Electrolux UltraSilencer Green

Electrolux UltraSilencer Green canister vacuum cleaner

In August 2008, I reviewed an energy-efficient Eureka vacuum cleaner called the envirovac.

At the time, I gave the envirovac a thumbs up for performance, design and value. The bagless washable canister and filter meant that the vacuum wouldn't have any obvious recurring costs beyond its ultra-reasonable $72.22 price (via Wal-Mart).

But not everyone likes an upright vacuum. You can be an upstanding citizen (or even a member of the Upright Citizens Brigade) and still prefer a canister vacuum for example. (Here's a webpage by one canister-lover.)

So I was happy to have the chance to test the new Electrolux UltraSilencer Green canister vacuum that debuted in the US just a couple of months ago.

Although it sounds like some sort of weapon that 007 would use to dispatch his enemies in secret, the UltraSilencer Green is actually just a really quiet vacuum (maximum 71 decibels). If other vacuums sound like garbage trucks, the UltraSilencer Green is like a well-tuned Mazda Miata.

The UltraSilencer is not only compact and nicely designed, it's also lightweight and easy to transport around the house. The Electrolux website says the vac tips the scales at approximately 12 lbs. For comparison, Wal-Mart lists the shipping weight of the envirovac as nearly 20 lbs., though the comparison is obviously not apples-to-apples since packaging can certainly add to the shipping weight.

And while Eureka had packaged the envirovac in a recycled box, Electrolux goes one step further by reportedly using 55% recycled materials in the construction of the UltraSilencer Green, while making the vacuum itself 90% recyclable. I love the cradle-to-cradle design philosophy at work here, and Electrolux says that using the recycled materials in building the UltraSilencer Green saves 2 liters of crude oil and 80 liters of water per vacuum cleaner. ((Note that there are various UltraSilencers made by Electrolux. I presume that only the Green one has the recycled/recyclable characteristics.)

From a performance standpoint, I have to admit that I probably like the feel of upright vacuums a bit better, but I did appreciate the light weight and flexibility of the UltraSilencer Green's long hose. With enough use, I'd probably get used to manuevering the UltraSilencer Green around the apartment. Suction was certainly more than adequate enough to pick up small debris from hardwood floors and low-pile carpet. (In fact, the suction was strong enough to lift entire unsecured carpet tiles right into the air!)

I only really have one major gripe about the UltraSilencer Green. Although the Electrolux UltraSilencer Green is advertised as being 1/3 greener than comparable vacuums (presumably canister vacs), its 1250-watt maximum power usage is still significantly higher than the 960-watt needs of the 2008 envirovac. Since I like to that that efficiency marches hand in hand with progress into the future, it would have been nice if the UltraSilencer Green had used fewer than 960 watts, but perhaps canister vacs just have higher power needs (and better suction?) than upright vacs...

Where to buy:

You can buy the Electrolux UltraSilencer Green online through Bed Bath & Beyond for $299.

Disclosure - Electrolux lent me an UltraSilencer Green vacuum to review.

Paragon Eco-Conditioner by Haier

I live in New York City, where we have four seasons - fall, winter, spring and 'smelly'.

With the last few days of 90-degree heat, we had an early introduction to the smelly season.

I also live in an apartment building that has centralized heating and air conditioning. According to the building's maintenance man, the air conditioning won't be turned on until May 15. Fortunately, the heat wave broke today, but the last couple of days I found myself wishing for a room air conditioner like the Paragon Eco-Conditioner(TM) from Haier America.

According to the press release I received today from Haier, the Paragon (model #ESAD4066) was just named by Consumers Digest as a "Best Buy" for Small Capacity room air conditioners.

Haier says that Consumers Digest called the Paragon "the most efficient room unit that you can buy."

As far as I can tell from the press release and online product descriptions, here are the key eco-friendly selling points:

1) Haier says the Paragon uses 11% less energy than other energy-efficient room air conditioners.

2) The air conditioner is Energy Star qualified.

3) In addition to providing cooling power, the Paragon also uses ultraviolet light to purify the air.

4) Apparently uses a refrigerant that does not damage the ozone layer (although I couldn't find any information on the product page about exactly what chemicals are used in the Paragon ESAD4066).

Very, very sadly, I did not have a chance to test this air conditioner myself this past week.

Where to Buy:

The Haier Paragon ESAD4066 is available via Amazon.com for $259.99 - $289.99 from several sellers.

Air Purification Week -- Blueair Eco10

Welcome to installment #2 of Air Purification Week here at 1GreenProduct.com!

On Monday, we explained that indoor air pollution can be a real health concern according to the EPA and the Consumer Product Safety Commission. Air purifiers can be help improve indoor air quality, but of course it's best from an eco standpoint to get one of the greenest and most energy-efficient air purifiers on the market.

Which brings us to today's featured air purifier - the Blueair ECO10.

Blueair promises that the Eco10 will get the job done (i.e. clean the air) while using up to 95% less energy than other air cleaners in its class.

