Sharp FX-J80UW Air Purifier: Trusted Review & Specs

This new Sharp FX-J80UW is late for the race of smart air purifiers, but it is a solid option to get in the mid-range segment, considering the high performance and stable running app. At launch, the Sharp FX-J80UW had everything it needed to directly compete with the Rabbit Air MinusA2 – our current best air purifier. With the same top-of-the-line quality, let’s check out our Sharp FX-J80UW Review to see if it’s worth consideration.

The Sharp FX-J80UW has been the best air purifier with high-quality, durable air filtration technology for three years consecutively. Such an amazing air purifier.

Sharp FX-J80UW ranks A+ 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 provide honest reviews (both pros and cons) so that everyone can make the best decisions.
• We do not (and never will) exaggerate one product just to let you click the links and buy that product blindly.

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Sharp, with more than 100 years as one of the top electronics manufacturers in the world, is always the top-of-mind brand when selecting an air purifier for the home. Though the presence of this Japanese company in the U.S. market is still low, with the increase in air purifier models in recent years, we hope to see Sharp become a force like Winix was in the past. The Sharp FX-J80UX is its flagship at the moment, and with more advanced features, we all expect this air purifier to join the list of best air purifiers soon. But first, you should check our Sharp FX-J80UW Review.

Other Sharp’s Air Purifier Reviews:

Sharp FX-J80UW Price

Sharp began a new decade in the U.S. market strongly with two new air purifier models to fill the gaps in both the low-range and mid-range segments. The first Sharp FP-K50UW is suitable to be the newest budget Plasmacluster air purifier from Sharp, while our current Sharp FX-J80UW is expected to be a mid-range contender.

At launch, the Sharp FX-J80UW returns the taste of a common Sharp air purifier, something that is missing from the design of things like the Sharp FP-A80UW or the Sharp KC-860U. It is also the flagship model of this company, bringing Wi-Fi capability to the U.S. for the first time. That is, you will get a powerful air purifier and control it anywhere in your large home.

This large-room air purifier is what the power users have been anxiously waiting to upgrade to, so the Sharp FX-J80UW is a bit pricey, but nowhere near the high-range price of many air purifiers like the Alen BreatheSmart 75i, Molekule Air or Blueair Classic 605. You only need to pay $599 for this air purifier. However, I must warn you that the official price tag of Sharp air purifiers often changes, so you should check our deal for the most accurate result.

If your wallet can handle the Sharp FX-J80UW, you can easily check for the Medify MA-112, Aprilaire Allergy+Pet9550, Airmega 400 or Dyson HP04. Moreover, I recommend that you further research the Dyson Pure Cool Link, Dyson Pure Cool Tower and Dyson Pure Hot+Cool for extra functions besides air purification. The top products of these Dyson air purifier lines are around the same price as our current Sharp FX-J80UW.

Related post: Best air purifier 2023.

Sharp FX-J80UW Design and Size

You’ll like the futuristic-looking design of the new air purifiers best because it gives us the feeling of using a “high-end’ product. Sharp FX-J80UW maximizes the original design concept that you can only find on native Sharp air purifiers for the domestic market, for example Sharp KC-F70-W or Sharp KC-H50-W. It’s impressive-looking but also big and heavy, something that Sharp prepares to show off as it is mainly for large room coverage.

So it is huge, with the height of the Sharp FX-J80UW being 28.7 inches, as big as even the biggest tower air purifiers like the Blue Pure 121, Rowenta Intense Pure Air XL PU6020 or TruSens Z-3000. Of course, as a console air purifier model, this device has a bigger base with 16.4 inches in width and 11.5 inches in depth.

So Sharp keeps topping itself, launching air purifiers with bigger sizes than anything of the past, even bigger than the Sharp FP-A80UW with the same “80” in its name.

What really makes the Sharp FX-J80UW superior is its extra-clean and simple design for a bottom-to-top airflow system concept. It uses a back panel as the pre-filter to cover the air intake. Also, you will find the top louver of the Sharp FX-J80UW to be a lot more stylish than the normal air outlet grills of other air purifiers.

The entire front of this air purifier is clean, with only an iconic Plasmacluster symbol and Sharp logo. It saves the spotlight for the front display of the Sharp FX-J80UW, where you can manage a lot of information about your unit and indoor air quality index. Above the display, there is a much more complex control panel than on other Sharp air purifiers, meaning this flagship packs more additional features.

