Honeywell HFD230B Air Purifier: Trusted Review & Specs

If the Honeywell HFD140 doesn’t catch your attention, the Honeywell HFD230B sure does. This air purifier was the flagship of the brand, and it certainly played its part in putting the ifD name on the air purifier map. Welcome to our trusted Honeywell HFD230B Review.

Honeywell HFD230B ranks C+ 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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Honeywell has always been one of the most popular air purifier brands in the U.S. market. The Honeywell HFD230B is still available on its website, along with the very popular Honeywell HFD-120-Q. Should you buy the Honeywell HFD230B? Let’s find out in our Honeywell HFD230B Review.

Other Honeywell’s Air Purifier Reviews:

Honeywell HFD230B Price

While the company is steering its customers’ attention toward the newer ifD products like the Honeywell AirGenius 6 and Honeywell AirGenius 4 Compact, the Honeywell HFD230B and Honeywell HFD-120-Q are still very popular with their classic design and simple features.

Broadening its appeal to reach a more mass-market audience was therefore always on the cards, and the classic design from its popular brother is the key. Of the two air purifiers, the Honeywell HFD230B has “more” additional features but manages the same performance. And for that additional feature, perhaps the more expensive price isn’t worth your money.

Yes, the price of the Honeywell HFD230B is $199 on the official Honeywell website. You can buy one for a cheaper price—only $179 if you follow our deal. Still, it is $20 more expensive than its brothers, the Honeywell HFD140 and HFD-120-Q. For most people, I dare say the Honeywell HFD230B isn’t the best option.

If you like the concept of a tower air purifier, perhaps the GermGuardian CDAP5500BCA, TCL Breeva A5 or Levoit Core 400S will offer better smart features. And for people who prefer performance to design, the Airmega 150, Coway AP-1512HH or GermGuardian AP5800W are your go-to picks.

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Honeywell HFD230B Design and Size

The Honeywell HFD230B shares most of its design with the Honeywell HFD-120-Q or Honeywell HFD140. It is the classic tower design of Honeywell, which is replaced by the Honeywell HPA030 and Honeywell HPA180 at the moment.

Still, there are enough differences between them that you can tell them apart. The Honeywell HFD230B is slightly taller, at 28.74 inches. If you put two devices side-by-side, the Honeywell HFD230B is definitely the bigger.

It exudes style, with new horizontal air grills standing out well against the jet-black casing of my review sample. If you prefer your air purifier to have a modern style, the Honeywell HFD230B is definitely better than the HFD-120-Q.

Unsurprising, the Honeywell HFD230B runs the same back-to-front airflow system concept that has dominated the air purifier market in the past. It is no longer the most efficient concept, but in the Honeywell HFD230B case, it is necessary to make the oscillation function work.

Something that you like about the old HFD-120-Q is that the vertical air grills don’t gather dust. Sadly, the new “premium” air grill style gathers dust quickly in our tests, and it’s quite difficult to clean the exterior of the Honeywell HFD230B.

The top control panel positions its LED indicators for fan speed in the vertical, which is a bit different from the HFD-120-Q. The on/off button has an icon of a leaf (perhaps meaning there will be fresh air). It’s easier to reset the filter indicator than the old HFD140.

The Honeywell HFD230B is very lightweight at 12.4 lbs; however, I don’t like its handle design. It’s quite difficult to move this tower air purifier in comparison to the popular HFD-120-Q.

Related post: Best air purifiers for bedroom.

Honeywell HFD230B Filters

The Honeywell HFD230B continues to use its exclusive ifD air filter with a 2-stage air cleaning system.

1. Pre-filter – The Honeywell HFD230B features high-efficiency air cleaning with permanent, washable filters, saving you money on expensive replacement filter costs.
2. ifD filter – The Honeywell HFD230B distinguishes itself substantially by properly utilizing iFD filters that trap particles without interrupting or disrupting the flow of air. Moreover, the air filter is also attaching an Activated Carbon filter to help reduce odors and tobacco smoke in the air.

The Honeywell HFD230B uses an electronic ionizer to improve the performance of its ifD air filter, which is quite similar to the concept of the Coway AP-1512HH or even the more expensive Rabbit Air A3. However, its performance is largely because of the ionizing function, and I must say it is inferior to the True HEPA filter’s performance.

