Vornado PCO300 Air Purifier: Trusted Review & Specs

The Vornado PCO300 is still one of the most well-rounded air purifiers you can purchase if you’re on a budget or otherwise. However, the Vornado PCO375DC and, if you’re interested in large room air purifiers, the Vornado PCO575DC are both better choices. Let’s check the Vornado PCO300 Review to see if it’s worth the investment today?

Because the Vornado PCO300 is completely discontinued, you should look for the direct successor – the Vornado PCO375DC.

Vornado PCO300 ranks B- in our air purifier ranking list. We give the biggest and most thorough database of air purifier reviews in the world.

In Breathe Quality, we have reviewed all air purifiers under these sections. Also, we guarantee that:

• We do give honest reviews (both pros and cons) so anyone will guarantee to have the wisest choices.
• We do not (and never) exaggerate one product just to let you click the links and buy that product blindly.

Sections

Vornado carved a name for themselves in the U.S, by bringing numerous premium flagships with a focus on use only in the U.S. In fact, the American company has been around here for more than 65 years, and they have great expertise at air purifier industry. The Vornado PCO300 is the pioneer of a new air cleaning invention that goes beyond the HEPA filter. Is it worth the mention? Find out in our today Vornado PCO300 Review.

Other Vornado’s Air Purifier Reviews:

Vornado PCO300 Price

The Vornado PCO300 is an impressive air purifier for all its unique specs that no other air purifiers in this mid-range can match. It has high ACH rating, to deliver more clean air, and more often.

While the Vornado PCO300 has a direct upgraded brother, in the name of Vornado PCO500, this air purifier is currently the last model of the old generation to be sold. It covers all necessary options, for a price tag not as high as the new flagships – Vornado PCO375DC and Vornado PCO575DC, and therefore, fitting Vornado’s pricing strategy better.

So to say, the Vornado PCO300 is in the middle of old generation PCO series’s trio, with an initial price tag of $369. This is also the price tag of the new PCO375DC, and both of them are $169 higher than the previous Vornado AC550. However, the Vornado PCO300 has been discontinued.

To clear the confusion with its newer model, Vornado actively reduces the price of our today Vornado PCO300. If you follow our deal, you can get the Vornado PCO300 as low as only $275. Great deal, right?

Standing in the mid-range segment, the Vornado PCO300 is the strong competitor with the Rabbit Air BioGS 2.0 and Blueair Classic 280i in terms of performance. Other notable options to be selected in this price range are Dyson Pure Cool Link, Dyson Pure Cool Tower and TruSens Z-3000, which are all from the most reputable air purifier companies.

Though the competition is heating up with all good air purifiers, the Vornado PCO300 is now cheaper, but it is still in clash with Medify MA-40 and Airthereal AGH550. Well, you should read all reviews carefully before pulling the trigger, yet I assured you only one thing, they are all great for the money air purifiers.

Related post: Best air purifiers 2023.

Vornado PCO300 Design and Size

While Vornado is a big air purifier brand, they have quite messed up with the name of the Vornado PCO300 and practically, the previous Vornado PCO200. The thing is, the higher number of the name probably doesn’t mean what you think it does. It has exactly the same 21 inches in height and 15.2 inches in width as its cheaper sibling, and most of the internal specs, including the technology, are identical.

All that’s different is the new touch-sensitive control panel on top, plus the addition of new internal sensors. Is that really enough to justify the price bump? Let’s take a closer look.

Source: Amazon.com

We’ve come a long way from the original, chubby Vornado AC350 (actually Vornado AC300), but the Vornado PCO300 is still unmistakably related. It seems Vornado truly wants to show off the front plate in V-shape, the first letter of their brand name. The side air grills are made in the same concept, which is the iconic design concept of all Vornado Silverscreen air purifiers.

This is an unashamedly plastic air purifier with common bottom-to-top air flow system concept. With the new design, the Vornado PCO300 can use its blower much better, resulting in higher ACH rating. It doesn’t allow any gaps, or poorly sealed filter housings to intervene with its own high fan power. That being said, the Vornado PCO300 is a perfect housing.

Our today reviewed unit is using a jet black color, and the Vornado PCO300 uses the right color for its logo (which is gray in other models of Vornado family). Well, this is also available in the Vornado PCO500, but at the moment, the Vornado PCO300 is the only available option to get with jet black color.

At 17 lbs, the Vornado PCO300 is not not too heavy, but it is a bit bulky. Still, you can move this air purifier around your home easily enough.

Related post: Best air purifiers for bedroom.

Vornado PCO300 Filters

Vornado PCO300 is in the first generation to bring the new technology into air filtration world. The company is so proud of this system, stating that it goes beyond HEPA level. Welcome to the signature 4-stage air cleaning system of Vornado PCO300.

1. Pre-filter – A permanent, washable pre-filter covers the True HEPA filter, to extend the life time of the core filter, by trapping the large objects of pollutants like fur, hair and large dust.
2. True HEPA filter – With the True HEPA filter, this air purifier can capture 99.97% of as small as 0.3 microns allergens, virus particles, pollen, mold and fungi particles.
3. Activated Carbon filter – The honeycombed carbon filter adsorbs odors, freshening the air inside your home.
4. Silverscreen Chamber – Using an UV-C light filter, this Silverscreen technology can destroy and disable the harmful gases, Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs), viruses and bacteria.

Well, the Vornado PCO300 is a bit different from the previous Vornado AC550, as it makes use of an advanced carbon filter, with honeycombed structure. The new Activated Carbon filter can last longer, up to 9000 hours of use.

One of the main attractions of the Vornado PCO300 is the new Silverscreen technology. The Silverscreen enhanced technology from Vornado is a patented titanium dioxide media combined with the UV-C light filter, to break down and destroy any particles smaller than 0.3 microns, like bacteria, viruses and Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs). Any VOC molecule goes through the Silverscreen, will be broken down to harmless molecules, like H₂O and CO₂.