Let’s see if you can physically manage this air purifier, because the Sharp FX-J80UW is heavy at 24.3 lbs. There are two handles to lift this air purifier, but I find it quite inconvenient to use.

Related post: Best air purifiers for bedroom.

Sharp FX-J80UW Filters

Sharp doesn’t change the exclusive air filtration system a bit, even for the flagship Sharp FX-J80UW. At its core, we have a 3-stage air filtration system, as shown below.

1. Activated Carbon filter – It helps reduce pet odors and smoke, as well as some common household chemicals.
2. True HEPA filter – The True HEPA Filter captures 99.97% of as small as 0.3 microns of particles like pollen, dust, pet dander, smoke, germs, bacteria, viruses, odors, mold, and fungus.
3. Plasmacluster Technology – This technology is one kind of ionizer, which can further reduce the amount of pollutants. Can be switched on/off.

The Sharp FX-J80UW doesn’t need a lot of mechanical air filters because its Plasmacluster is really powerful, as it is different from a normal ionizer. This technology is also similar to the PlasmaWave from Winix products, releasing both negative and positive ions into the air. Therefore, you can consider the giant Winix T1 as one of the Sharp FX-J80UW’s competitors.

While the normal ionizer only emits negative ions to weigh down the pollutants, the Plasmacluster ions can form hydroxyls that decompose the protein and suppress the activity of the viruses. The result of this process is harmless water molecules, which return to the air invisibly.

Plasmacluster ions are proven to be effective by 17 tests made worldwide in the United States, UK, Germany, Japan, South Korea, China, and Vietnam, so we can all trust in the Sharp FX-J80UW. Lab tests show that the Sharp FX-J80UW can reduce 90.2% of MS2 viruses, 94% of E. coli, up to 84.3% of Staphylococcus epidermidis bacteria, and 87.7% of mold and fungus in 4 hours. Also, the Plasmacluster can tackle odors and efficiently support the Activated Carbon filter in trapping odors that are embedded in carpets, draperies, and furniture.

Finally, not all Plasmacluster air purifiers are the same, and the Sharp FX-J80UW is the best air purifier using this exclusive Sharp technology. It has the highest density of 25000 ions/cm³, which is a lot better than common Sharp air purifiers with only 7000 ions/cm³.

Source: Amazon.com

There’s another reason the Sharp FX-J80UW is so powerful: this air purifier uses very high-quality in-house air filters, which are made in Japan. I relish the fact that many popular air purifier brands are relying on Sharp air filters today, and its HEPA air filter can last up to 2 years.

Despite its strong specs, I put the Sharp FX-J80UW through a common test of Breathe Quality, to measure its performance in a room of 300 square feet for 1 hour of running. The result is that our current unit has a very high efficiency of trapping 99.95% of airborne particles down to 0.3 microns. However, the performance is still a bit below Blueair Classic 480i, but the difference is really slight.

We will use the HEPA filter model FZ-J80HFU and the carbon filter model FZ-J80DFU for this Sharp FX-J80UW. Both air filters can last for 2 years, and the cost of the HEPA filter is only $89, so it is actually cheaper than you think. Below is a deal for this air purifier’s filters at the moment, and I hope you can get filter replacement easily.

Related post: Best air purifiers for allergies.

Sharp FX-J80UW Room Coverage

Sharp isn’t so great at delivering air purifiers with high fan power, but the company sent all units to be certified by the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers (AHAM), so you can trust any room size’s suggestion for Sharp products.

It seems Sharp is really smart about the Sharp FX-J80UW’s room coverage, and that’s good news because the capability is actually better than most other products in the Sharp family. The Sharp FX-J80UW is fully capable of covering 502 square feet.

The ACH of Sharp FX-J80UW is 5X. You are more than likely going to have clean air every 12 minutes, which is the best ACH rating for a Sharp air purifier.

The CADR of Sharp FX-J80UW is 334 Dust/ 324 Smoke/ 361 Pollen (cfm). Together with the Sharp FP-A80UW, this is the best air purifier for performance in the whole Sharp family. It is even better than most native air purifiers on the Japanese domestic market.

Related post: Best large room air purifiers.

Sharp FX-J80UW Sound

Here’s the short of it: the LibraryQuiet technology of Sharp is the best among air purifiers in the world. It is especially incredible for the Sharp FX-J80UW, because this flagship has very high fan power.

