GermGuardian CDAP5500BCA Air Purifier: Trusted Review & Specs

GermGuardian was initially conceived as a way to provide a powerful air filtration process for the kind of super-affordable air purifiers sold in both developing and developed countries. But today, we will look further at its latest product, the flagship smart air purifier of one brand, in this GermGuardian CDAP5500BCA Review.

Update: The flagships of this brand are the GermGuardian AC9400W and GermGuardian AC9600W.

GermGuardian CDAP5500BCA ranks B in our air purifier ranking list. We give the biggest and most thorough database of air purifier reviews in the world.

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The U.S. firm Guardian Technologies is famous for its low-priced and highly competitive air purifiers, and its UV air purifier technology has traditionally led the budget charge. The GermGuardian CDAP5500BCA, the newest Smart member of this growing family, is hot, especially when you can get a great deal and push the price even lower. Now, let’s walk through this GermGuardian CDAP5500BCA Review (or GermGuardian CDAP5500WSP Review, if you prefer the white version).

Other GermGuardian’s Air Purifier Reviews:

GermGuardian CDAP5500BCA Price

At the time of writing, there is only one great deal on US availability or pricing, but even at the official price of $249, the GermGuardian CDAP5500BCA offers some premium features that we can’t overlook. This is Guardian Technologies’ major effort to break into the smart air purifier market and elevate itself from being one of North America’s largest air purifier manufacturers by the end of 2018.

You can get this air purifier for only $199, making the GermGuardian CDAP5500BCA one of the best budget air purifiers. Trading off the smart features for the fan power, you can get the GermGuardian AC5900WCA at the same price.

However, the GermGuardian CDAP5500BCA has seen a massive drop in price, up to only $133 for the smart flagship tower air purifier from Guardian Technologies if you follow our deal below. It makes our unit just the same price as the lower-tier console GermGuardian AC5600WDLX. You should choose your GermGuardian air purifier carefully.

If you’d rather spend money on a smart air purifier, you can choose between the Levoit Core 400S, Winix AM90, and Honeywell HPA250B. Other potential candidates to compete with this air purifier don’t have the proper Wi-Fi connectivity, like the Levoit LV-PUR131, Winix 5500-2, Winix 5300-2, Winix C535, or the AeraMax 300.

Related post: Best air purifier 2023.

GermGuardian CDAP5500BCA Design and Size

This air purifier has a White version, named GermGuardian CDAP5500WSP. It shares the same specifications as the Black version and can be bought from the link below. Also, if you are looking for a GermGuardian CDAP5500WSP Review, ours today is still appropriate.

The GermGuardian CDAP5500BCA design is pure GermGuardian. Its predominantly plastic design is always at its best when compared with other high-range premium materials. Moreover, it doesn’t feel cheap and nasty; instead, we can see a sleek design and a luxurious black color.

This is essentially the exact same GermGuardian design as the previous AC4300BPTCA, CDAP4500BCA, AC5300B, and AC5350B, at least in terms of their looks. From the front, it’s something of a smart circle, which is actually the LED indicator for current air quality in your room—the Smart Air Quality Monitor (or AQM) of GermGuardian.

From the back, you will find the chunky air intake grill. However, I personally don’t like the position of this air purifier’s grill. With an airflow from the back to the front, it is difficult to find a good spot in our home to put this GermGuardian CDAP5500BCA, as it will somehow decrease the polluted air input.

On top, we will have a neat control panel with five function buttons. GermGuardian CDAP5500BCA makes this panel as minimalist as possible but still has enough information for any user.

Source: Amazon.com

Being the flagship of GermGuardian’s tower air purifiers, this 28-inch GermGuardian CDAP5500BCA unit is only 11.6 lbs. Apparently, you can put this air purifier anywhere in your home.

Related post: Best air purifiers for bedroom.

GermGuardian CDAP5500BCA Filters

To decide the power of an air purifier, basically we will look at how many filters it has and the air filter types are used. Being a GermGuardian air purifier, you will expect no less than a top-performing 4-stage air filtration process as described below.

1. Pre-filter – This filter includes an activated carbon filter to be able to remove the large particles of pollutants and reduce odors created by smoke, cooking, and pets.
2. True HEPA filter – GermGuardian CDAP5500BCA uses a True HEPA filter to capture 99.97% of microscopic allergens, dust, and mold spores down to 0.3 microns in size. This filter includes an antimicrobial treatment to help prevent any odors or bacteria from getting trapped in the filter.
3. UV-C Light – This filter is great at killing airborne bacteria, viruses, and mold spores that cause health issues by altering the genetic structure of the germ.

The GermGuardian CDAP5500BCA is a dazzling performer. I was reasonably impressed with its predecessor, like with the GermGuardian AC4825 or GermGuardian AC4300BPTCA, but an upgrade to the set of filters means a 10% efficiency at capturing odors.

For the performance test, I compared the efficiency of this GermGuardian CDAP5500BCA against other air purifiers in the same price range, the Blueair Sense+ and Winix 5500-2. Within the test conditions of a 100-sq-ft room and duration of 1 hour, it is apparent that they are all the same, with the highest efficiency of 99.9% for any particles as small as 0.3 microns. The Blueair Sense+ and Winix 5500-2 were better with high fan power, with efficiencies of 99.94% and 99.97%, respectively.

It isn’t the most powerful air purifier on the market by any stretch of the imagination, but it comfortably passes the threshold where such things will be noticeable to most people. GermGuardian CDAP5500BCA uses excellent UV technology to not only trap but also kill allergens.