Thanks to our trusty Kill A Watt EZ Electricity Meter (available from Current Energy), we're able to test just how much energy the Eco10 actually uses.

First, we have to admire the simplicity of the Eco10 purifier which has just three settings operated by one sturdy knob:

1) Off
2) Minimum HEPASilent(TM) speed
3) Maximum speed

On HEPASilent speed, the Eco10 draws just around 6 watts of power.

Even more impressively, on Maximum speed, it uses only between 10-11 watts of power. (This pretty much matches the literature on Blueair's website, which claims maximum 10 watt usage.)

According to Blueair, the 10 (or 11) watt power usage is "nearly 10 times more energy efficient than the minimum performance requirements for energy-efficient room air purifiers established by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for its ENERGY STAR program."

What else is there to like about the Blueair Eco10?

1) Excellent build quality. The Eco10 feels solid, which is probably because it's made in Sweden out of high-quality galvanized steel.

2) Great design. We like the fact that the Eco10 doesn't have any bells or whistles. There's just one knob that controls the on/off and fan speeds. The external parts are "powder coated for endurance and environmental protection (with no introduction of chemical outgassing)," according to Blueair. Translation - this machine should last and keep looking good in your home for many years.

3) Wheels! By U.S. standards, we have a relatively small home (600+ square feet), but there are still times you want to move the purifier from the bedroom to the living room, or from the office to the kitchen. Having smooth, easy-rolling wheels on the bottom of the Eco10 makes all the difference in the world.

4) Quiet. The first page of the Blueair Eco10 manual cautions that you might not hear anything when you plug in and turn on the air purifier. If the cool blue power light is on, everything is probably OK. "Bueair is so quiet on min speed, you may not realize it's on," says the manual. Believe it or not, that's really true. But the fan is on and pulling air through the filters to help you breathe easier.

5) Great design #2. Many air purifiers have a filter on one side (usually the back). Put the air purifier next to a wall and you may end up blocking most of the air flow and thus purification power. The Eco10 has three intake filters - one on each side of the unit and one on the bottom. (The bottom filter is made possible since the unit is elevated on wheels - another reason we like the wheeled design.) Clean air returns to the room through the top of the unit and also on each side after passing through one of three Polypropylene HEPA-Silent Filters. We're not the only ones who like the Eco10's design -- it has won a design award in Sweden and is even featured in the permanent collection of Stockholm's National Museum!

6) Lifetime warranty. The Blueair website indicates that the Eco10 comes with a lifetime warranty against defects in material or workmanship, provided that you change the filters every six months. (Interestingly, the user's guide that came with our unit mentioned only a 10-year warranty, but perhaps Blueair has upgraded the warranty since then...)


Incidentally, the warranty brings up one of the few drawbacks we could find in the Blueair Eco10 -- there are three filters that need to be changed every six months. A set of three filters (available directly through Blueair) costs $139.95, which could add up over time.

(The small air intake inlets can simply be vacuumed with a brush attachment, according to the user's guide.)

You could call the price another drawback. The Blueair Eco10 retails for $929.95 through Blueair's website.

We'll finish on a high note by mentioning something else that could justify a Blueair investment. The user's guide notes that Blueair air purifiers are built for years of use and are designed to be disassembled so the components can be recycled after the product has eventually reached the end of its working life.

We're not sure how many buyers will actually go to the trouble fo figuring out how to recycle their Blueair instead of just discarding it. It would be nice if Blueair had some sort of program to pick up and recylce old units. But at least the company tries to build durable products and thinks about how parts of these products can be recycled years down the road. From our experience, that's pretty a pretty rare attitude for a manufacturer to have and one that wins significant kudos from 1GreenProduct.com

Where to buy:

You can order the Blueair Eco10 online directly through Blueair's website (second to last machine from the bottom of the list, $929.95), but you may be able to find it elsewhere at a significant discount.

When we checked, Amazon.com had the Eco10 for around $712. Through Shopping.com, we found another highly-rated online retailer called Air & Water selling the Eco10 for $699.95 including free shipping.

Air Purification Week -- Sharp Air Purifier KC-C150U

Sure, you've heard of Fall Fashion Week, maybe technology week or auto week. Heck, even the Discovery Channel (and the awesome Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson) celebrate Shark Week.

But now we inaugurate the first ever (to our knowledge) Air Purification Week!

That's right - one week, three posts, all devoted to some of the greenest, most eco-friendly air purifiers on the market.

And why should you care about air purification? Well perhaps because metaphorically, the air we breathe in our homes could be comparable to the dirty fish tank scene from Finding Nemo!

Put another way, indoor air pollution is a big problem. For a comprehensive look at the issue, check out The Inside Story: A Guide to Indoor Air Pollution from the Consumer Product Safety Commission and the Environmental Protection Agency.

Here's one excerpt from the guide's introduction -

In the last several years, a growing body of scientific evidence has indicated that the air within homes and other buildings can be more seriously polluted than the outdoor air in even the largest and most industrialized cities. Other research indicates that people spend approximately 90 percent of their time indoors. Thus, for many people, the risks to health may be greater due to exposure to air pollution indoors than outdoors.

