The Oreck AirInstinct is clearly targeting the advanced air cleaner market. This market is typically differentiated primarily through price and certain functions. This air cleaner offers true HEPA performance and many functional (operationally) options. However, it is seemingly missing proven technology such as UV filters incorporated in many other products and at a lesser price. Where the Oreck shines is in it's near silent operation, style, form (can fit up against a wall), various modes, sleep function, and 3 year HEPA filter, and 3 year odor filter. The value of the 3 year filters equates to anywhere from $125$400 depending on the comparison air cleaner (i.e. Plasma Replacement filters can be very expensive). The replacement filters for the Hoover Air Purifier with TiO2 Technology WH10600 will run about $85 over the course of 3 years of average household use. I did not mention the so called "mood light" because who really cares?
The unit is quality built and does not feel cheap in any manner. Operationally, the Oreck runs and looks great. It's very quiet and cleaned the air in our entire Master Bedroom pretty quickly. The filter system is comprised of three filters. The HEPA, odor, and pre-filter. In my opinion, the odor filter did nothing to remove odors (another reviewer noted this as well). My wife's perfume for example, was still evident even two hours later with the air cleaner running the entire time. The automatic operation features of the product makes it "plug and play." This includes the auto sleep feature that reduces the airflow of the unit when it senses the lights have been out for about three minutes. When the lights come back on, after a few minutes, the air flow is increased automatically. I like these features as they are more advanced than the 3 power stage and auto features associated with most of the units on the market today. But the sleep feature can be a problem if you intend the unit to run at full power regardless of the time of day.
It is important to note that when purchasing air cleaner units, they are rated for room size. In the case of this product, it is rated for a room not to exceed 248 square feet (Hoover is rated at 79 square feet). At this price point, I expect better performance in terms of room size that would let me use the unit in larger rooms. I would gladly give up the mood light and sleep function as a trade off. Also, as I previously mentioned, this product does not have any UV light to kill germs. While many people laugh at such a feature, I can tell you first hand it works when properly applied by room size. Typically, you will either use the UV light with a Titanium Dioxide coated screen or a Plasma generator, which is the functional equivalent of an air ionizer.
The bottom line is that the Oreck is a heavy duty, quality built, HEPA air cleaner without germ killing capabilitythat will save you the expense of replacing filters at least every year, if not more often. As of the date of this review, there has been a significant price fluctuation downward from the MSRP, previous Amazon price, and current price. I believe this reflects the fact that it does not have germ killing capability and people are opting for the cheaper units with such a capability. (Don't let the out of stock warning fool you, they only had 8 units when it first went online). I gave this unit 4 stars because it does what it says it does and does so quietly.
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Customer review from the Amazon Vine Program I've owned a Rabbit Air BioGS for almost ten years now, so I have a lot of confidence and experience in my belief that Oreck AirInstinct completely blows Rabbit Air away. Here's why:Bulk vs. Sleek Chic
Rabbit Air, quite frankly, just looks antiquated, bulky and uninspired. By comparison, AirInstinct is sleek, modern and is significantly less bulky. The Rabbit air is enormous by comparison. It's kind of like jalopy vs. elegance.
Lighted Display vs. Cool Mood Light
From day one, I always disliked the Rabbit Air's control panel and display; the glowing lights and visual cues are ridiculously bright for a product that's intended to be used in a bedroom. And there's just FAR too many things to look at, and most of it is redundant. To this day, I have to grab the user manual to decipher what half of it means; it's overdone and should be streamlined. Worse still, there's simply no way to turn off all those bright glowing lights come bedtime. So from day one, I had to drape a hand towel over the Rabbit Air's display just to darken the room so I could go to sleep. Yes, it's THAT bright. So I was stuck with this humungous $400 air purifier that looked stupid with a towel draped over it because the display lights can't be turned off or dimmed. On the flipside, Oreck's AirInstinct has a very soothing mood ring on the top left corner of the unit, that gently changes color to give visual cues to the current air quality; Blue, Purple, Magenta and Red = Monitoring, Low, Medium and High respectively. Better yet, that lighted mood ring can be TURNED OFF. So during the day, I leave the glowing ring on for a cool mood light, and at night, I turn it off. Duh take note, Rabbit Air!
Remote Control vs Streamlined Control Panel
At first, the remote control for my Rabbit Air seemed like a great idea. However, in a real world setting, it has proven virtually useless. I never use it and it's just another thingamajig I gotta keep track of. Less is more, and AirInstinct does it better. All of the AirInstinct's controls are located on the top edge of the unit. There are very few buttons to press, and the function of each one is clearly marked. Tiny blue LEDs give visual cues as to what your settings are, and there's even a pleasing chime that plays gently with each button press. Very nice and easy to use. Between the mood lighting and gentle chimes, Oreck is creating an overall feel here serenity, calming, breathe and relax nice touch Oreck.
