Vornado AQS500 Air Quality System/Air Purifier Review

The Vornado Air Quality System 500 (AQS500) "whole room" air purifier is Vornado Fan's last remaining entrant in the air cleaner market.

The Vornado 500 was picked up by several online vendors, and is sometimes available at local Sears stores. My local Bed Bath and Beyond had one on display as of 11/21/09.

Marketed for a couple years as older designs were discontinued, the AQS 500 is a simple, aesthetically pleasing design.

Constructed of a base basket which holds two furnace-type filters, the AQS air purifier has a unique drop in module containing the fan and controls.

The 500 by Vornado employs Vornado's "Vortex Technology," claimed superior to other air cleaners, able to circulate air to further reaches of the room for improved air cleaning performance.

Do the Vornado air cleaner's style and marketing claims withstand a closer look and justify the retail price?

Let's take that closer look.

AQS by Vornado: Low Powered

A 3 speed fan - Vornado's engineering strength is fan and air flow/ducting design - inhales from both sides through vents at the bottom.

Exhaust is through a Vornado Vortex, a series of curved louvers which impart a circular motion to the airstream, at the top.

The Vornado 500 is sold with the AHAM CADR (Clean Air Delivery Rate) seal displayed.

At the time of this post, 19 Nov 2009, no Vornado product was officially certified on the AHAM site.

CADR numbers are Smoke 102, Dust 149, and Pollen 185.

This produces an average CADR of 156, consistent with the MSRP around $100.

Room Size rating is 324 Sq. Ft., an 18'x18' (large) room. Here is my first issue with the mid-sized 500 from Vornado.

I don't doubt that the company's expertise with fan and duct design does make their exhaust air flow further.

But this air cleaner, even if it had a real HEPA filter, would be rated for a room half that size.

And just what kind of filter has Vornado employed in the 500?

AQS 500 Filters Suspect

Two "High Allergen/Maximum Dust air filters" capable of "trapping Pollen, Pet Dander, Bacteria, Mold Spores, Dust Mite Debris, and Smoke," is the most detailed description I found anywhere.

The same could be said for a handkerchief!

Many naive buyers will see the CADR ratings and assume the AQS is a real HEPA-filtered air purifier.

Proper filter specs include a percentage and a particle size, like this: "retains 99% of .5 micron particles."

True-HEPA filters must retain 99.97% of .3 micron particles.

The complete absence of a filter specification supports the assumption that AQS 500 has little more than a passive self-charging electrostatic furnace filter!

Further evidence - replacement filters, Vornado part MD1-0015, bear an extreme similarity to disposable panel furnace filters!

The dimensions, 9.7" H x 19.7" W x .9" D, are the same as a standard 10 by 20 one inch furnace filter.

Vornado was selling these for almost $40 for two, web vendors have slowly cut the price to as low as $21.99.

One furnace filter company began advertising its 10 by 20's as suitable for the Vornado AQS500.

Look at the CADR numbers above, what they tell the experienced eye is this filter is not not only sub-HEPA, it is a sieve!

Real air purifiers are judged by their ability to capture high percentages of particles smaller than 1 micron (sub-micron particulate), very tiny stuff.

The low smoke CADR reading as compared to the 9 micron "Arizona road dust" and 2 micron and up pollen tells me that this is one of the new 2 micron, or worse, air cleaners.

These have taken over the naive "see the all dust it collects" buying crowd, after ozone emissions torpedoed former market leaders Sharper Image Ionic Breeze and Oreck.

Visible dust is why we have vacuum cleaners, air purifiers are meant to provide health benefits by collecting the invisible tiny sub-micron particles that can enter our bodies.

Recommended filter replacements come 1-2 times per year, depending on use. This could easily result in an unacceptable replacement filter to initial purchase price ratio - making the air cleaner a loss leader for filter ripoffs.

Many users report installing non-Vornado furnace filters in the 500 by Vornado.

Premium MERV 13 furnace filters are 80% efficient at removing 1.0 micron particles, and can be purchased for around $9 each. Lesser furnace filters go for as little as 75 cents.

So the good news is that owners don't have to worry about replacement filters drying up when the product is discontinued, as happens frequently in 2009's depressed market.

Since AQS500 has zero odor and chemical capture capability, some users have substituted MERV-rated filters with activated carbon layers to control odors.

Others have tried attaching carbon-impregnated polyurethane prefilter material to the Vornado's filters.

