Coway AP-1512HH Air Purifier 2023 Review

The Coway AP-1512HH is one of the most popular air purifiers that is ranked highly in the air purifier standards. The review of the Coway AP-1512HH takes a look at its extensive performance metrics and the ideal operational capabilities as to how the air purifier performs in our tests. This includes the trapping and removal of pollutants and particles in the air and also the efficiency of its in-built filters and design.

Design Coway AP 1512 HH

The Coway AP-1512HH is pretty large with a height of 16.8 inches and a length of 9.6 inches and weighs around 12.3 pounds. Although the Coway purifier is a large unit, it is very manageable in terms of handling and portability indoors. The air purifier is built with a handle that gives you the advantage of portability. It comes in two primary colors which are white and black. The build quality is rated high with the plastic material used and as a unit, well designed giving a silky and smooth finish.

The first thing we took note of was the air purifier’s round corners and the square-shaped design of the air purifier with its large middle circle, giving a beautiful outlook that suits almost any kind of ambiance that is set indoors. 

Control Panel

The control panel on top of the Coway AP-1512HH purifier consists of the main power button with the speed controls, which have five modes: Auto, one, two, three, and Eco mode. The buttons are placed in a user-friendly design and are easily accessible. The small indicator symbols light up with a push of a button and a sound of a ‘beep’ can be heard with every single push of the buttons.

These buttons create an essential operational feature of the Coway AP-1512HH air purifier, which will be explained later. 

Auto Mode and Eco mode

The auto mode of the speed indicator will automatically determine the speed of the fan by analyzing the indoor air quality. The Eco mode provided by the Coway AP-1512HH is added to switch off the purifier when the air quality is good, and when no pollution is recognized within a 30-minute window. This saves electricity consumption considerably but resembles little to no effect compared to the auto mode of the air purifier.  

Timer

The timer will allow the user to configure the air purifier to run to a specific time frame, and this can be programmed for one hour, four hours, and eight hours. The air quality sensor is an efficient feature in the Coway air purifier that can be adjusted to give more sensitivity when analyzing air quality.

Air Quality Sensor 

Coming down to the air quality sensor can be regarded as the best feature of the Coway AP-1512HH as far as we are concerned. The air quality sensor of the air purifier can be adjusted to three different levels, which are known as sensitive, standard, and insensitive. 

The insensitive mode switches off the air quality sensor, the sensitivity mode increases the detection of particles and the standard mode is activated by default. The air quality sensor can light up in three different colors, which are blue, purple, and red. 

Blue highlights the air quality is of a good standard, while purple shows it is somewhat polluted, and the red indicator shows the air is highly polluted.

The device comes in the standard sensitivity by default, and when purchased if the indicator lights up red or blue after 2 to 3 hours of use and if you determine there’s no difference in air quality then you can adjust the air quality sensor.

To change the air quality sensor :

The ionizer button and the speed button should be pressed simultaneously for 2 seconds. This will trigger the ‘beep’ sound for a second and the speed indicator will flash showing to change the sensitivity. 

Then to configure the sensitivity press the speed button. The operational limits of the sensor can be determined by using it for around 2-3 hours. If the pollution level still indicates red (high) after 3 hours then you can try lowering the sensitivity.

After setting the required sensitivity, press the ionizer and the speed buttons simultaneously for 2 seconds to resume operation with the current settings.

Air Flow and Filteration Stages

Describing the airflow of the Coway AP-1512HH, the air purifier draws in air from the vents located at the left, right, and bottom of the air purifier. After the air is drawn in. Then it travels through three filters. Pre-filter is used to remove pollutants that have a larger diameter, such as dust, mold, pet dander, and human hair. 

The next is a deodorization filter, which gives the ability of the Covid air purifier to trap odors and states to capture harmful gases as well. The next basic filter is the HEPA filter which carries the trademark of GreenHEPA, allowing small pollutants to be trapped and removed as other pollutants, such as small particles of dust smoke, etc. The HEPA filter is an American standard filter, which is stated for removing up to 99.97% of pollutants in the air.

If you’re opening the Coway AP-1512HH for the first time, the box carries the air purifier, one HEPA filter, one carbon filter, a user manual, and the warranty card.