The Sharp FX-J80UW’s lowest fan power is just like the rustling leaves, with a noise level of only 15 decibels (dB). It is currently the most silent air purifier in the world, with a decent performance at low speeds.

What’s really amazing is how far Sharp has progressed in this year, with the highest noise level of this Sharp FX-J80UW being only 49 decibels. For an AHAM-certified air purifier with a higher CADR rating that matches even high-range machines, the Sharp FX-J80UW’s silent operation is simply perfect.

Related post: Best air purifiers for baby.

Sharp FX-J80UW Power Consumption

One of our most FAQs is “Do air purifiers use a lot of energy?” In fact, air purifiers must be used for a long time to be efficient. And power consumption is one important criterion for reviewing how much energy this air purifier will consume.

The Sharp FX-J80UW is also an Energy Star air purifier, so it is proven to be energy-saving while maintaining high fan power. Its power consumption is about 69 watts, which is a lot better than the previous Sharp FP-A80UW.

For running the Sharp FX-J80UW for 8 hours per day, you need to pay only $25 per year.

Related post: Best air purifiers for pets.

Sharp FX-J80UW Additional Features

The Sharp FX-J80UW sits on top of the Sharp family, so it packs lots of high-end additional features. The most concerning and expected feature is obviously the IoT Wi-Fi enabled feature. IoT (or the Internet of Things) is the word that Sharp wants to use in its latest products, which are not limited to only air purifiers. By giving devices AI (artificial intelligence) capabilities, Sharp connects not only air purifiers but any un-networked products to help users control devices easily.

In short, the Sharp FX-J80UW is one link in a chain of smart devices made recently by the Japanese company. You can connect it to Wi-Fi to manage indoor air quality in real time everywhere. It also reminds you when to change the air filters.

The Sharp FX-J80UW has both dust and odor sensors to detect even the tiniest airborne particles. Reacting to the changes in indoor air quality, this air purifier can enable the Auto Mode to automatically adjust the fan speed to match the environment’s needs.

Moreover, the Sharp FX-J80UW shows you everything you need to know about your home’s air quality. It shows both humidity and temperature on digital displays. You can also check the current wattage information on the front display of this air purifier.

As an air purifier meant for bedroom use, the Sharp FX-J80UW has a light sensor to automatically dim the display light. Also, the sleep mode will make the air purifier run as quietly as possible.

When you are in a hurry to clean your home, you can turn on the Express Clean mode and let the Sharp FX-J80UW go full speed in 60 minutes. It is recommended to use this setting when you turn off the air purifier for a long time.

Together with the Express Clean mode, the Sharp FX-J80UW has a Plasmacluster Ion Spot mode to fully remove adhering odors, germs, and other substances from specific places like a sofa, curtain, or clothes rack. It is only available in this air purifier because it has the highest density of Plasmacluster ions.

Sharp FX-J80UW returns many basic settings from old models, like a child lock function to prevent any changes to settings or a timer to schedule the time off from 1 to 12 hours. There is an auto-resume setting for this air purifier, too, to restore the previous setting, provided that you don’t unplug the device.

Related posts:

1, Best air purifiers for smoke.

2, Best air purifiers for dust.

3, Best air purifiers for mold.

Sharp FX-J80UW Customer Service

Sharp is a huge brand; of course it is. But this brand is not as popular in the U.S. market as it is in the rest of the world. Yes, marketing is one aspect of this unpopularity, but it also implies a difficulty in finding good customer service if you live in the United States.

But don’t worry, as the U.S. subsidiary of Sharp is quite active and would like to hear from you. You can reach its customer service toll-free at 800-237-4277 or via email through the “Product Support” page. Sharp’s customer service is available to you 24/7, every day.

However, for air purifiers, the company only provides a 1-year warranty. For most situations, I believe this warranty is enough to cover your device.

Our verdict

The Sharp FX-J80UW is the best air purifier with smart features from a Japanese company that you can buy. It’s artfully designed like the original devices of Sharp, making it manageable and very stylish. It has the world’s best Plasmacluster ionizer, verified high fan power, and even quieter operation than any previous air purifier.

But the potential of this Sharp FX-J80UW and its main selling point is the IoT Wi-Fi Capability feature. For the first time, we have a fully smart Sharp air purifier, and that is what you need to get over the one negative: its high price. The Sharp FX-J80UW has everything it needs to go head-to-head with any high-range air purifiers at the moment, and I would love to see it compete in our list of the best air purifiers.