The guide has many suggestions for ways to improve air quality. Some of the suggestions involve better ventilation or allergen-proof mattresses. But the guide also discusses the virtues of air cleaners, while also emphasizing the importance of 'source control'. (In other words, if you have moldy carpets, get rid of them.)

Which brings us to our round up of some of the most eco-friendly and energy-efficient air purifiers on the market. Thanks in advance to all three companies for giving us a chance to test their products.

We start with the Sharp Air Purifier KC-C150U.

Sharp says that unit uses a triple filtration system consisting of -

1) A permanent washable pre-filter that traps dust and other large airborne particles

2) A washable active carbon filter to absorb odors

3) A true HEPA filter with an antimicrobial coating to trap 99.97 percent of particles as small as 0.3 microns. The HEPA filter should catch pollen, smoke, dust, dust mites, dander and mold spores.

Now the KC-C150U is a little pricey (MSRP $499.99), but it's worth noting that Sharp says maintenance costs should be low since the active carbon and True HEPA filters should last 5 years before replacement in average conditions. (Some other air purifiers require yearly filter replacement, which can quickly run into serious money.)

Sharp has also incorporated a proprietary air cleaning method called Plasmacluster ion technology into the KC-C150U. According to Sharp, Plasmacluster is "the leading air purification technology in Japan". What's more, the technology has supposedly been refined to the point that it is now on its 5th generation and therefore twice as efficient as the previous generation of the technology.

Just what is Plasmacluster technology? Here's how Sharp describes it -

Plasmacluster Technology splits water molecules into positively and negatively charged ions which spread through the room, surrounding airborne particles. This system effectively treats the air the way nature cleans the environment, just after a thunderstorm or near waterfalls, to help keep the air healthier and cleaner smelling.

To make it easier for the Plasmacluster to work as intended, Sharp has also incorporated a humidifier into the air purifier. So if you live in a desert environment or just need a bit of extra humidification in the dry winter months, the KC-C150U could solve two problems at once.

(Note that the humidifier has its own filter, which the KC-C150U manual indicates should be replaced every two years.)

So far so good, but what makes the KC-C150U a good Green choice?

Sharp says that the KC-C150U is 35 percent more energy efficient than standard models -- good enough to win an ENERGY STAR rating.

Thanks to our Kill A Watt EZ Electricity Meter (available from Current Energy), we can actually test these claims. Based on our tests, here is the sort of electricity consumption you can expect from the KC-C150U (with humidifier off) measured in watts.

On Maximum power - 75 watts
On Medium power - 14 watts
On Low power - 5 watts (!)

Note that using the Plasmacluster function (which can be turned on or off) didn't seem to affect energy usage much, although switching off the lights on the front of the unit did seem to save 1-2 watts.

I tend to leave the KC-C150U on auto, which seems use the low fan speed, but just a smidgen more power (7 watts). The auto setting really does seem able to detect whether it needs to ramp up the fan. One evening when a neighbor in an apartment down the hall was smoking, I used the KC-C150U to erase the smoke smell from my home. The unit worked on medium power until the smoke particles were trapped and then lowered itself to minimum power once the smell was gone.

Does it work as directed? Yes, the KC-C150U does seem to do a good job at trapping both particles and odors. It's easy to tell that the KC-C150U traps dust because the outer filter gets dusty fairly quickly, at which point you just snap it off and vacuum or rinse off the dust.

We were very impressed with the unit's quiet operation, which Sharp calls Library Quiet (TM) and compares to rustling leaves. We're not sure the unit sounds quite as nice as rustling leaves, but the KC-C150U does provide a soothing sort of white noise to have in the background when operating on the lowest power setting.

Things we're not crazy about -

1) The KC-C150U is made in China and feels/looks a bit plasticky. The design (particularly the integration of the humidifier) is very clever, but we still would have liked to see slightly higher quality materials for the nearly $500 MSRP.

2) Wheels! Another air purifier we tested had a set of wheels on the bottom. This wouldn't cost Sharp very much to add on the design and makes it ten times easier to shift the purifier around your apartment or house as needed.

Overall, we think the KC-C150U is certain
ly an excellent choice if you need a humidifier and an air purifier. After all, it's certainly eco-friendly to combine two separate machines into a single energy-efficient device.

Maintaining the humidifier (per the manual) and keeping it clean takes a bit of extra work, so if you already live in a humid environment, you may want to opt for a different purifier. Basic Sharp models can be much more cost-effective. If you don't need the Plasmacluster technology, for example, you could get the FP-P35CX - which still has a True HEPA filter - for just $229.99 (MSRP).

Where to buy:

You can purchase the Sharp KC-C150U for $499.99 directly from Sharp or at resellers such as Newegg.com (which offers the discount price of just $379.99). Abt.com also has the KC-C150U for $379.

The Sharp KC-C100U offers the same features for smaller spaces (254 square feet vs 347 square feet for the KC-C150U) and costs a bit less - $399.99 directly through Sharp or just $329.90 through Amazon.com.