Vital ionizer of Coway AP-1512HH

The ion system is present in the Coway AP-1512HH, which is coupled with an on-and-off switch. You can easily note when the ionizer is on when the LED illuminates showing the on position, and when the illumination stops showing it’s the off position. The ion system is a part of its operational cycle in the four-step filtration process. However, at AHC we recommend using the ion system switched off if you are present in the operational environment of the air purifier. The ionizer is switched off by default.

The filter reset indicator is a useful feature in the Coway AP-1512HH purifier as it notifies us when the filter needs to be cleaned or replaced. Cleaning and maintenance of the air purifier are further discussed in the maintenance section.

Performance and Filteration process

The Coway AP-1512HH purifier has a complex filtration process with four stages of filtration, which combines a pre-filter, a carbon filter, a HEPA filter, and then an ionizer. The combination of these filters along with the performance of this air purifier does not disappoint.

Coway AP-1512HH purifier is designed primarily to handle a room of 361 ft.² and this amount of space is usually found where most activity takes place at homes such as the living room, office room, or kitchen. In our test Coway AP-1512HH, the air purifier was able to remove, 90% of particles at its highest fan speed. 

We also noted that the HEPA filter stayed true to its standard, which was able to get rid of some of the odors we introduced. The first three filters were only used in our test with the ionizer switched off. We recommended using the air purifier with the ionizer switched off as ionizers can have harmful side effects on general health. 

In terms of ion generating, the Coway AP-1512HH air purifier has efficiently, managed the standard limit that is allowed in terms of ion generation and has successfully passed the regulation. We recommend using the ionizer feature if you are not present in the room, and after switching off the ionizer, we recommend, leaving the room for around 30 minutes and providing good ventilation before entering.

CADR

Pollutant	Rating
Smoke	246
Dust	230
Pollen	240

Noise levels

You almost wonder if the Coway AP-1512 HH works when switched on for the first speed. This gives you no noise and without any irritation or buzzing noises. The second and the third speeds actually gives a recognizable noise and from that we found the the third setting to be a bit on the louder side. If you are engaging with work that requires much attention then you won’t mind it, but it is definitely gonna disturb you in any task that requires attention.

Auto mode and Eco mode is present for this speed and when we leave the air purifier on the Eco mode it settled in the first fan speed with no noise, but with the auto mode the fan speed can change to a higher setting. Still we didn’t find the auto mode noise generation a contrasting factor. Noise levels turned up around 30dB, 36dB, and 61dB for the fan speeds respectively.

Maintenance of Coway AP-1512HH

Filters of the Coway AP-1512HH air purifier require regular inspection and change to keep performing at maximum efficiency. The pre-filter requires mostly can be maintained by cleaning and vacuuming regularly. The deodorization filter should be replaced every 6 months and the HEPA filter is scheduled to be replaced every year.

Furthermore, the air quality sensor should be cleaned every two months. This can be easily cleaned with an ear-cleaning plug, by removing the sensor cover located on the side of the air purifier. Regular cleaning and maintenance will ensure that the air purifiers work efficiently for a long time with the stated cleaning efficiency.

Operating cost of Coway AP-1512HH

In popular opinion, this air purifier is deemed to consume more energy. However with our testing in the normal standards we saw no significant increase in consumption compared to other air purifiers in the market with the same operational boundaries. The filter costs are the same with any air purifier and the consumption of electricity can further be optimized through the Eco-mode and the Auto mode.

The ionizer feature was turned off on the above testing, therefore the electricity it consumes is not available. Overall the operating cost of the air purifier is mainly with filter replacements and with proper cleaning you can avoid sudden replacments and to get the most out of the Coway AP-1512HH.

Our opinion

The Coway AP-1512 HH is an air purifier at it’s top performance and was able to produce excellent results in our tests. If you are purchasing the Coway AP-1512HH you can’t go wrong with this air purifier. It provides excellent value for your money. As with most air purifers the instructions for the ionizer feature is not available, but ofcourse this can be switched off at any given time.

The operating cost of the air purifier is mostly taking care of the filters and for the task it performs it provides great value. We would’ve liked if the 3rd fan speed setting to be a lot less noisier but then again in our test with it’s highest setting it cleared all the pollutants efficiently. Overall the Coway Ap-1512HH is great value air purifier for the price you pay.