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Coway 1512HH Air Purifier Review

Derek Hales

Written By: Derek Hales

Updated on:

The Coway Mighty 1512HH air purifier is a compact purifier that doesn’t look like an air purifier. It has a smaller body style, simple controls, and intelligent air quality detection.

Learn more about the details of this air purifier right here — let’s get started!

A Compact, Modern Purifier

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Coway Air Purifier

The Coway Mighty air purifier has a smaller footprint, but can tackle up to 360 sq ft. of area coverage and also includes real-time air quality assessment. If you’re looking for a compact purifier, but don’t want to sacrifice area coverage or performance, the Coway could be a soild option.Check Price

Pros

  • 4-stage filtration (washable pre-filter, carbon filter, HEPA filter, and built-in Ion filter)
  • Real time indoor air quality monitor, displayed with color-changing LEDs
  • Automatically adjusts fan speed, based on indoor air quality

Cons

  • Lacks smart features

RELATED Best air purifiers we’ve tested and reviewed

Coway 1512HH Design

The design of the Coway Mighty air purifier is simple and user friendly. From the front of the unit, it barely resembles an air purifier.

Full review of the Coway Mighty air purifier
Coway air purifier – Mighty 1512HH

The Coway air purifier comes in two different two-tone color schemes:

  1. Black body with silver accents
  2. White body with bronze accents (seems to be no longer available)

We ordered the white body with bronze accents, but as you can see from the photos, have silver accents. We’re not sure if this is an older color scheme or a new one.

All controls are located on the top of the purifier and air intake / output is located along the sides.

Coway AP 1522HH air purifier magnetic panel
Magnetic front panel on the Coway AP 1522HH air purifier

The design of the front panel has a magnetic closure that allows easy access to the filters for maintenance. This purifier uses a 4-stage filtration process: pre-filter, carbon filter, HEPA filter, and an optional air ionizer.

Controls

Controls on the Coway air purifier are fairly exhaustive and provide quite a few options as far as customization. From left to right, here’s what the Coway purifier contains:

  1. Power button: turns the purifier on or off
  2. Fan speed: offers 5 different modes; auto, eco, and 1, 2, or 3 — with varying degrees of air output
  3. Ionizer: turns the ionizer function on / off; negative charged ions will disperse into the air and bond to particulate in the air, helping to remove it. FAQ – Are Ionizer’s Safe?
  4. Timer: set a timer for 2, 4, or 8 hours where the purifier will operate at pre-determined setting for the allotted amount of time
  5. Filter reset: notifies you when it’s time to replace your filter (HEPA and / or carbon odor)
  6. Real-time air quality: measures and reports on current indoor air quality using an LED-light display
Control panel for the Coway 1512HH air purifier
Controls on the Coway AP 1512HH air purifier

Real-time air quality

Specifically, let’s talk about the real-time air quality for a second. Sensors in this air purifier allow it to detect current air quality and know when it’s time to get to work.

Air quality will be displayed using an LED light.

  • Blue = good air quality
  • Purple = moderate air quality
  • Red = poor air quality

Furthermore, if the Coway air purifier detects poor air quality, it can automatically adjust fan speeds to better suit the current conditions, turning the fans higher or lower as needed.

When the purifier recognizes good quality air, it will automatically switch into “eco mode” to save energy and power.

Filters

This air purifier has a 4-stage filter process.

  1. Pre-filter
  2. Carbon filter
  3. HEPA filter
  4. Ionizer
Coway air purifier filtration process
Coway filters – air purifier
  1. The pre-filter is designed to capture the largest particulate, like pet dander, pet hair, dirt or dust, etc. By capturing the largest debris here, the more finate filters, like HEPA and carbon will be more efficient.
  2. The carbon filter helps to neutralize and eliminate odors from the air, like smoke, food, or other offensive smells.
  3. The HEPA filter uses traditional HEPA design to capture particulate down to 0.3 micros. For reference, a single piece of hair is around 50 microns so this filter can really hone in on the smallest airborne particles.
  4. The air ionizer is an optional feature that releases negatively charged ions into the air which then bond to particulate in the air and eliminate it.
Coway AP 1512HH air purifier
Coway AP 1512HH air purifier

Modes

There are a variety of different purifier modes available on the Conway AP 1512HH, ranging in air output speed. The five available modes include:

  • Auto mode: In auto mode, the purifier will assess indoor air quality and select the most appropriate fan speed to best increase air quality. Once the air quality has returned to “good”, it will settle into “Eco mode”, which uses the least amount of energy.
  • Eco mode: Eco mode is the most energy-efficient mode of purification and it best for maintaining good air quality, not particularly for improving medium or poor air quality.
  • 1 – Low: Low mode is best for medium or good air quality, as it operates at a lower fan speed and is also quieter.
  • 2 – Medium: Medium mode runs the fan at a higher speed and is good for tackling medium or poor air quality.
  • 3 – High: High mode offers the highest output of air flow and fan speed and is designed for improving poor indoor air quality.

Size & Dimensions

The Coway 1512HH air purifier is a fairly compact, rectangle shape with rounded corners.

The exact dimensions are listed below:

  • Length: 9.6″
  • Width: 16.8″
  • Height: 18.3″
  • Weight: 12.79 pounds
Dimesnions of the Coway air purifier
Size of the Coway Mighty air purifier

Accessories & Parts

The Coway Mighty air purifier comes with a basic assortment of parts and really no extra accessories. You essentially get all of the things you’ll need for basic use.

What’s in the box?

  • Coway Mighty AP 1512HH air purifier
  • Pre-filter
  • HEPA filter
  • Carbon filter

The biggest thing I wish it included was a remote control.

