The Therapure TPP440 is just one of the many family members in the TPP product line. As it’s one of the more recent releases I was curious to know where it stacks up against the rest of the TPP family!
I’m sure you’re just as curious – that’s probably what brought you here in the first place!
With this Therapure TPP440 review I wanted to highlight anything and everything I could with this air purifier.
The good, the bad, the useful, the useless, all of it! In every part of this review, I tried my best to show you why these features are good or bad for you, that way you too can learn if this air purifier is right for you!
Contents
Short & Sweet Therapure TPP440 Review
If you don’t want to go through this whole article, here’s a quick summary of the TPP440.
The Therapure TPP440 is a well-known air purifier because it’s just under $100 while having multiple filters that tackle a wide variety of airborne pollutants.
The three purification methods utilized by the TPP440 are a HEPA-type filter (not True-HEPA), a UV germicidal light, and a Photocatalytic filter. With an above-average CADR, the TPP440 is an effective budget air purifier.
At 395 square feet of coverage, it’s capable of covering most medium-to-large sized bedrooms & thanks to its design it’s quite easy to carry from room to room if need be.
A digital display & control panel gives you plenty of features to work with – turning off filtration systems whenever you feel like it or setting a timer for auto shut-off, there’s plenty you can control through the display.
Lastly, with an Energy Star certification, the TPP440 is so energy efficient you’ll hardly even notice it on your power bill!
My only major complaints are that it can be quite loud on the highest setting, and it’s not the best when it comes to dealing with smoke.
To sum it all up – the TPP440 is a reasonable low-cost air purifier. It provides quality air purification using three different filtration systems that eliminate a wide spectrum of airborne pollutants. If you’re a fan of Envion or their TPP series of products then I’d say give this one a shot!
Overall Rating: 3.7/5
Pros
- Excellent price point
- Variety of filtration systems gets rid of most airborne pollutants
- Digital display makes operating it a breeze
- Reusable filters = no need to purchase replacement filters & more $$$ staying in your wallet
- Energy efficiency saves money in the long run
- Large coverage area meets most of your needs
Cons
- Noticeably loud on highest fan speed
- No True-HEPA filter means it’s not as effective as other air purifiers when dealing with smaller particles
- No Carbon filter so it’s not well-suited for dealing with smoke or odors
- A small percentage of units have broken down within a few weeks of use (Can easily be returned under warranty)
Specifications
Coverage: 395 sq. ft.
Clean Air Delivery Rate (CADR): 150 – Dust, 163 – Pollen, 108 – Smoke
Power Consumption: 60 W at highest speed.
Weight: 9.5 lbs.
Dimensions: 6.9 x 25.5 x 8.8 inches
Warranty: 1 year
For its sub $100 price point, the TPP440 specs are excellent.
The main ones that stick out to me are coverage, the dimensions, and power consumption. I’ll also touch on CADR but that’ll be done under the “What Are You Using It For?” section!
Now let’s dive into why these specs are so great for owners!
Coverage & Portability
With a coverage area of 395 square feet, you’ll be hard pressed to find an area/room in your house that the TPP440 won’t be able to cover. At almost 400 square feet it covers most medium-to-large sized living rooms and virtually all bedrooms.
In most cases – bigger is better. The same goes for air purifiers.
The bigger the coverage area the better off you’ll be. The only problem is most air purifiers can’t cover more than one room and moving them starts to be a whole workout!
This is where the design of TPP440 becomes very useful.
With a built-in handle, the TPP440 is easily movable from room to room. Being less than 10 pounds and just over two feet tall you’ll find that it’s quite easy to move around to where you need it most. (You might find this guide useful for placing your air purifier)
Energy Efficiency
The other spec that stands out for me is the power consumption. The TPP440 is Energy Star certified and at its highest fan speed, the TPP440 only requires 60 watts.
Annually, this would cost less than $60 to run this air purifier on high for 18 hours! (and you probably won’t be leaving it on every day for 18 hours too)
Additionally, to keep its power consumption nice and low, this air purifier also has a 24-hour timer. This 24-hour timer lets you set a timer for anywhere between 1-24 hours, after which point the TPP440 will shut-off by itself.
Digital Display = Easy To Understand
Having a digital display screen makes interacting with the TPP440 a breeze. TPP440’s digital display can show you the following:
- Hours left on the timer
- Fan speed
- Whether UV/VOC is on or off
- “Clean Filter” indicator
- Whether the TPP440 is on or off
Feedback from a digital display is great because it shows you the changes you’re making right there on the screen. No misclicks or accidentally setting fan speed too high!
Covering All The Bases
The Therapure TPP440 has three different filters & functions that work on eliminating different particles from the air in your household. And with three fan speeds, you’ll be able to pick a speed suitable for your situation.
1) HEPA-Type Filter
First, you have a permanent, hemispheric, HEPA-type filter that works to eliminate smaller particles in the air such as bacteria, viruses, and mold.
It’s important to note that this filter is titled HEPA-type because it’s not a true HEPA filter. You’ll read more about this below under Shortcomings but for now, the main thing you need to know is that it isn’t as effective as a true HEPA filter.
Aside from high-quality filtration, the biggest benefit that comes from this filter is the fact that it’s permanent & reusable.
Instead of having to spend buckets of money on replacement filters, you’ll just need to give this filter a quick vacuuming and it’ll be as good as new!
Therapure also added a “Clean Filter” indicator to the TPP440 that will activate a red light to let you know when this filter needs cleaning. This is nice for owners because it eliminates the guesswork on when it’s time to clean this reusable filter.
