Just in time for April Fool's Day, IKEA has announced an air purifier for a whopping $55. I don't know if it will make the best air purifier list, but at this price, it might not be a problem.

The Förnuftig ("Sensible" in Swedish) air purifier looks like a small work of art when hung on the wall and like a Scandinavian speaker when placed on the floor. In addition to a HEPA-like filter that screens out small particles, the unit includes a pre-filter that catches hair and large dust particles.

Förnuftig will be available on the IKEA US website and in IKEA US stores beginning April 1, 2021. Priced at $54.99, Förnuftig has been available in China since last fall, according to IKEA.

An activated carbon filter ($9.99) that absorbs odors, gases, and volatile organic compounds (gasoline, new vinyl, etc.) is also available as an option; behind the HEPA-like filter on the Förnuftig itself is a space for a gas filter.

Running costs are the main attraction here. Replacement filters for other air purifiers cost $20 to $60, but Förnuftig's filters are much cheaper. Förnuftig's filters are replaced a little more frequently, but not enough to make up the difference.

The Förnuftig has a rather nice appearance, quite different from the futuristic monoliths that most air purifiers resemble. The rectangular body is black and white, but what stands out is the attractive tweed-like gray fabric pre-filter on the front. This pre-filter can be removed and cleaned with a vacuum cleaner, but the two filters behind it must be replaced every four months.

The Förnuftig is approximately 12" wide, 18" long, and 4" deep. (The air intake is on the side, not the back.) However, it can be attached to an included stand for floor mounting and has a carrying handle.

According to IKEA, the FÖRNUFTIG can effectively clean the air in a 108-square-foot room; the FÖRNUFTIG is not much use in a living room, but it might work in your youngest child's room or a guest bedroom.

Compare this optimal room size to the $90 Levoit LV-H132, which can handle 129 square feet, or the $100 PureZone 3-in-1, which can handle 200 square feet. The latter is the average size of a North American master bedroom, but the bedrooms in the newer McMansions are much larger.

Förnuftig's Clean Air Delivery Rate (CADR), or air treatment capacity, is a bit confusing because the press package for IKEA air purifiers uses the European cubic meter per hour, while we Americans use the cubic feet per minute (CFM) method. It's a little confusing.

At Förnuftig's maximum fan speed, the European CADR is 140 m3/hour, while the conversion formula provided by Google gives the US CADR as about 82 CFM. However, digging into the Förnuftig product page on the IKEA website, the maximum CADR is listed as only 70 CFM.

In any case, this is on the low side: the $100 PureZone 3-in-1 has a CADR of 80 CFM, while the aforementioned $90 Levoit LV-H132 has a maximum of 110 CFM The EPA recommends a minimum CADR of 65 CFM for even the smallest rooms.

The Förnuftig has three fan speeds. According to the IKEA brochure, the lowest speed is "quiet enough for sleep" (29 dB according to the instruction manual); the Förnuftig's instruction manual lists them at 49 dB and 60 dB, respectively, the higher of which is normal room conversation volume.

According to Förnuftig's user manual, the three fan speeds consume about 1.5, 6.5, and 14 watts, respectively. A home Internet router consumes up to 15 watts and a smartphone charger consumes between 5 and 7 watts.

If your Förnuftig has both a carbon filter and a HEPA-like filter, and you replace them every 4 months with a bean, that would be about $46 per year. If you omit the carbon filter (which you probably won't need), it drops to $16 per year.

By comparison, a regular air purifier with a HEPA or HEPA-like filter replaced every six months would cost $40 to $120 per year.

The pre-filter attached to the front of the Förnuftig can be vacuumed after removal; HEPA-like filters and activated carbon gas filters need to be replaced every four months; LED lights on top of the FÖRNUFTIG indicate when to replace them .