When comparing Winix WAC 5500-2 vs Coway AP-1512HH Mighty, the Slant community recommends Coway AP-1512HH Mighty for most people. In the question“What are the best compact air purifiers?” Coway AP-1512HH Mighty is ranked 2nd while Winix WAC 5500-2 is ranked 3rd. The most important reason people chose Coway AP-1512HH Mighty is:
The purifier is very lightweight (12 pounds) compared to regular-sized and even some other compact purifiers. Moreover, this device has a slim 9" profile, making it very handy to carry around.
Specs
Ranked in these QuestionsQuestion Ranking
Pros
Pro Excellent value for money
The WAC 5500-2, with a price tag below $130, is an excellent product that offers great value. It's powerful enough to use in large rooms, it's quite portable, uses triple air filtering (to ensure the best air quality) and also has several interesting extra features, such as a timer and a remote control.
Pro Can do multiple stage filtering
This purifier uses a three-stage filtering process. The air starts by going through a pre-filtering process to capture large particles like hair and dust. After that, it goes though the carbon filter to remove odors. Finally, the HEPA filter captures the smallest particles (as small as 0.03 microns).
Pro Capable of passing air through at least 4 times per hour
The fan is powerful enough to suck the air of a 300 square feet room through the purifier at least four times per hour.
Pro Can be controlled remotely
It comes with a remote control, so you can conveniently use it to change the setting from a distance.
Pro Has a built-in timer
The unit can be set to operate for a defined time period (of 1, 2, 4 or 8 hours) and then switch off automatically.
Pro Alerts you when the filter needs changing
The control panel will display a LED alert when the filters is approaching the point when it will have to be changed.
Pro Indicates quality of air
The unit has an air quality indicator that shifts from red informing that the air is very polluted to blue when everything is okay.
Pro Capable of maintaining the air clean in large rooms
The CADR rating for this purifier is 250, enough to effectively keep the air clean on a large master bedroom or a living room.
Pro Multiple fan speeds
The unit has four fan speeds: low, medium, high, and turbo. The turbo mode temporarily boosts the cleaning performance, but also makes the fan very loud.
Pro Automatically enters night mode
The auto dim feature senses the amount of ambient light in a room and dims the control panel and notification lights, so they don’t disturb your sleep.
Pro Very portable
There's a great little carrying handle on the top of the unit and, despite its boxy shape, the device weighs only 15 pounds, so moving to from room to room is quite effortless.
Pro Hassle-free filter changing
The filters are easy to swap: it takes around two minutes to peel off the plastic protective films and put everything back together.
Pro Highly portable
The purifier is very lightweight (12 pounds) compared to regular-sized and even some other compact purifiers. Moreover, this device has a slim 9" profile, making it very handy to carry around.
Pro Filters air very well
This purifier uses a four-stage filtration process to clean room air very efficiently. First, the air goes through a washable pre-filter that captures large particles like hair. After that, the carbon filter removes odors and gases. Finally, the HEPA filter captures the smallest particles, like dust, fur, animal dandruff and other allergens.
Pro Great performance while taking care of big rooms
It's meant for spaces up to 350 square feet, but does a quick and clean job for spaces twice as large.
Pro Has a timer
You can set the purifier to switch off after 1, 4 or 8 hours. This can come in handy if you want to run the purifier while you're not at home.
Pro Has eco and auto modes
The purifier can be set to an automatic or eco mode. Both modes are very similar and work with the particle sensor. The only difference is that while in eco mode, if the air pollution level is at its low for more than 30 minutes, the purifier disables the fan. While in auto mode, the fan will continue working on its lowest setting.
Pro Can indicate air quality
The intuitive Air Quality Indicator uses particle sensor technology to monitor the indoor air quality and displays the status using a LED. It will be blue when the air is clean, purple when moderately polluted, and red when the air is heavily polluted.
Pro Quite efficient
This model has a CADR of 246 for dust, 240 for pollen, and 233 for smoke. This is just below the average of 250 and means that the purifier will clean the air with ease if the situation isn’t extreme, like rooms where people are smoking heavily.
Pro Energy efficient
The unit uses a maximum of 77W of power, but only 7W on low setting with the ionizer off. That's less than a LED light bulb. There's also an ECO mode that turns off the fan and the ionizer if the air quality was good over the last 30 minutes.
Pro Fan speed can be regulated according to your needs
The machine has three different fan speeds: there's a low, medium, and high setting, with low being a quiet whisper mode that puts out a light breeze, and high being noticeably louder, but circulating the air almost like a full-sized purifier.
Pro 360º air circulation
Unlike most air purifiers, this unit pushes clean air up towards the ceiling where it flows further down the walls, then over the floors and back towards the device, creating a 360º air current pushing dirty air and particles into the unit.
Pro Air sensor is easy to clean
To get the most accurate readings, you need to clean the air quality sensor occasionally. It is located on the side of the unit, behind a little latch, and it's very simple to reach without taking apart the whole device.
Pro Intuitive controls
There are only five clearly labeled buttons used for controlling the purifier, all of them with LED indicator lights. This makes operating the device very easy.
Pro Costs little to maintain
Over 5 years, you should expect to spend around $600 on the purifier, including filters and electricity. Other models can be much more expensive overall.
Cons
Con Power hungry
The unit can consume up to 120 W of electricity in its maximum speed. There are units with the same purification power that are much more economical, consuming almost twice as less.
Con Only comes in black
The air purifier is only available in a dark charcoal finish, which may not fit the design of the room you want to place it in.
Con Might not remove all the odors
The thin charcoal filter isn’t the best in eliminating odors. If that's one of your goals, you're better off looking elsewhere.
Con Too sensitive air quality sensor
The air quality sensor is overly sensitive, so it shouldn't be left turned on in the bedroom during the night, since the unit can suddenly start to blow at full speed and become very noisy.
Con Can't be controlled remotely
This air purifier lacks a remote control.
Con Air quality indicator is too bright
The air indicator is very bright and can become very noticeable during the night, so much that it might even disturb your sleep.
Con Only handles particulate matter
It does not remove Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) nor fragrances which would matter a lot for certain people with allergies or who live in environments with people who smoke or pets.
Con Strange power proportions
The lowest and the second power levels are almost identical while the maximum level is deafening and strong. Because of this, the purifier can be running quietly in the automatic mode and then, suddenly become very loud, just to become quiet again after a while. This can be very disturbing, especially during the night.
Con Doesn't have a sleep mode
The purifier doesn’t feature a sleep mode that dims the lights and disables the highest setting of the fan.