2) UV Germicidal Light
The second piece to the TPP440 puzzle is a UV germicidal light. A UV germicidal light uses UV rays to break apart and remove germs in the nearby area, whether on the ground or in the air. UV germicidal lights are great for two main reasons:
- They’re very efficient – the UV rays emitted from the light break apart germs at a cellular level, so you can rest assured that it works.
- It’s a proactive method of keeping your living space healthy. Air purifiers by nature are a little bit reactive, they work only when there’s something to get rid of. But, by having this light on you’re actively preventing the growth & spread of germs, ultimately leading to a healthier home!
3) Photo Catalyst Filter
Lastly, the TPP440 has a Photo Catalyst filter to remove VOCs in your household. VOCs are an often overlooked area of air purification as most people don’t even know they exist in their home!
VOCs are gases that are emitted by household objects such as paint, office supplies, and furniture. These VOCs can have adverse effects on the human body such as throat irritation, headaches, and damage to the liver.
Needless to say, you generally don’t want VOCs in your house. The problem is, on average, indoor spaces carry a higher concentration of VOCs when compared to the outdoors! That’s why the TPP440 having a Photo Catalyst filter is so essential!
It’s worth mentioning that the UV light & Photo Catalyst filter can be easily turned on or off by clicking the button labeled “UV/VOC” below the digital display. Unfortunately, they’re paired together so they’re either both on at the same time or both off.
As you can see, the three filters the TPP440 is equipped with are excellent for tackling all sorts of harmful airborne pollutants in the home.
What Are You Using The TPP440 For? – An Important Question
Including this section was crucial for me because I want to make sure my readers (yes, you!) get the most out of their products. If you plan on using the TPP440 for pollen, dander, or dust then there’s no need to read on. You can skip this and continue reading the rest of this Therapure TPP440 review!
What are you using the Therapure TPP440 for?
I’m asking this because when we take a look at the TPP440’s CADR rating, this is what we see:
Dust – 150 | Pollen – 163 | Smoke – 108
Notice anything strange here?
That’s right, the CADR for smoke is significantly lower than dust & pollen.
If you don’t know what CADR is, it’s essentially an effectiveness measurement against the particles listed. So with dust & pollen, the TPP440 is removing many more particles per cubic feet than it is with smoke. And after reviewing so many air purifiers I’ve kind of come up with my own benchmarks for CADR to help me figure out what’s good and bad.
Generally, anything above 150 is considered above average – like 75th percentile. It’s not jaw-dropping, but it’ll still do a great job.
A CADR near 100 (to me) is considered satisfactory – just barely making it over 50%. It’s not bad, but you can definitely find better.
So I’ll state this now – if you plan on using the TPP440 to get rid of smoke odors, you might want to consider other options. This article on the best air purifiers for odor elimination contains the Rabbit Air MinusA2, which is considered by most to be the best air purifier for smoke & odor removal.
Shortcomings of the Therapure TPP440
Because I want to give my readers the best possible reviews, part of doing that means I have to cover the shortcomings of products when they have them.
Throughout this whole Therapure TPP440 review I’ve covered multiple things that make it a great air purifier. Well, here are the three main complaints I found with the TPP440.
-
Highest fan speed is quite loud
As I mentioned earlier, the TPP440 has a 3-speed fan, and on it’s third (highest) speed, it can be quite loud. I’m not downplaying it either.
Unfortunately, I couldn’t find an exact dB level to give you a comparison, but here’s what I can tell you.
On its highest speed, you’ll definitely notice the TPP440 is there, you’ll 100% have to speak louder if you’re going to have a conversation near it.
-
Not a True HEPA filter
I briefly talked about this complaint under the section titled Covering All The Bases – The TPP440 doesn’t have a True HEPA Filter.
Instead, they use something called a HEPA-type filter, which I’m not a fan of (the use of the title, not the actual filter).
To be a True HEPA certified filter, it requires the filter to capture 99.97% of particles as small as 0.3 microns. A hefty task to pass which is why only the best air purifiers are awarded it.
By titling their filter as “HEPA-type” it’s a company’s way of capitalizing off the True HEPA certification without doing the actual work. A HEPA-type filter either A) didn’t pass HEPA certification or B) didn’t attempt to get certified.
Don’t get me wrong, the CADR of this air purifier means the filter they have must be pretty good, I just want to make it clear that it’s not actually a HEPA certified filter – an important distinction as you can tell.
-
Not the best for smoke
This was the main topic under the section What Are You Using The TPP440 For? – The Therapure TPP440 isn’t the best-suited air purifier when it comes to dealing with smoke.
This is most likely because it doesn’t have an Activated Carbon filter which is primarily used to filter out odors, smoke, and VOCs.
This isn’t the biggest deal since the TPP440 comes equipped with other filters that are meant to work best for other things. For example, the UV light is meant to excel when removing germs.
It’s not a major issue, but it is something you should know before you consider buying!
FAQ
-
Where Can I Find Therapure TPP440 Replacement Filters?
Although the Therapure TPP440 features a permanent HEPA-type filter that can be cleaned & reused forever, you can buy a replacement filter here if you decide it’s not working as well as it once was.
-
How Do I Clean My Therapure TPP440 Filter?
To clean your permanent HEPA-type filter, you should be using your vacuum (with a brush attachment if possible).
Remove the filter from the air purifier and use the vacuum over both sides of the filter and try to get between crevices as much as possible. Below is a more detailed step-by-step straight from the TPP440 manual.
Thanks for this very informative and nice review. It is very helpful.
Thank you Mark! Glad to hear that you found it useful!
Thanks for the review!
Thank you for reading!