Holmes HAP242-NUC Desktop Air Purifier: Trusted Review & Specs

If you have already known the Holmes HAP9240-NWU, you won’t be surprised by the Holmes HAP242-NUC Desktop Air Purifier. It’s easily the motivation of any desktop air purifiers in the world, as well as the most popular air purifier on tabletop, with no less than 1700 reviews on Amazon. Of course, in Breathe Quality, we always expect the chance to deliver the Holmes HAP242-NUC Review.

Holmes HAP242 ranks F in our air purifier ranking list, so we recommend you not to buy this product. We give the biggest and most thorough database of air purifier reviews in the world.

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Holmes has been in the world of air purifier of the United States for more than 35 years, under the name of The Holmes Group. Now, being acquired by the Jarden Corporation, this brand has a chance to improve their air purifiers to a next level. Now, let’s check the ultimate desktop air purifier of them in our Holmes HAP242-NUC Review, as this is also the top reason we’ve heard about the name of Holmes air purifiers today.

Other Holmes’s Air Purifier Reviews:

Holmes HAP242-NUC Desktop Air Purifier Price

With a great deal of competition at the budget end of the air purifier market, the Holmes HAP242-NUC just simply sweep all before it with its price. Though it doesn’t have the useful features, or makes any difference in air filtration system, we are sure to get an easy, yet effective air purifier.

With its simple, rather blocky styling, the Holmes HAP242-NUC wins no prizes for head-turning design, and it’s not likely to garner you admiring glances. But you only have the definition of ‘desktop air purifier’ from this device, so just give some respect for its design.

Remember that the Holmes Desktop Air Purifier is an old product of The Holmes Group, and you can now have the Holmes HAP9240-NWU instead. The price of Holmes HAP242-NUC remains $39 and it could easily be the best budget air purifier at the moment.

Now, we have a lot of new designs for desktop air purifier. Things like Honeywell HHT270W or Honeywell HPA020B is trying to keep the original shape, but Levoit Vista 200, AeraMax 100 and PureZone Halo are whole new worlds to our eyes. And don’t forget the new kid – Airdog FitAir, which can even blur the border of desktop air purifier and personal air purifier.

But, I must emphasize that none of these aforementioned air purifiers can match the price tag of our today Holmes Desktop Air Purifier. From my first review till now, there is no device, either.

Related post: Best air purifier 2023.

Holmes HAP242-NUC Desktop Air Purifier Design and Size

So far, this is the origin of any desktop and tabletop air purifiers in the world. Meet the Holmes HAP242-NUC Desktop Air Purifier, a simple device that you don’t need a degree in order to fathom out how it works. The size is decent, as it is only 7 inches in height and 15 inches in width, which is big enough to be able to enjoy the fresh air, while the black or white casing gives it a modern, if understated, feel.

Just like its brother, the Holmes HAP9240-NWU, there are two color options for the Holmes HAP242-NUC. Our testing unit is a white version, but you can get the black version from the below link.

The dual-positioning design is perfect desktop use, and you can place this Holmes Desktop Air Purifier vertically or horizontally, and thus minimizing space and tabletop clutter. This air purifier also uses the traditional bottom-to-top air flow system concept, with a large air intake grill on front, and another air outlet on top.

Arranged in a standard no-gimmicks pattern, the switches are a decent size which makes it easy enough to use. It is simple and located on top of this air purifier like this.

Source: Amazon.com

It is no big deal to pick up the Holmes HAP242-NUC, as it weighs only 5.6 lbs.

Related post: Best air purifiers for bedroom.

Holmes HAP242-NUC Desktop Air Purifier Filters

To decide the performance of one air purifier, you will need to know about the quantity and quality of its air filters, as well as the air filter types are used. The Holmes Desktop Air Purifier uses the 2-stage air cleaning system as below.

