Aeris by iRobot Aair Lite review: an air purifier which is smart in more ways than one

Whether you live in a city and want cleaner air in you home or have allergies you would like to combat, our Aeris by iRobot Aair Lite air purifier review is worth a read.

With the pandemic and (now) a baby, I've been spending a lot of time at home. Breathing in clean air is something which I've become more and more conscious about yet, since I live in a city, is something that I can't easily control. I've been super fortunate to of had the opportunity to review the aair Lite. It's been in our home for several months, working its way around our living room, dining room and bedroom. The difference it has made to the air was instant. 

If you want to hear more about the aair Lite then, please do, read on. The alternatives? Check out our best air purifier buyer's guide for our editor's top picks.

Aeris by iRobot Aair Lite specifications:

• Max. size: up to 700 sq ft
• Speed settings: 5
• Dimensions: 11 x 19 x 11 in
• Weight: 15lbs
• Colors available: Nimbus Cloud, Quartz Pink, Sailor Blue

Suitability:

• Bedrooms; or where you spend your time sleeping
• Offices; in the home or a work space which is within the recommended square footage
• And smaller spaces where you tend to hang out

The unboxing

The Aeris by iRobot Aair Lite arrives in a box with a sleeve, in a box. I was happy to see that minimal plastic packaging was used. And better still, it was visually obvious that minimal set up was required. Win, win.

It is, however, bulky and on the heavy side so I would advise asking for a little help if you're not able to lift anything of great mass.

Setting up

Out of the box there isn't too much to set up on the air purifying unit, aside from attaching the mains power cable and downloading the aeris app (I'll come back to this). The cover is already slipped onto the unit so you don't even need to do that unless, of course, you've bought another to alternate the look for a different room. I personally opted for the Sailor Blue but you can also choose from Nimbus Cloud and Quartz Pink to suit your color scheme.

So, back to the app. It's free to download on the Google Play store (Android). I can only assume it's free on iOS, too. Either way, with the app downloaded the air purifier will then need to be connected to the Wi-Fi which is easy enough to do when following the instructions although a little patience may be required if signal isn't all that.

Using the Aeris by iRobot Aair Lite

You've got options for how you can use this smart air purifier; the app, touch controls or both.

Aeris app

Being able to turn it on / off using the app is really helpful. I actually found the touch controls on the device either too responsive, or not at all. This could be down to my cold hands but, I must say, it got rather frustrating when 'quickly' trying to turn it on or off - I reached for the plug when attempting the latter. If you use the app to switch it on, you can do this whether you're in or outside of the home.

The analytics element to the app is insightful if you (like me) like to see some numbers about how well something is performing. You can see the indoor and outdoor air quality via the app displayed as hourly, daily or monthly. The results from our usage suggest that we have 'excellent' indoor air quality with a (debatable) reading of 0, and the outdoor air quality is anything from 4 to 62 which is classed as 'good'. I'm not going to get too obsessed by these numbers because we don't tend to have the air purifier on all day, every day so I'm not 100 per cent sure where the readings have come from or, indeed, how accurate they are. It does provide some level of reassurance, though, and it doesn't take a scientist per-se to say that the air purifier is cleaning the air because it is noticeable that it does make a difference, when switched on.

Scheduling cleans will mean that the air purifier will kick in, when scheduled. This does not mean that it'll be off and then the programme will start. It means that when the purifier is on, it's running at a steady speed and then your scheduled programme will start. There are four modes to choose from; bedtime, kids are home, quiet time and fast clean. I've set up one of each of these. I'm not sure if there's a glitch in the app or not but when setting up the bedtime mode, it wouldn't allow me to choose a greater end time than the start time. You're also unable to amend a programme you set up so if you need to tweak it, you'll need to delete and start over.

On the app you can also list multiple products to view and control, view the life of the filter and update any of your settings.

Touch controls

Your index finger is best to glide across the touch controls. I found that these are hit and miss, which was usually depending on how warm or cold my hands were, but managed to adjust the fan speed up to a mega 198. I also activated child lock, which is really handy because our aair Lite is in the nursey and when little one is crawling around this air purifier becomes very interesting.

You'll also notice that when the air purifier is running and not in a scheduled programme, it'll automatically adjust it's fan speed if someone walks by, or the door opens for example. You can tweak this with a swipe on the device control panel, if you need.

Things to note

The aair Lite is suitable for rooms 700sq feet and below, which is okay for most bedrooms and offices. However, an output of the air purifier when it has running for some length of time is heat. If you have the door closed, on a small room, it can get very warm. This is great for when it's cold outside and the central heating isn't on, but is not so great if it's high summer.

There is also no warning light to let you know when the filter needs replacing, so do remember to keep checking the app so you continue to get the best from the air purifier.

And it is quiet, yes. The lowest is a whisper which is advertised as 35dB. But the highest, when it auto adjusts, is loud comparatively. It took me by surprise as it resembles an aeroplane taking off, in a way, which isn't great if you have a sleeping baby (or parent).

Inside the Aeris by iRobot Aair Lite

Behind the swish Swiss aesthetics is a force to be reckoned with. The Aeris by iRobot Aair Lite features a HEPA H13 filter so if you're a pet owner, you can rejoice. The engineers have chosen to use such a filter because it claims to remove 99.95 per cent of airborne particulates at 0.1 microns and above. This means that all the dust, pollens and pet dander will be filtered out so only the purest possible air is released back out into the room.

There's even a prefilter before it gets to the HEPA H13 filter for the larger particles. And it's a good job that the outer fabric sleeve is removable and washable because this, too, helps to prefilter.

Maintenance

I've just mentioned about the removable sleeve. You'll notice that it'll start to look a little grubby from the bottom up. When you feel you're ready to give it a wash (you'll know!) it can be machine washable on a cold temperature and air dried.

The HEPA H13 filter is recommended to be changed every 10 months. The smart app  will display the filter life if you select the little cog on the control tab, or you can use the touch screen on the device if you prefer. These filters can be bought direct from the Aeris by iRobot store or Amazon for $99, which is an expense which could double during the year after heavy usage. I can't seem to find any instructions about how to replace the filters online so best to hang on to the instruction which arrive with the unit, otherwise you'll be trying to figure it out like I am.

Should I buy the Aeris Aair Lite?

If you're concerned about the air quality in your home then absolutely yes. And even if it's not at the top of your shopping list to buy for the home, it's worth considering because the change to the air even when it's been on for a short while is noticeable and you'll wonder why you haven't bought one sooner.

I really like it because it's not over complicated to use, it looks good and the air quality is vastly improved. The only slight downfalls I have with it is that the filter needs to be replaced a little more frequently than other leading air purifiers on the market (cough, Dyson) and that the heat released from it is not always welcome. It's also loud on the higher fan setting and, if I'm really to be picky, there's no handy so it's a bit of a wrestle to move it around.