What is Förnuftig, the Ikea air purifier worth?
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20 minutes
After launching its Symfonisk Bluetooth speakers and its Gunrid air purifying curtain, Ikea unveils Förnuftig.
Behind this name which means "common sense" in Swedish, the furniture giant is launching its first HEPA filter air purifier.
Sold for 49.99 euros only, the device is interesting for small parts but quickly finds itself confronted with its own limits.
Breathe better?
At a time of confinement, teleworking, children at home and the return of freshness, Ikea is launching Förnuftig, its first air purifier.
This device seems to be timely: since the Coronavirus crisis, one in two people have high expectations about the air quality in their home, and four in ten say they are looking for new solutions to sanitize and clean their home, d 'after the Gifam Trajectories Barometer.
With Förnuftig, Ikea intends to attract them, especially as its air purifier is breaking prices.
Förnuftig is available in two colors.
- IKEA
For small areas
With Förnuftig (which means "common sense" in Swedish), Ikea is setting out to conquer a market that has been expanding for several years.
In black or white, the very Scandinavian-looking device with its fabric front would almost look like a big speaker.
Measuring 45 x 31 x 11 cm, it can either be fixed to the wall horizontally or vertically, or land on the ground using its metal foot (vertically only).
The fixing of this foot is also here the only assembly step.
We are far from the legendary Billy libraries and their assembly hours ...
Scandinavian design by Förnuftig with its fabric pre-filter.
- IKEA
Recommended for rooms of 8 to 10 m2 (which is quite small), Förnuftig will probably not be at ease in a dining room, but can more legitimately find its place in a bedroom, an office, even a kitchen or a bathroom, the latter room being particularly conducive to degraded air quality because of the many sprays used there.
The device, which weighs only 3.4 kg, can be moved as needed.
99.95% filtering
Once unpacked, simply remove the supplied HEPA 12 filter from its plastic packaging and install it in the purifier.
Behind the fabric pre-filter which covers the facade and retains the largest particles, it is this which absorbs small particles in suspension.
Thus, 99.95% of dust, pollen or particles contained in cigarette smoke (up to 2.5 µm) would be eliminated.
Behind this filter is finally placed a gas filter (activated carbon).
Strangely, Ikea does not provide it with the device.
You have to buy it in addition (9.99 euros).
However, it is difficult to do without it: the gas filter reduces bad odors while filtering out harmful organic components, particularly present in cleaning products.
Three filtration levels
For our tests, we wandered Förnuftig from room to room.
The device offers three levels of filtration adjustable using a button on the top.
The first is very quiet.
The second and third make noise.
Using a sound level meter, we measured them at 51 db (A) and 56.5 db (A) respectively, which is not negligible.
To the ear, you could say that level 2 emits the equivalent of the noise of a fan and that the new 3 emits that of a kitchen hood.
The Förnuftig air purifier launched by Ikea for less than 50 euros.
- IKEA
This may imply starting Förnuftig only occasionally, in specific situations: when cleaning, tinkering, washing or when there are a large number of people confined to a room. unventilated room.
For its part, level 1 of the air purifier allows it to work as in the background.
One important data remains: the volume of air treated by the device (CADR or “Pure air distribution rate”).
Expressed in m3 / h, this is an important data which gives a good indication of the purifier's capacity to quickly sanitize a room and to achieve good filtration.
For its Förnuftig, Ikea promises a CADR of 30 m3 / h (Level 1);
90 m3 / h (Level 2) and 140 m3 / h (Level 3).
It is not enough.
Förnuftig can be used hung on the wall.
- IKEA
At the time of writing, Förnuftig finds himself in our office (set to level 1) and is forgotten.
Our room of about 10 m2 is the perfect target for Ikea's purifier, whereas with temperatures returning to winter, we cannot work with the window open.
We also tested it last weekend, in our kitchen, while we were cleaning the large interior bay window with a spray.
On level 2, Förnuftig quickly made the smell of the product used for maintenance disappear.
On the occasion of the Easter weekend, we also let it run to participate in a healthier air in our living room in the presence of five people.
But its purification on level 3 is quickly inconvenient due to its noise level and we preferred to leave a window ajar to renew the ambient air.
Note here that Förnuftig is not a solution to guard against Covid-19.
No automatic detection
Sold for 49 euros only, the Ikea air purifier is very affordable.
Its filters, to be renewed according to the use made of them (Ikea gives an indication of 6 months of use) are not expensive either: 4.99 euros for the HEPA filter and 9.99 euros for the filter gas.
Nevertheless, Förnuftig quickly finds his limit in the volume of the parts which he is supposed to purify.
The Electrolux Pure A9 air purifier launched at 449 euros.
- ELECTROLUX
Ten times cheaper and much less efficient than the Electrolux Pure A9 that we tested, it can only be used as an add-on for small areas.
In the absence of being able to fully assess the quality of its filtration, we can regret that it is not automatic by detecting using sensors whether or not the air needs to be filtered.
In the state, we can nevertheless recommend it for long days confined in a studio or a small apartment, for a child's room impossible to ventilate at night, or a bathroom where the various members of the family parade.
While waiting for the now usual peaks of atmospheric pollution… The potential for this type of product is significant, according to Gifam.
The fact remains that to guard against the risks of indoor pollution, it is first recommended to regularly ventilate and ventilate your home, not to smoke there, to moderate the use of solvents, sprays and other deos, or mopping a damp mop rather than a broom… So many simple actions that can also contribute to a healthier life.
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