RELATED – Want an air purifier with a remote control? Check out the Dyson Pure Cool TP04 for easy control from afar.

Coway Performance

Air quality improvement is the most important aspect of any air purifier’s performance.

For a good assessment of how well a purifier performs, we put it to the test. Our test basically involved comparing a baseline air qualtiy ready to the reading after running the purifier for 60 minutes in a closed room.

In the results, we’re comparing the air quality index and PM (2.5 and 10) to get a good idea of how much cleaner the air is.

air quality index - PM 2.5 particulate matter index

What is PM?

PM stands for “Particulate Matter”. This measurement can be divided into two cateorgies, PM10 and PM2.5.

  • PM 10 = particulate matter that is 10 micrometers and smaller
  • PM 2.5 = particulate matter that is 2.5 micrometers and smaller

We perform these tests in our home-based testing lab, meaning that the air is much like the air you’d find in most average homes. For example, we have a dog, a baby, and seasonal allergens that come and go.

How do we test?

To start the test, we begin with a baseline measurement, using a Temtop LKC-1000S+ professional air quality detector. 

Once we’ve documented the baseline air quality, we run the purifier in a closed room and document the change in air quality after 60 minutes is up.

fan blades on the Coway air purifier
Internal fan / motor on the Coway air purifier

Here’s what our Coway Mighty AP 1512HH tests showed:

Initial Baseline

  • PM 2.5: 3.1
  • PM 10: 5.4
  • Particles: 234
  • AQI: 13

After 1 Hour

  • PM 2.5: 0.3
  • PM 10: 0.3
  • Particles: 34
  • AQI: 0

Within 1 hour, the Coway removed 85% of air particulates from the medium-sized room we tested in (approx. 12’x12′) and improved PM 2.5 air quality by 90%.

Setup & Usability

Setup on the Coway AP 15122H purifier was easy and quick.

To get going right out of the box:

  1. Unbox the purifier and remove all packaging.
  2. Install the filters.
  3. Plug the purifier in.
  4. Turn the purifier on.

It was really painless and because there is an auto mode, I didn’t even have to think about which fan speed / mode was the most appropriate.

Coway Maintenance

Maintenance on the Coway looked basically the same as what the maintenance of any air purifier is. One word — FILTERS.

Proper maintenance of the filters helps ensure that the air is cleaned as efficiently as possible.

On the Coway, the pre-filter is washable which limits replacement filters to just the:

  1. HEPA filter
  2. Carbon filter
Coway purifier filters - AP 1215HH
Side view of the Coway air purification filters

To make it even easier, the Coway will let you know when it’s time to replace these filters for optimal performance.

REALTEDRabbit Air MinusA2 review.

Is the Coway a worth it?

Concerning overall value, we look at a number of
factors — namely design, features, filtration, performance, and usability /
maintenance.

Coway air purifier review
Coway shown

We then compare these specs to the overall price to help determine if this
purifier is worth the money. With the Coway, I would say that Coway is worth it and a good value for the money.

It’s an ideal purifier if you plan to turn it on high or auto mode and then basically ignore it until it’s time to change the filter.

Because the price point is so reasonable you don’t get smart home integration, smartphone control, or a remote control. But what you do get is solid air purification, which as we said above, is the most important.

Coway 1512HH Specifications

Specifications
ManufacturerCoway
ModelMighty - AP 1512HH
Width (inches)9.6"
Depth (inches)16.8"
Height18.3"
Weight12.79 pounds
Filters4-stage (pre-filter, HEPA, carbon, and ionizer)
Wifi CompatibleNo
Area Coverage ~360 sq ft.
ReturnsVaries by retailer
Warranty3-Year limited
PriceCheck Price

Should You Buy the Coway Air Purifier?

The Coway Mighty AP 1512HH air purifier is a compact purifier with a bit of a different look compared to other models. The price isn’t unreasonable and it did a good job of cleaning the air in our test room.

Overall, I would recommend the Coway Mighty AP 1512HH if you’re looking for the following features in an air purifier:

  • Real-time air quality assessment: The Coway has the intelligence to detect real-time air quality and determine which purification mode would be best. As air quality improves, it will automatically lower the setting until it is running in “Eco mode”, which is the most efficient and energy-friendly mode available.
  • Air ionization: Air ionization involves distributing negatively charged ions into the air which then bond to airborne particulate and debris at a molecular level, neutralizing or eliminating the particles entirely
  • Clean aesthetic: For an air purifier with simple controls and a clean design that doesn’t scream “I’M AN AIR PURIFIER”, the Coway could be a good choice. It is relatively compact and with the air input / output designed into the sides of the unit, it allows the front of the purifier to maintain a sense of simplicity.

To learn more or to buy the Coway air purifier, check it out here.

Good Value, Good Performance
  • Design - 94%
    94%
  • Performance - 98%
    98%
  • Quality - 94%
    94%
  • Usability - 95%
    95%
  • Value - 95%
    95%
95%

Summary

The Coway Mighty AP 1512HH air purifier is a compact purifier that can clean the air in rooms up to 360 sq ft. It has simple controls, offers real-time air quality assessment, and also includes an air ionizer for a 4-stage filtration process. If you’re looking for a good performing, compact purifier, that won’t break the bank, the Coway Mighty could be the right purifier for you.

About Derek Hales

Derek HalesDerek Hales is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of ModernCastle.com. He has been featured in Fast Company, Reader's Digest, Business Insider, Realtor.com, She Knows, and other major publications. Derek has a Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration from Kansas State University. Hales has been testing and reviewing products for the home since 2014.