The AeraMax 300 Large Room Air Purifier by Fellowes is a stylish HEPA air purifier with cool touch control panel and a beautiful modern finish.
It’s a bit pricey, but that’s because it’s more powerful and has a few extra features you don’t get with most other air purifiers.
Performance-wise, it easily covers large rooms of up to 600 square feet in size. It uses a 3-stage filtration process that includes a negative ion generator.
It comes with 4 fan speeds, an auto mode, and an air quality indicator.
But our most favorite extra feature is the Aera+ mode that is designed for use during peak allergy season. It will be very helpful if you or someone in the house has allergies.
These features are great, but some basic features like a sleep mode (lights don’t turn off) and a timer is missing.
There are also complaints that the air purifier has a whiny noise even when set on the lowest fan speed.
Read on for our full review of the AeraMax 300 HEPA Large Room Air Purifier.
If you are looking for a different HEPA air purifier, maybe one that’s cheaper or smaller, read our best HEPA air purifier reviews guide for other recommendations.
Pros
- Large room coverage
- Large room coverage
- Four fan speeds and auto mode
- Air quality indicator
- Aera+ mode increases performance during allergy season
Cons
- Produces an annoying high-pitched noise
- No sleep mode and timer
- Pricey
Key Features
1. 3-in-1 Air purifier
The AeraMax has two primary filters plus a negative ion generator.
The two filters include an activated carbon filter for odors and VOCs and a HEPA filter for allergens like mold and pollen.
The HEPA filter has an antimicrobial treatment to prevent bacteria and mold from developing on the filter and polluting your indoor air.
The negative ion generator freshens up the air and enhances air filtration. If you are not a big fan of air purifiers with this feature – because of ozone production concerns – you can turn off the ionizer.
2. Good for Large Rooms
The AeraMax300 is rated for large rooms of up to 600 square feet.
If you are looking for an air purifier for your open plan living area or large bedroom, this one will do.
3. Four Fan Speeds Plus Auto Mode
You can select from four fan speeds ranging from low to turbo.
The higher the fan speed, the faster the air purifier works. If you want to clean up smoke or dust in the air quickly, turn on the high or turbo setting.
Warning, the air purifier is quite noisy at the highest speed settings.
What’s even worse is that it’s not a white noise kind of hum but rather a whiny sound that doesn’t completely go away even when you reduce fan speed.
For the price, they should have figured out how to make a quieter air purifier.
If you don’t want to keep changing fan speed, select auto mode.
The air purifier will automatically select the best fan setting based on your indoor air quality. It uses an integrated sensor to determine how dirty or clean the air is.
4. Air Quality Indicator
An LED light changes color depending on your indoor air quality. If it’s red, you know your air is really dirty.
If the air purifier is not in auto mode (in which case it will automatically increase fan speed), increase the fan speed manually.
If it’s amber, your air quality is somewhere in the middle. If it’s blue, your air is all clean.
5. Special Mode for Allergy Season
During allergy season when there are more pollen and other allergens in the air, turn on the Aera+ mode to increase performance.
The air purifier will suck in more air to remove more allergens from the room.
Limitations
For the price, the AeraMax 300 leaves out a couple of important features.
One, there’s no sleep mode to reduce fan noise and dim the lights.
Customers have resorted to placing a cloth over the air purifier at night, which blocks some of the vents.
A button to turn off the lights is a no-brainer that even the cheapest air purifiers have.
Two, there is no timer. This one is not important but it comes in handy sometimes. It’s also a feature common in many cheaper air purifiers.
Another frustrating issue is noise. Customers describe a high-pitch noise that worsens when you increase fan speed and doesn’t completely fade when you reduce fan speed.
It can be especially bothersome at night when it’s more noticeable.Specs
Dimensions: 8.13 x 16 x 25.13 inches
Weight: 12.5 lbs
Coverage: 600 square feet
Number of filters: 2 plus a negative ion generator
Ionizer: yes
Filter life indicator: yes
Auto mode: yes
Fan speeds: 4
Air quality indicator: yes
Summary
Overall, we don’t think the AeraMax 300 deserves the high price tag. It lacks some fundamental features and the high-pitched noise is unacceptable at this price point.
You can get a large HEPA air purifier that’s quieter and has a sleep mode for less money.
But it’s still a great choice if you have allergies and want an extra-powerful air purifier that will keep your indoor air allergen-free.
