Where has this product been all my life?
Ok, I have owned this little guy for a little over a week now and cant comment on its longevity, but...  it certainly seems to work well.  I am a pack a day smoker and like clockwork I catch any cold my significant other gets within a day or two.  She came down with something last week when I bought this plug in unit and she is now finally starting to get over her cold or whatever.  I have yet to get sick!  I am sure there could be other reasons for this but let me assure you that a robust immune system is not one of them!  :)<br /><br />Some people complain about these units..  saying there is low airflow through them.  I'll let you in on a little secret..  it takes some time in contact with light to kill germs in the air.  If the air moved too fast the germs would not have enough contact time with the light to die.  Put the unit in an area where the air moves around it.  Perhaps near a door or in a room with a ceiling fan that normally runs.  If you put it in the corner of a room with dead air..  its going to purify the heck out of that corner..  :)<br /><br />I placed the unit on a kill-a-watt meter tonight and it registered a constant draw of 9 watts.  Thats pretty great as far as air purifiers are concerned.  I have electronics that draw more than that when they are off.  Costco has them 2 for $67 and Lowes has them for $39 ea (then you find one of the MANY coupons for Lowes like $10 off a $25 purchase..  exc).<br /><br />The technology behind the units is a little questionable and I was not able to find links to the documented evidence of their effectiveness.  They claim Harvard did test this product..  hope thats true but I would like to see the source of that claim posted somewhere.  UV-C bulbs have been around for a long time, but for some reason they are just now showing up in this kind of a product with no real description as to why that is.<br /><br />The bulbs only last one year and I cant find replacements locally (yet) so minus one star for that..  otherwise..  good job.  Hope its for real.  I went back to Lowes today to get another one and they were sold out.<br /><br />UPDATE:  Year and a half later, first bulb replacement (should have been done at the one year mark.. I guess).  I took the opportunity to use a duster can and blow out all the dust that had built up in the units over 18 months of continuous use.  Wiped down the outsides with Windex. Back in business.
Rating: 4 stars