Source: Amazon.com

Remember that you can use the same filter in previous models like the AC5250PT, AC5000, AC5300B, and AC5350B. If yes, then you will ask me why you need to purchase this air purifier if it just provides the same performance as its predecessors. Well, if you are not in a hurry, just scroll down.

Also, GermGuardian also provides the most affordable filter replacements for its air purifiers, so you won’t need to worry about the cost. It is only $39. However, remember that with extensive use, the True HEPA filter can only last for 6–8 months.

Related post: Best air purifiers for allergies.

GermGuardian CDAP5500BCA Room Coverage

This is typically not the strength of any air purifier from GermGuardian. To reduce the cost as much as possible, Guardian Technologies usually trades off the fan power for the powerful air filters and great smart features. That being said, you will have a decent air purifier for 167 square feet.

The ACH of GermGuardian CDAP5500BCA is 4X. It is still an AHAM-verified air purifier, so it will deliver 4 air changes per hour in suggested room size.

The CADR of GermGuardian CDAP5500BCA is 114 Dust/ 108 Smoke/ 127 pollen (cfm). This CADR performs admirably for a small room air purifier. But to compare with other air purifiers in the same price range like the Airmega 200M, AeraMax 200, Honeywell HPA300 or Coway AP-1512HH, both the CADR rating and room coverage are clearly not the competitive edge of the GermGuardian brand.

Related post: Best large room air purifiers.

GermGuardian CDAP5500BCA Sound

With five fan speeds, the GermGuardian CDAP5500BCA runs quietly at the low setting. However, moving between other fan speeds causes it to make a noticeable noise. And on occasion, there is too much noise to handle. This is mostly the time you need to clean or replace your air filters.

Even at the lowest setting, the noise level of the GermGuardian CDAP5500BCA can reach 40 decibels, which is higher than most of the normal air purifiers on the market. For example, the AeraMax 300 is only 35 decibels, the SilverOnyx can be as low as 25 decibels, and the Sharp FP-F50UW is only 29 decibels.

At the highest setting, the GermGuardian CDAP5500BCA is as noisy as the high-power Honeywell HPA300. The noise level will be 60 decibels (dB), and this is the noise level of an air conditioning unit, which is really, really loud.

If you are planning to have an air purifier for a quiet space, clearly the GermGuardian CDAP5500BCA is not the best choice of yours. A few names to be picked for its noise level at this price range are the Levoit LV-PUR131, Winix 5500-2 or Coway AP-1512HH.

Related post: Best air purifiers for baby.

GermGuardian CDAP5500BCA Power Consumption

A good air purifier must be used for a long time to be efficient, and in Breathe Quality, I’ve been asked many times, “Do air purifiers use a lot of energy?” We can all agree that power consumption is one important criterion to review to determine if this air purifier is worth your money or not.

With a 5-watt built-in UV-C bulb, it is hard for the GermGuardian CDAP5500BCA to consume less energy than other air purifiers. In fact, it can reach 60 watts of power consumption, and this air purifier is nowhere near the energy-saving Levoit LV-PUR131, Winix 5500-2, or Coway AP-1512HH.

For using a GermGuardian CDAP5500BCA for 8 hours per day, it would cost you up to $22 per year. Though the power consumption is not really as low as others, the GermGuardian CDAP5500BCA is still an Energy Star-rated device, and you can use it without worrying about the power consumption.

Related post: Best air purifiers for pets.

GermGuardian CDAP5500BCA Additional Features

If there is a true competitive edge for this GermGuardian CDAP5500BCA, it should be the fantastic additional features. You are looking at a true Wi-Fi smart air purifier under $200, and in fact, the GT app works its best to deliver smart control with the GermGuardian CDAP5500BCA. Moreover, you can also control and monitor your air purifier using the Bluetooth function.

Another smart feature is Alexa voice control. However, I find this function on my testing unit quite bad, and sometimes it doesn’t work at all.

Also, the GermGuardian CDAP5500BCA features a Smart Sensor to help you indicate the real-time air quality and then automatically adjust the fan speed. With these additional features, we could easily fall for this air purifier and add it to the high-end level.

Related posts:

1, Best air purifiers for smoke.

2, Best air purifiers for dust.

3, Best air purifiers for mold.

GermGuardian CDAP5500BCA Customer Service

There is not much to say about the brilliant support from Guardian Technologies’ customer service. Anyone can get active support from the American brand. The company also makes the instruction manuals available online to help you answer common questions on your own. But if you can’t find a solution, just contact customer service via phone at 866-603-5900 or via email at support@guardiantechnologies.com. Just like any other brand, the office will be open from Monday to Friday.

Guardian Technologies occasionally offers free shipping as well as a significant discount on all products (typically 10% to 20%). Whenever you find the air purifiers are not as great as you had thought, you can return them within 30 days of your original receipt of the order. And don’t worry about the warranty policy of Guardian Technologies, as it warrants its products to be free of defects in materials or workmanship. You can register for a warranty for up to five years.

The GermGuardian CDAP5500BCA has a 5-year warranty, which is the best in its class.

Our verdict

Being the flagship tower air purifier of a long-established brand, the GermGuardian CDAP5500BCA has much better additional features than previous models. If you expect a smart air purifier under $200, it is hard for you to ignore this air purifier, not to mention its powerful air filter process with both True HEPA and UV-C light filters. However, given the price increase and the fact that there have been few improvements over the predecessors, I prefer GermGuardian’s older models.