Is iRobot Roomba E5 (5150) robot vacuum good for pet? Unique Dual Multi-Surface Rubber Brushes don’t get tangled with pet hair. Brushes adjust & flex to stay in constant contact with carpets & hard floors. High-Efficiency Filter traps 99% of cat & dog allergens. A full suite of advanced sensors allow Roomba to navigate under & around furniture, & along edges. Cliff Detect keeps it from falling down stairs. Get more in iRobot Roomba E5 (5150) robot vacuum review.
In the box
- iRobot Roomba E5 Vacuum
- Charging dock
- Charging cable
- HEPA filter
- 2x rubber brushrolls and bearings
- Dirt compartment
- User guide
Pros & Cons – iRobot Roomba E5 (5150) robot vacuum
PROS
- Strong suction.
- Long battery life.
- Good for low-clearance furniture.
- Support for Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant voice commands.
CONS
- Loud.
- No physical remote or steering controls.
Specifications – iRobot Roomba E5 (5150) robot vacuum
- Type Robot
- Manufacturer iRobot
- Model Roomba e5 (5150)
- Length 13.3″
- Width 13.3″
- Height 3.6″
- Weight 7.2 lbs.
- Floor Type All (indoor)
- Battery 1,800 mAh
- Dust Bin Capacity ~0.5 L
- iAdapt Navigation Yes
- Imprint Smart Mapping No
- Washable Dust Bin (on-board) Yes
- Includes Virtual Wall Yes; One
- Returns Yes (usually), Varies by retailer
- Warranty 1-Year limited
Who is this for – iRobot Roomba E5 (5150) robot vacuum?
I would recommend the Roomba e5 if you’re looking for the following features in a robot vacuum:
- Want a versatile robot vacuum: The Roomba e5 has the ability to travel between hardwoods, tile, carpets, and rugs with ease because of its powerful wheels. If you have home with several changes in floor material, the e5 could be a nice addition.
- Want the ability to set a cleaning schedule: If you’re a fan of schedules, this robot vacuum may be a good fit. The e5 can be scheduled daily, weekly, or just one single time.
- Want strong cleaning performance: This robot vacuum is expected to perform quite well on all indoor floor types.
- Want a newer, less expensive Roomba robot vacuum: Although this is one of Roomba’s newest additions to their robot vacuum line, it is also one of the less expensive models. The relative performance for the price makes the e5 is a solid value overall.
iRobot Roomba E5 (5150) robot vacuum review
Build
The iRobot Roomba E5 has a great build quality. It’s made out of hard plastic, which is glossy on top and a bit on the bumper, and the rest has a matte finish. The vacuum feels sturdy, and while the dirt compartment feels like it could crack if dropped, it’s more solid than the dirt compartment on other vacuums because it’s partially made out of hard matte plastic.
Design
The Roomba e5’s circular black plastic body measures 13.3 inches wide and 3.6 inches high. It’s short enough to make it under most low-clearance furniture, like beds and couches.
The top of the vacuum is home to a silver Clean button in the middle, sandwiched between a Home button to the left and a Spot Clean button to the right.
The buttons on the left and right are the home and spot clean buttons.
- Home button – By pressing this button, the e5 will return back to its home base and begin to charge.
- Spot clean – The spot clean button places the Roomba in spot clean mode, as the name suggests. This means the Roomba e5 will travel in small circles over a particular space until it feels it has completed the cleaning cycle.
Size & Dimensions
With regard to the size of the Roomba e5, not much has changed. Roomba seems to stick closely to a particular shape and size.
How big is the vacuum?
The Roomba e5 is:
- 13.3″ diameter
- 3.6″ tall
- 7.2 pounds
Brushrolls & Brushes
Once you turn the vacuum over, the bottom of the e5 is virtually identical to the new Roomba i7+. The only difference is the Roomba e5 does not contain an automated suction vent but the i7+ does. There are still two rubber brushrolls, three wheels, a spinning brush, dustbin, and battery.
In terms of accessories, the e5 comes with a Home Base charging station. The charging station features an RCON sensor on top (an RCON sensor inside the vacuum itself helps it better detect the base), an IR sensor window, and charging contacts. The e5 is compatible with iRobot’s Dual Mode Virtual Wall Barriers, which cordon off areas you don’t want the vacuum to enter, but they aren’t included in the box. You can purchase them starting at $59.99.
Scheduling
Scheduling the Roomba e5 robot vacuum is one of the neatest features.
How does it work?
Let’s say you’re an extremely busy person who just doesn’t have time to deal with the robot vacuum at all. No problem. The e5 has your back.
With this robot vacuum, users can set a daily / weekly schedule, in addition to a one-time schedule.
- Daily / weekly scheduling – This method of scheduling literally means you have the option of scheduling your Roomba e5 to vacuum your home at a specific time, every day of the week. Whether you are there or not, the Roomba will automatically take off to complete its cleaning cycle without you lifting a finger.