Strikingly Similar Filters
The Rabbit Air and Oreck AirInstinct use almost identical filters in size, look and function. Both units use a 3 stage filter process -1) pre-filter, 2) odor reducing carbon and 3) a HEPA filter. The main HEPA filters for both are almost exactly the same; the only difference being, Rabbit Air has a thin sheet covering one side of the accordion HEPA filter, while the Oreck does not. This thin sheet does trap some dust, but it probably offers little benefit over Oreck's filter, since both are rated for 99.97% dust filtering and 0.3 microns. Both Rabbit Air and AirInsticnt use the same type of pre-filter. As far as the carbon filter -Rabbit Air uses carbon pellets sealed in a plastic honeycomb casing, while Oreck simply uses treated sponge. I've read that some people's Rabbit Air carbon filter broke open, only to have all the little tiny pellets spill everywhere. By contrast, Oreck's sponge carbon will produce no such accidents or mess to clean up.
Did Oreck Hijack Rabbit Air's Suggestion Box?
Honestly, every complaint and dislike I have with my Rabbit Air has been addressed and corrected by Oreck AirInstinct. It's almost as if Oreck stole Rabbit Air's suggestion box, and enacted all the good ideas customers shared. The strikingly similar filters almost have me wondering if these 2 companies are related in some way. Whatever the case, Oreck definitely improved upon Rabbit Air's shortcomings.
Bottom Line Both the Rabbit Air BioGS and Oreck AirInstinct do a great job of filtering the air. And both cost about the same for the unit itself, as well as for replacement filters. But all told, Oreck just looks better, is easier to use, has cool mood lighting that can be turned off come bedtime and has a much smaller footprint than Rabbit Air. All told, Oreck is the clear winner for me.
Best Deals for Oreck AirInstinct HEPA Large Room Air Purifier
I bought this product because of the problem of cigarette smoke coming into my apartment. I use it in my bedroom with the door closed. It works well but it does not remove the cigarette smoke.Honest reviews on Oreck AirInstinct HEPA Large Room Air Purifier
Customer review from the Amazon Vine ProgramThis is a very deluxe air cleaner, and it keeps the air nice and clean. It says that it filters all the air every fifteen minutes for an average sized room, and I believe it. It kept the air in my house nice, even with a nasty inversion outside.
Automatic mode usually keeps the device silent, and so it's not obtrusive.
The hole in the middle is just for decoration. I thought it was for expelling air, but it's just to make it look pretty. The air intake is on either side, and it expels the air through a vent out the back. The hole lights up with blue or red, depending on the speed of the fan.
Pros:
+Looks very nice
+Silent mode is very silent
+Does a great job in cleaning the air
Cons:
-No ionizer, so it doesn't remove all the smell from cigarette smoke
-The blue lights on the top never turn off, so don't put this in a room that you need totally dark.
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Customer review from the Amazon Vine Program I live with a 20 month old, 2 cats, and in the allergy capital of the U.S. And I do suffer from allergies. So we have had many air purifiers over the years. This is one of my favorites. One thing people do not think of is overall cost of ownership for an air purifier. Many lower cost ones are not energy star. This one is. We use ours 24/7 so an energy star rating is a must. Also is how often you need to replace filters. This is a new model so I can't say for certain, but it is rates as 3 years for the HEPA and 3 years for the odor filter. The pre-filter is washable. Not only is that the most impressive I have ever seen in an air purifier but it also means less maintenance on removing the HEPA and odor filter.Speaking of maintenance, it is recommended to clean the pre-filter once every 2 to 4 weeks and a couple of sensors every 2 months. Not bad at all for a good air purifier. As for how it has operated. My wife has the more sensitive nose. She reports definitely better smelling air the past 2 months and the unit is rated for a big enough space that we have it as our living room air purifier. Pet odors have been noticeably less and an overall fresher feel when she comes in from work. We run it on automatic and the speed does change depending upon activity in the house. Cooking, coming in from outside activate a higher setting. As for noise, it is virtually noiseless in all but the highest mode. In the high mode it sounds like an average sounding small to medium space fan would.
It also looks nice. I really enjoy how the mood light looks, subtle and also useful. It lets you know the air quality in the room. Also of note is a good manual and an excellent laminated quick start guide. You do have to remove plastic from 2 of the filters so do not just plug it in and go. This also gives you an introduction to removing and putting the filters back in. I highly recommend this as I also do Rabbit air purifiers. Frankly the Oreck has much longer lasting filters, looks great, and seems to work just as well if not better. Between the long lasting filters and being rated energy star, this unit will also keep overall cost of ownership down.
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