPA Filter that captures 99.97% of down to 0.3 microns allergens, virus particles, pollen, mold and fungi particles.

Setup, mobile app, and smart features

From cracking open the box to powering it on, getting the Coway Airmega AP-1512HHS up and running took less than 10 minutes. Once you remove the Airmega from its packing materials, you pop off the front cover, pull out the pre-filter with help from a couple of plastic tabs along the top edge of the assembly, and then remove the two-part Max2 filter. Once that’s done, you (gently) tear the filters out of their bags, put them back in the Airmega, snap the front cover back on, and press the power button. Easy.

Installing the Coway IoCare app and registering the Airmega is also a simple process. The app lets you identify the Airmega model by scanning its barcode; once that’s done, the app finds the air freshener’s Wi-Fi signal and connects it to your Wi-Fi network. The one hiccup I encountered was that the AP-1512HHS (like many smart home devices, unfortunately) is only compatible with 2.4GHz Wi-Fi networks, which meant I had to temporarily deactivate the 5GHz band on my router to get the Airmega to connect.

You can also set one or more schedules for powering the Airmega on and off at particular times and days of the week. Editing or deleting the schedules is easy, although it took me a while to figure that to do so, you must first swipe the entry for a schedule from right to left.

With the Airmega connected to Wi-Fi, you can control all its features using the IoCare app. Besides simply turning the air purifier on and off, you can set its fan speed, switch it to automatic or the power-saving “eco” fan mode, set a sleep timer, or turn its air quality indicator on and off.

The app serves up monthly, weekly, and hourly charts detailing the air quality in the room, along with local outdoor air quality fetched over the internet via the EPA’s AirNow program. You can also set it to send you mobile alerts if your indoor air quality falls to “very unhealthy” levels, or if you need to clean or replace the air filters.

Finally, you can control the Airmega AP-1512HHS with your voice via Alexa or Google Assistant, although voice commands are limited to such basic features as turning the unit on or off, changing fan speeds, and disabling its light.

Is it noisy?

Usually in this section I’d talk about the noise level test for the air purifiers. As the smart version of the best air purifier for bedroom, as well as the best air purifier for baby, it is naturally for the Coway AP-1512HHS to be impressive at silent operation.

Keeping only 3 fan speeds, the Coway AP-1512HHS runs at only 24 decibels (db) on lowest speed, which is even quieter than whisper. On highest speed, the noise level is measured to be only 54 decibels, and it won’t disturb you when working with such noise, because it is a soothing white noise that can improve your work’s efficiency.

Coway Airmega AP-1512HHS (AP-1519P) performance review

The AP-1512HHS did a nice job during several weeks of testing, switching itself on and off according to its various schedules and roaring to life when it detected unsafe air quality in my Brooklyn basement. Indeed, “roar” is the operative word when the Airmega spins up to its top fan speed, although the AP-1512HHS is whisper-quiet at its lowest setting. The air purifier only cranked itself up to its top speed once or twice each day during my tests, and even then only for a minute or so at a time.

After a few weeks, the IoCare app warned me that it was time to clear the pre-filter, which (once I pried it out of the Airmega) was indeed covered with a fine coating of dust particles and hair. A gentle cleaning with my vacuum cleaner did the trick, and the AP-1512HHS was back in service within a few minutes. The Max2 filter was still sitting at the 94-percent mark after about a month of use (it needs cleaning when the reading falls to zero percent).

Alexa and Google Assistant were able to change the speed of the fan, the mode and also set a timer. But you can’t use these voice assistants to get the Airmega to start, if it’s currently not working.

Finally, we found two issues when testing the Coway Airmega. The first one is its size. The purifier is rather large. The Airmega APO-1512HHS dimensions are 16.8″x18.3″x9.6″ (HxWxD) and weighs 12.34 lbs. It’s much bigger than a smart air monitor like Awair or Laser Egg — but this device also works as an air purifier, and typically these kind of devices are large in order to adequately clean and filter a room.

The Airmega does cover 325 square feet which is a good size room like a living room, entertainment room, den or master bedroom. But you will need to find a place in a room where you feel it will not standout due to its size. We found the performance of the smart purifier well worth it.

The second issue was the noise level of the fan. When the fan does turn on, we found it can get rather loud. For instance, we had Airmega on auto mode and when it noticed the air needed cleaning, the fan would come on and it would get loud and then as it slowed down, the noise level would, of course, drop. Placing the Airmega in a den, the fan noise might interfere with your TV viewing. Or if you have the Airmega in a bedroom, and you are a light sleeper, this could potentially wake someone up from their sleep. It’s just something to consider before buying this device.

List of Coway Airmega AP-1512HHS Max2 filter set

Coway Replacement Filters for AP-1512HH

Order the essential 1 Year Replacement Filter Pack and let your Coway continue working to make the air you breathe more healthy and enjoyable.

The Coway Air Purifier comes with an indicator light that will inform you which filter needs to be replaced.

– 1 Year Replacement Pack: Includes 1 HEPA filter (replace once a year) and 2 carbon filters for odor control (replace every 6 months)

– True HEPA filter designed to capture 99.97% of airborne allergens and contaminants as small as .03 microns in size

– Carbon Filter designed to rid the air of larger particles and odors for refreshingly breathable air

Coway Airmega 400 Max2 Filter Set

The Coway Airmega Max2 filter is an all-in-one HEPA filter system that combines Green True HEPA filter technology with an activated carbon filter.

Please note: Each filter set contains two Max2 filters, one for each side of your Coway Airmega.

Coway Airmega AP-1512HHS Max2 Filter Set

The Coway Airmega AP-1512HHS Max2 Filter Set is our most advanced, dual-filtration system. Our improved, true HEPA filter captures 99.97% of airborne allergens as small as 0.3 microns in size, while our new, honeycomb activated carbon filter eliminates odors and gases from the air. All to give you purer, healthier air.

Please Note: The filter set contains one true HEPA filter and one honeycomb activated carbon filter.

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