But the advantage of using the ifD filter is its sustainability. The common HEPA filter must be replaced after 6 to 12 months, while the ifD filter is washable and permanent. And the performance is decent for most people, as you can see in our performance test. In a room of 100 square feet, the Honeywell HFD230B can clean 95% of all particles down to 0.3 microns in 1 hour. It is nowhere near the performance of the Levoit Core 300S, GermGuardian CDAP4500BCA or Hunter HP600 in the same price range, yes, but you shouldn’t forget that this is the only air purifier with a permanent filter.

The ifD filter, which is named HRF-K2, is one of the most affordable filters from Honeywell, with only a $17 price tag. Moreover, this air filter is permanent because it can be washed. The company still recommends changing the pre-filter every 3 months, but it’s up to you.

Related post: Best air purifiers for allergies.

Honeywell HFD230B Room Coverage

Aside from its permanent ifD air filter credential, the Honeywell HFD230B is verified by both the AHAM and Energy Star to cover rooms up to 170 square feet. Well, it isn’t as good as even its brothers in the same price range anymore, like the Honeywell HPA175 or Honeywell HPA5200.

The ACH of Honeywell HFD230B is 5x. The Honeywell HFD230B can clean your room every 12 minutes with the required room coverage.

The CADR of Honeywell HFD230B is 100 Dust/ 110 Smoke/ 132 Pollen (cfm). This CADR rating is not as good as the cheaper tower Honeywell HPA030B.

Related post: Best large room air purifiers.

Honeywell HFD230B Sound

While older ifD series models have a bad reputation for being noisy, the Honeywell HFD230B has a “more” acceptable noise level at its lowest speed, at only 34 decibels (dB). However, its highest noise level can be as high as 52 decibels. Even measured at the same fan power, the Honeywell HFD230B is a bit different from its brothers.

It is not as good as other competitors on the market, sure, but it is okay to sleep with on the lowest speed. The highest speed is not really loud, which is reasonable for an air purifier with such low fan power.

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Honeywell HFD230B Power Consumption

One of our most FAQs is “Do air purifiers use a lot of energy?” In fact, we need to run an air purifier for a long time to be efficient.

The Honeywell HFD230B certainly gets its Energy Star rating for being a Honeywell air purifier. It has a rated power of 43 watts, so its performance is quite decent.

For using a Honeywell HFD230B for 8 hours per day, it would cost you up to $16 per year.

Related post: Best air purifiers for pets.

Honeywell HFD230B Additional Features

While being the more expensive air purifier, the Honeywell HFD230B only adds a “light dimmer” feature over the Honeywell HFD-120-Q. For me, it isn’t impressive to ask for $20 more, but it depends on you.

The most signature additional feature of this Honeywell HFD280B is the oscillation function, which I personally like, but this air purifier’s design makes it gather dust on the air outlet more than the old HFD-120-Q.

You still have a LED indicator for filter replacement, which is quite handy for anyone who doesn’t want to stick a note on their air purifiers.

Related posts:

1, Best air purifiers for smoke.

2, Best air purifiers for dust.

3, Best air purifiers for mold.

Honeywell HFD230B Customer Service

Honeywell is a market leader in air purifiers, but its customer service is not as friendly as that of competitors. You can reach customer service via the mailbox at the Honeywell Store at 407 N. Quentin Road, Palatine, Illinois. But I suggest you call 847-701-3038 for any support questions. Or you can email sales@honeywellstore.com for any problems you experience while on the site or after buying a product. Honeywell is available from Monday to Friday.

It doesn’t have free shipping like Rabbit Air or Alen, and you must notify customer service within one business day of any problems with a third-party shipping service like USPS or FedEx. Otherwise, it will not accept liability for any merchandise damage during transit. Also, the shipment can take up to 10 business days from the date that the order is shipped.

The hardest part is when you want to return one Honeywell air purifier, as you only have 30 days from the date you receive your item to process your return. If there is no transit damage or workmanship defects, you won’t receive the shipping charge (on both the original shipping charge and the return shipping charge) and will have to pay a 10–30% re-stocking fee.

Honeywell’s warranty policy is also among the longest in the industry, with up to 5 years of coverage.

Source: Amazon.com

Our verdict

The Honeywell HFD230B isn’t a good pick anymore. If you like the concept of an ifD air filter, the Honeywell HFD-120-Q and Honeywell AirGenius4 Compact are still more affordable and share the same performance. If you demand the highest performance, both the new Honeywell HPA5200 and Honeywell HPA180 are better picks.