Filters just drop in, making filter changes easy, but casting suspicion on sealing and air leakage integrity, a key metric when evaluating air purifiers.

These furnace filters are the loosest fitting installation I have seen in any of the hundreds of air cleaners I have inspected. The filters just sit loosely, held by small retainers in the bottom of the basket and by foam on the fan case. There is nothing preventing air from bypassing the already weak filters.

Vornado AQS-500 review will receive the lowest score ever awarded here for "tight cases and gaskets - sealing to prevent bypassing."

A 4000 hour run timer lights the change filter indicator light on the control panel the filters might need to be discarded.

AQS-500 Utility

The Vornado AQS is mid sized, measuring 13.8" deep, 24.2" tall, and 10.4" in diameter. Weighing 12 lbs., 500s are easily portable, and, due to the dual intakes, can be placed between adjoining rooms.

Electronics include a cute little round remote control, timer settings for both delayed off and on, and LED displays.

Energy Star rated at 3.36 CADR/Watt, AQS500 uses 55 Watts on high speed.

Emissions

No measured noise specification is offered, other than the usual claim of "quiet," so user feedback is relied on for noise data.

One user review says speed 3, "quick clean," is noisy, but the first two are not offensive,

The passive electrostatic filter system is charged by the force of air rushing through it, there are no electrode discharges to create ozone emissions.

Manufacturer and Warranty

Vornado AQS500s are made in the USA by:

Vornado Air, LLC
415 East 13th St
Andover, KS 67002

Warranty is a long 5-Years.

The user's manual is available online in a nifty book-reader format at; Vornado AQS500 User Manual.

Conclusions

The Vornado moves air, but so does a $10 box fan. The 500's weak filtering performance combined with high throughput is designed to fool big-box department store CADR-buyers.

Vornado 500 Air Quality System is recommended for solely seasonal pollen allergy to larger diameter pollens and then only at the lower end of the price range.

Vornado's company website says "temporarily out of stock."

While there are AQS500s for sale on the web, I think this air cleaner is disappearing, interested buyers should look for super deals.

At the time of this post, 11/19/09, there were AQS500s on eBay for starting bids of $80, with very little competition. One craigslist ad said $50.

Anyone with serious health issues, allergy/asthma and beyond, keep looking for a better air cleaner.

I would be interested in hearing (see Contact-eMail tab on left navbar) from any user of the Vornado 500, especially those who have substituted MERV-rated filters or added filters/carbon.

Numeric Rating

Each of ten factors gets up to 10 points, 100 is perfect and very unlikely.

1. First do no harm; minimal out gassing, no ozone.

Score: 9 of 10, no ozone or other oxidants.

2. Serious gas and odor removal is a requirement if health benefits are expected: Units with real carbon VOC capability rank higher.

Score: 3 of 10, zero carbon in furnace-type filters.

3. Quality construction; case, gaskets, seals, and precision fitting eliminate bypassing and assure high efficiency at filtering sub-micron particles.

Score: 1 of 10, loose furnace filter system suggests leakage and bypassing.

4. The design maximizes the lifespan of each filter stage by allowing independent filter replacement. Ideally this is combined with electronic filter monitoring.

Score: 9 of 10, easy independent filter replacement.

5. Unit has long filter life, low maintenance requirements, and reasonable operating costs.

Score: 7 of 10, filter price loss leader.

6. Purifier produces low noise levels and meaningful air flow rates relative to noise.

Score: 7 of 10, per user report, no tests done here.

7. Manufacturer has a track record, with many units in the field and a reputation for supporting what they sell. Warranty period and average service life are long.

Score: 8 of 10, warranty is long, builder is USA company with many millions of products sold.

8. Purifier is a value in terms of price/performance ratio. Every price range should be included, “models above $1,200 are best”, while true, is not useful to most consumers.

Score: 7 of 10, be sure not to pay full suggested retail.

9. No dirt; unit and manufacturer should be devoid of class-action suits, high returns, recalls, consumer complaints, and legitimate negative consumer reviews.

Score: 7 of 10, Wichita-based Vornado is rated "B-" by the Better Business Bureau.

10. Unit is stylish, portable, comfortable, and convenient for consumer use.

Score: 9 of 10, cute remote, easy interface, modern style.

Air-Purifier-Power Numeric Rating; 67, a dust catcher, not an air purifier.