- One-time scheduling – Unlike the daily / weekly scheduling, a one-time schedule is for when you need to have your floors vacuumed on a specific day and don’t want to forget. For example, you may have company coming over, therefore you set a one time schedule a week in advance in order to have the Roomba remember to vacuum your floors before your guests arrive.
App usage
In the middle of the app is a Clean button to start and stop vacuuming, underneath a battery level indicator. When you stop cleaning, a pop-up appears and asks whether you want to resume vacuuming or send the e5 back to the charging dock. The left corner of the app shows notifications, and the right is where you can manage smart home services it’s connected to, like Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant. Once connected, you can use voice commands to start and stop the vacuum, pause it, and send it back to the charger.
Underneath the Clean button are four tabs: Schedule, History, Help, and Settings. When you tap Schedule, you can set the vacuum to automatically clean on a specific day and time. Under History, you’ll find a log of total cleaning jobs, total job time, dirt event count (when the robot has to go over a dirty area multiple times), and recent jobs. If you tap on a specific cleaning session, it tells you the duration, what time it started, the status (complete or canceled), and the dirt event count. Under the Help tab are care and maintenance guides, along with FAQs, the owner’s guide, a quick start card, and warranty information. Finally, Settings is you can change your Wi-Fi information, switch the language, locate a missing vacuum, and perform a factory reset.
Battery life
- Minimum Battery Life 97 min.
- Maximum Battery Life 97 min.
- Recharge Time 96 min.
- Recharge Dock Yes
- Battery Life Indicator Yes
- Removable Batteries Yes
The E5 has outstanding battery life, but it’s less than the iRobot Roomba 675. It lasts over an hour and a half of use and it takes roughly 100 minutes to recharge, which is much faster than alternatives like the Shark IQ Robot, though the latter does have a longer maximum battery life of over 160 minutes.
iRobot Roomba E5 (5150) robot vacuum cleaning performance review
The cleaning performance we saw from the Roomba e5 was extremely impressive. This robot vacuum was able to plow through all four of our debris types, on all three flooring types with ease.
Overall 99%
Hardwood 100%
Low Carpet 99%
High Carpet 99%
Hardwood Floor Cleaning
The hardwood floor tests were no match for the Roomba e5. This robot vacuum was able to dominate all four debris types with a score of 100%.
Cereal 100%
Kitty Litter 100%
Rice 100%
Sugar 100%
Although we do believe the e5 is the replacement for the 890, which seems to be getting phased out of iRobot’s Roomba line, the e5’s performance was shockingly better than the 890.
This may be largely in part due to the newer, more advanced brushrolls used in the e5.
Additionally, the Roomba e5 was able to clean up each debris quite quickly. Although there was no method to the madness, the vacuum moved swiftly and cleaned efficiently.
While the e5 didn’t earn the #1 robot pick (that went to the Roomba S9+) on our best vacuum cleaner for wood floors battle, it’s still worthy of consideration if you have lots of hardwood floors.
Low Pile Carpet Cleaning
Performance on low pile carpet was almost identical to the hardwood floor.
Cereal 100%
Kitty Litter 100%
Rice 100%
Sugar 99%
So there were no issues on the low pile carpet?
The only debris that did not score a perfect 100% was the sugar. That said, the sugar was cleaned up to a level of 99%.
While the sugar may not have hit the perfect 100% cleaned up mark, the remaining 1% was not visible to the eye. After running the test over the carpet one more time, the 1% of remaining sugar was no longer an issue.
High Pile Carpet Cleaning
Last but not least, the high pile carpet tests.
Cereal 100%
Kitty Litter 100%
Rice 100%
Sugar 98%
Much to our surprise, the Roomba e5 dominated the high pile carpet tests. Once again, sugar was the only debris that was not cleaned up to a level of 100%. Yet, it did hit 98%, which is virtually flawless, in our eyes.
Alternate of iRobot Roomba E5 (5150) robot vacuum
Neato Botvac D6 Connected
The Neato Botvac D6 Connected is one of the two robot vacuums that the company introduced at the IFA 2018. It has the LaserSmart navigation technology that allows the robot vacuum to scan your floor and create maps of your room. These maps are used to ensure comprehensive clean of your rooms. The Botvac D6 also shines because of the virtual no-go lines that you can draw on the maps stored on the companion mobile app.
Neato markets the Botvac D6 Connected as its robot vacuum for pet hair. The robot vacuum has a wide brush and strong suction power. It also has a long-lasting battery and can charge itself when the battery runs low. Speaking of charging, you can also enjoy the Quick Boost charging feature that will calculate how much charge your robot vacuum needs to finish a job. Further, the Botvac D6, like the Roomba e5, connects to your WiFi network.
You can buy the Neato Botvac D6 Connected from the manufacturer’s website, as well as Amazon, Best Buy, and other online retailers. It currently has a rating of 4.2 out of 5.0 stars on Amazon.
The Roomba e5 is more affordable than the Neato Botvac D6 Connected, but it does not have the Lasersmart navigation and mapping technology. It also does not have IFTTT compatibility. Aside from that, however, the cleaning and features delivered by the e5 and the Botvac D6 are somewhat similar.