1. HEPA-type filter – It is not a True HEPA filter, and the quality is much inferior. But the air filter from Holmes HAP242-NUC is said to clean 99% of any particles down to 2 microns in size.
2. Ionizer – The technology of ionizing air purification from Holmes, which complies the standard safety of CARB completely.

Again, a same test as before, with the testing conditions to be a room of 100 square feet and a duration of 1 hour. I put the Holmes HAP242-NUC and compare it with the other Holmes air purifiers, like Holmes HAP9424B-NU and Holmes HAP9422-NUA. As the compact air purifier, the Holmes HAP242-NUC only reached an efficiency of 72% for trapping any particles down to 0.3 microns, which is 7 – 13% down of performance from bigger devices.

The HEPA-type filter of this Holmes HAP242-NUC needs to be replaced after 6 months, with a cost from $12 – $17.

Related post: Best air purifiers for allergies.

Holmes HAP242-NUC Desktop Air Purifier Room Coverage

The Holmes Desktop Air Purifier is similar to the Holmes HAP9240-NWU not only from the quality of air filters, but also the fan power. It can clean a room of 100 square feet without problem.

The ACH of Holmes Desktop Air Purifier is 2X. This air purifier can clean your room in every 30 minutes.

The CADR of Holmes Desktop Air Purifier is 40 cfm in general.

Related post: Best large room air purifiers.

Holmes HAP242-NUC Desktop Air Purifier Sound

Just like any other compact air purifiers, the Holmes Desktop Air Purifier is expected to be silent. The quiet operation is something that air purifier companies try to advertise, and when they can do it, it means the air purifier’s noise level is truly low.

Once you turn on the Holmes Desktop Air Purifier on lowest speed, the noise level is measured to be only 40 decibels (db). This is only the noise level of the library, and you can barely hear any sound from it. It’s a bit higher on highest speed, but you won’t take that annoying.

Related post: Best air purifiers for baby.

Holmes HAP242-NUC Desktop Air Purifier 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 how much energy this air purifier will consume.

Another common point of this Holmes HAP242-NUC with the Holmes HAP9240-NWU is its power consumption. It is supposed to be low, just only 35 watts, a reasonable rated power for just a compact air purifier.

For running the Holmes Desktop Air Purifier 8 hours per day, you only need to pay $13 each year.

Related post:Best air purifiers for pets.

Holmes HAP242-NUC Desktop Air Purifier Additional Features

Holmes is not really famous for a fancy air purifier with lots of additional features, and you shouldn’t expect much from the Holmes Desktop Air Purifier. First, this air purifier is an old device. Most importantly, its key feature is the ease of use.

In other words, there is nothing to know about this Holmes HAP242-NUC.

Related posts:

1, Best air purifiers for smoke.

2,Best air purifiers for dust.

3,Best air purifiers for mold.

Holmes HAP242-NUC Desktop Air Purifier Customer Service

Even being acquired for more than 10 years, the Holmes products are still one of the most popular electric appliances today. Then the reason can only be their impressive customer service. If you need to contact them, you can easily do so by filling in the information at their Contact page, or calling them via phone at 800-546-5637.

Once you make an order, you will get your Holmes air purifier with a promotion of Free Shipping over $50. However, the promotion is only applied at the time of writing, so if you can’t find the Free Shipping option, you should choose to buy from Amazon. The most wonderful thing is, after your purchase, or any reason you are not completely satisfied with the Holmes air purifier, you can return your item within 30 days of receipt for an exchange or refund of the purchase price. Great, isn’t it?

And don’t worry about your air purifier, it will be backed up by a great 5-year warranty from The Holmes Group. This is also the best warranty for an air purifier brand that only targets low-range segment.

Our Verdict

If you like the idea of a desktop air purifier, you must know the Holmes HAP242-NUC. It may be not the best air purifier out there, but it is clearly one of the cheapest.

However, its performance is low, and its overall ranking is F, so we can’t recommend this air purifier.