This process is called Photo Catalytic Oxidation, or PCO, in the name of our today Vornado PCO300. Normally, we only see this process in the high-end machines like Winix T1 or Airpura P600. However, with good resources and high expertise, Vornado can bring this technology into a mid-range air purifier.

Moreover, the Silverscreen tray and UV-C light filter come with very high quality. They can last for 5 years, without degrading performance. Cumulatively, you save a lot of time and money for using the Vornado PCO300.

Test is conducted for the Vornado PCO300 in the same way as the Vornado PCO375DC, in a room of 150 square feet, and I let this air purifier run for 1 hour. The Vornado PCO300 finished with very high efficiency, up to 99.95% for trapping any particles down to 0.3 microns. This result is even better than the GermGuardian AC9200WCA and Oransi Finn, which are from other reputable American air purifier companies.

Vornado PCO300 uses only one air filter like any other console air purifiers of Vornado family – the filter MD1-0022. You should select the MD1-0027 model for carbon filter, which costs a bit higher than the previous carbon sheet filter.

Related post: Best air purifiers for allergies.

Vornado PCO300 Room Coverage

Some people like a mid-range air purifier to have larger room coverage. Then there’s the fact that the Vornado PCO300 is only suitable for a room of 175 square feet. So, no matter how strong the air purifier is, it’s hard for Vornado PCO300 to compete with others with high CADR rating.

The ACH of Vornado PCO300 is 6X to 11.5X. Vornado air purifiers are famous for its high air changes per hour rating, as the Vornado PCO300 can clean a room of 100 square feet every 5 minutes. Actually, the air purifier can clean 6 times per hour in a room of 196 square feet, so I bet the overall room coverage of this device can be much better.

The CADR of Vornado PCO300 is 135 Dust/ 153 Smoke/ 114 Pollen (cfm). Actually, the CADR rating is even a bit lower than the Vornado AC350, so if you suppose to have a room bigger than 200 square feet, the efficiency of Vornado PCO300 will be much lower.

Related post: Best large room air purifiers.

Vornado PCO300 Sound

The Vornado PCO300 is a bit quieter than the cheaper model of Vornado family, as it trims the noise level to only 38 decibels (db) at just 900 rpm speed. At this power, the noise level of Vornado PCO300 is lower than the sound at library.

On highest speed, the noise level is only 55 decibels at 1600 rpm. This air purifier doesn’t have the Quick Clean setting like its brother Vornado PCO500, or the budget Vornado QUBE50, so the highest noise level is a bit more acceptable.

Related post: Best air purifiers for baby.

Vornado PCO300 Power Consumption

One of our most FAQs is “Do air purifiers use a lot of energy?” In fact, air purifier must be used for a long time to be efficient. And power consumption is one important criteria to review if this air purifier is good or not.

Pity, the power consumption is the main reason we will stay away from the Vornado PCO300, and at least consider the Vornado PCO375DC instead. Its rated power is 80 watts for an air purifier with low CADR rating, meaning the Vornado PCO300 will never be rated as Energy Star.

If you run the Vornado PCO300 for 8 hours per day, it would cost you $29 each year. It is still better than Vornado AC350 and Vornado AC550, but it’s not enough.

Related post: Best air purifiers for pets.

Vornado PCO300 Additional Features

As a high-end air purifier of Vornado, the Vornado PCO300 has every new additional feature to show off. However, you won’t be blown away by the high-tech functions of Vornado, if you’re familiar with other mid-range air purifiers.

It get both dust and odor sensors, and the Smart Sensor is certainly its most reason to choose it over its brother – the Vornado PCO200. Using the touch-sensitive navigation, you can select the Auto Mode, which responds to the environment and adjusts the fan speed accordingly.

Also, the Sleep Mode is upgraded far from the lowest-range models, as it keeps the noise level to always be on lowest speed, and dims the luminous display automatically in low light situations. It will even override the Auto Mode setting, so you can rest well at night without disturbance.

A child lock setting is also necessary, to keep the curiosity of your children and pets away from this air purifier’s operation.

Finally, we have LED indicators for filter replacement, available for all 4 main filters: HEPA, carbon, Silverscreen, UV-C light.

Related posts:

1, Best air purifiers for smoke.

2, Best air purifiers for dust.

3, Best air purifiers for mold.

Vornado PCO300 Customer Service

As an U.S firm based, Vornado gives the best customer service to any local customers. If you are from outside the U.S, don’t worry as they have subsidiaries in 12 different countries in the world.

The company not just back you up, they also hear from you. If you have any feedback, feel free to contact Vornado. You can live chat with them, from Monday to Friday, within their chat hours. Or else, you can call them directly via phone at 800-234-0604 or via fax at 316-733-1544. If they are out of office, I recommend you to email them at help@vornadobaby.com or help@vornado.com, depending on your product.

To guarantee your satisfaction, unopened air purifiers are free to return within 30 days. Remember that the shipping costs are non-refundable. You should check their FAQs page for more information.

Most of Vornado air purifiers are covered with a 5-year warranty, including of the Vornadobaby products, against material and workmanship defects, from the date of purchase. The flagships of Vornado, however, increase the satisfaction guarantee to 10 years. Not so many companies would dare to extend the warranty duration like Vornado.

Our verdict

The air purifier market surely moves fast, and only the strongest, biggest companies can upgrade the new air purifier to meet the demands. Vornado PCO300 could be the result of many innovations, but it is just an old unit at the moment. The new Vornado PCO375DC is out to solve any of its problem: high power consumption and noisy operation, and it is covered with much better warranty.

Also, the Vornado PCO300 has been discontinued.