Jya Fjord Air Purifier Review: Breathing Clean Air in Style

One of the many things COVID-19 made us acutely aware of is the air we breathe in and out every single second we are awake or asleep. Whether you are in private space, public space, or outdoors, it has made us think that the air we breathe in may contain tiny particles, invisible to our naked eyes, that can harm our health or even cause death. No air purifier will eliminate all the air pollutants in your home completely. But used properly, air purifiers can eliminate or reduce harmful particles in the air, improving the quality of air and thus improving the quality of life. Air purifiers are sometimes nice to have if you have allergies or are concerned with air quality in your space, but they may also be almost essential for healthier living. Here we review the Jya Fjord air purifier to check if it can handle the demands of a small office space.

Designer: Jya

Jya, a sub-brand of environmental home appliance giant Samrtmi, answers the growing concerns about air quality at home, combining Smartmi’s experience in air purification technology with clean design. Jya Fjord air purifier is a little sibling of Jya Fjord Pro, sort to speak. The Fjord Pro is for larger rooms with an area of 409 ft² to 710 ft². The Fjord, on the other hand, is for a smaller space with a size of 333 ft² to 581 ft². Other than the intended room size and appearance, both the Fjord Pro and Fjord air purifiers are similar in specs and share the same filter type, air quality monitoring indexes, and smart connectivity. For our review purposes, we test the air purifier in our approximately 350 ft² office room.

Aesthetics

Jya Fjord distinguishes itself from ubiquitous white boxy air purifiers. Fjord packs innovative technology in a sleek design, measuring 10.23 x 11.41 x 21.06 inches (or 290 x 260 x 535 mm) and weighing approximately 18.6 pounds (or 6.5 kg). A matte space gray color with bronze accents for the air outlet grid outline, the logo on the front upper left, and the release buttons on each side give this home appliance a sense of elegance. The round corners of the device and a circular OLED touch display add a touch of softness to an otherwise utilitarian look.

You can check the real-time air quality measurements, temperature, humidity, and filter life on the circular OLED touch display positioned at the front top-right corner. Changing modes, adjusting display brightness, setting up WiFi, and enabling or disabling UV lighting for filter cleaning can also be done on the OLED touch display. Although the touch display is small (roughly 1.5 inches), it is intuitive and responsive.

Fjord has air inlets in the front and back of the device, with an outlet grill situated at the top. Temperature and humidity sensors, as well as the gas sensor, are positioned on the back, something you might have to keep in mind when looking for a place to put the air purifier. Attention to design even extends to the power adaptor, which echos the shape of the air purifier with round corners and a matte finish texture.

Ergonomics

Aside from the power button on the back of the device, there are no physical buttons or dedicated remote control for operating the machine. You can monitor and control the Fjord from your phone via an app as well as through the small OLED touch display on the device. Setting it up is pretty easy.

Replacing the Fjord’s filter is also a breeze. Press the pair of release buttons on each side to lift the top unit, then take out the cylindrical filter housed in the bottom unit. Pop the new filter in, put the top unit back on, and off you go for cleaner air inside the room.

Although Fjord is not equipped with handles, the four wheels at the bottom make it easy to move this rather heavy air purifier when you want to vacuum the spot or cart it from room to room. The wheels move smoothly in any direction, making it effortless to reposition the air purifier.

Sustainability

Energy efficiency is one parameter of measuring the impact the product has on our precious resources. Fjord’s rated wattage of 48W is less than a typical 42-inch LED TV and right around the average power consumption for air purifiers. Depending on your typical consumption at home, the air purifier won’t add too much of a burden on your finances, though you’ll have to take into consideration how long you’ll have it turned on per day. Your usage will most likely be seasonal and situational, so you might want to take that into account when budgeting both your power consumption as well as your electricity bill.

Air purifiers are meant to be used for many years, but most air purifiers on the market come with filters that have to be replaced regularly. As HEPA filters are usually made of unrecyclable materials like fiberglass or polyester, the filter cannot be recycled and end up in a landfill. Jya Fjord also uses a HEPA filter that needs to be replaced from time to time, so that is sadly a point against it.

Unfortunately, the air purifier itself is also made with your usual mix of materials, including lots of plastic for the electronics as well as the body itself. It is the “standard” of appliances of this kind and doesn’t exactly help the situation now that air purifiers have become more common. It might take a few more iterations before this still niche market becomes more attentive to the harm they pose to the environment in the long run while also trying to protect human lives. Sustainability of the device itself.

Performance

Jya Fjord claims to clean air up to 581ft² (54m²) every hour with a Clean Air Delivery Rate (CADR) of 450m3/h while monitoring five air qualities – PM10, PM2.5, TVOC, temperature, and humidity – with built-in sensors. The air sucked in from the front and back of the device is cleaned in three phases. First, the pre-filter traps large messes like dust and pollen. Next, the pre-filtered air goes through what Jya calls the “NanoGuard” HEPA filter, which captures particulate matter as small as 0.1 μm. Then, the activated carbon layer neutralizes odors and harmful gasses such as tobacco smoke and formaldehyde. According to the manufacturer, Fjord can filter out 99.97% of particles 0.3 μm and is equipped with a UV sterilization system.

When I vacuumed near the air purifier, the air quality readings went up slightly and came back down after only a few minutes. I also observed that the dusty smell I usually noticed when I vacuum was absent with Fjord running. In short, it was clearly doing its job and doing it well.

Fjord can be run at four different modes: auto, manual, sleep, and extreme speed. The noise air purifiers make can be annoying, especially considering that most of us use air purifiers around the clock. The Jya Fjord, in contrast, runs very quietly, so holding a conversation or getting work done should be easy enough. The noise level drops even as low as 18.8 dB in sleep mode. However, when the device detects airborne particle matter in the air or is set at extreme speed, it becomes pretty loud, and the noise level could reach as high as 66 dB at the maximum.

To help you get a good night’s sleep with cleaner air, Fjord’s display goes completely dark when you set it to sleep mode. Dead-silent sleep mode and an entirely dark display make it perfect for use in bedrooms.

Fjord can be controlled with Smartmi’s app called Smartmi Link, which is available on both iOS and Android. It is also compatible with Google Assistant Alexa, and even works with Apple HomeKit. Smartmi Link is straightforward, but if you don’t want to mess with the app or smart assistants, you can simply use it by itself with no inconvenience.

Value

There are many factors to consider when choosing an air purifier, but one thing you should not ignore besides the price of the device itself is the running costs. All air purifiers require regular filter replacement and those filters can be costly. The Fjord is currently retailed for $349 (or 369 Euros) on Jya’s website. The filter replacement for Fjord costs you $59 (59 euros), and with the recommended filter replacement every six months, the running cost comes up to $118 annually, which is much lower than most air purifiers in the same category.

Verdict

Jya Fjord packs solid features you would want for an air purifier with a modern design. With smart home compatibility, including Apple HomeKit, claimed filter capability, and minimalistic form, it is certainly an attractive choice for anyone looking to improve the air quality in their home without sacrificing aesthetics. We definitely would have preferred something with a more sustainable design, but Jya is simply playing by the market rules, at least for now. There’s definitely a lot of potential in this aspect of this fast-growing market, and we look forward to the time when air purifiers also become more conscious of the environment that they’re trying to keep clean.