TruSens Z-3000 Air Purifier Review: COVID-19? Fires? No problems

A couple of years ago we had never heard of COVID-19 but fires were raging throughout the eastern states of Australia.  A that time air purifiers were in great demand due to the poor quality of air within hundreds of kilometres of the fires.  Two years on they are still in demand, albeit for a different reason – COVID-19.

TruSens is one company making a splash in the market with their two new air purifiers, the Z-2000 and the Z-3000.  The Z-3000 is the larger of the two and the one that was sent to us to review. Read on below to hear our thoughts on it.

TrueSens Z-3000 – what is it?

The Z-3000 is an air purifier that includes a DuPont HEPA filter to capture and remove “pollutants and VOC gases/odours from all directions” and a UV light to kill germs and bacteria that are trapped within the filter.  Most importantly it’s COVID-19 effectiveness has shown to be 99.5% effective – ie. it removes 99.99% of COVID-19 from the air making it perfect for rooms where people gather.

The unit itself houses not just the filter but also a fan with an automatically adjustable speed and the controls on the top of it.  The controls include a colour-coded illuminated ring along with a digital display that demonstrates the air quality – good, moderate or poor.

The button controls on the top include a power button, a fan speed indicator, dimmer button, timer and UV mode on/off buttons alongside the air quality indicators.  There is also a symbol that displays the quality of the signal from the SensorPod to the filtration unit.

The SensorPod is a remote air quality indicator that is positioned wherever you want in the room but works best when there is a direct view from it to the filtration unit.  It does need to be within 15m of the unit which is not a huger issue in a home setting.  The Sensor Pod though will only detect dust particles using an infrared-based particle sensor. It lacks a VOC sensor to monitor odors and chemicals in the air.

The data from the SensorPod is fed back to the filtration unit which adjusts its fan speed based on what the SensorPod detects.  You can also adjust the fan speed on the main unit yourself if you wish to.

Performance

The filtration unit has multiple filters including a washable pre-filter with HEPA filter included,  follwed by a carbon sheet to remove odours – handy with a dog around that’s for sure.  The pre-filter can be washed – recommended to wash every month – and the carbon sheet is recommended to be replaced every 3-4 months.  The main filtration unit is a Dupont branded true HEPA filter. The true HEPA filter captures 0.3-sized particles with 99.97% efficiency.

This includes ultrafine airborne dust, smoke particles, viruses, and bacteria. The HEPA filter has a longer lifespan than the pre-filter and with normal use will last up to 15 months.  There are indicators on the filtration unit for when these all need to be changed.

The UV light included is an air sanitiser at the last stages of air filtration.  It will “deactivate” moulds, viruses and bacteria in the filter.  This bulb can be turned off if you don’t want it but if used will need to be replaced every few years.

So how easy it to operate?  Too easy.  I actually thought there must be more to it, given the lack of instructions but the controls and the unit itself are self-explanatory and easy to use.  Flip it upside down, unscrew the base, remove the plastic from the filter.  Screw it back up, plug it in and turn it on and you are good to go.  Stick the SensorPod across the room somewhere – best where the highest concentration of the odour/source is, and it’s done.

While operational, the filtration unit is whisper quiet although if you have it on full blast it will make more of a noise similar to a wall AC unit.  Not enough to upset your Netflix chilling but enough to notice it.  

One big advantage the TruSens Z-3000 has its ability to give full room coverage not just through its size but also its dual air flow streams allowing for better purified air distribution throughout the space. I placed the Z-3000 in my largest room and it seems to work well and clean the air for the full room — according to its readings.

One thing it lacked though was a remote control – although there is a timer it would be nice to be able to have a remote to turn it off as required, or a way to turn it off when the air is considered “purified”.

COVID-19?

Air purifiers were/are a major part of the COVID-safe plan the Victorian government had for re-opening of schools and given it doesn’t seem to be decreasing any time soon (thanks Omicron) I suspect it will be for a while yet.

This TruSens Z-3000 (along with the Z-2000) offers the ability to remove 99.99% of airborne SARS-Cov2 (the virus that causes COVID-19) *Results from independent third-party testing using aerosolised airborne concentration of human coronavirus 229E over a two-hour period in a sealed 30m³ test chamber – HCoV-229e is a well-established surrogate for SARS-Cov2.  This is something that cannot be understated given the impact of school closers on not just the education but also the mental wellness of our children. 

Although it is unclear just how many, if any, school closures have been prevented using filters such as these you would think that in theory it is worth a shot to firstly attempt to keep our kids safe but secondly, to prevent them from having to isolate away from school and their friends.

Is it worth the price?

That is up to you. The TruSens Z-3000 will clean your air of any impurities such as smoke or other odours and it will also remove virtually all COVID-19 from the air. Two years on and it seems that most, if not all, COVID-19 infections are a result of airborne infection. If you have an area that a lot of people use, or you just want to keep your house clean and clear of the SARS-CoV2 virus then you should think about getting something such as this.

The TruSens Z-3000 is incredibly easy to use and is fully featured with proper HEPA filters so if you want an air purifier that encompasses all air purifying you should check this out.

The TruSens Z-3000 retails for $549 while the smaller Z-2000 (for smaller, medium-sized rooms) retails for $399. For more information head on over to the TruSens website where you can also find links to their partner retailers.