On average, air purifiers use between 30 to 100 watts of power—similar to what your laptop or ceiling fan uses—which can increase with larger units or those operating at higher settings. Models with higher energy ratings generally consume more electricity to deliver faster or more thorough air cleaning.
An air purifier running 24/7 would use around 15-20 kWh per month, or around 0.5 kWh per day. It's not going to be a significant contributor to your usage.
When running 24/7, most HEPA air purifiers rated 50 to 100 watts per hour would only set you back around $4 to $10 monthly or $72 to $120 in a year.
Standard room air purifiers, when operated continuously, can use up to 550 kWh of electricity each year. The total cost to run an air purifier depends not only on which model you choose, but also on how you operate it.
What are the downsides of air purifiers? There aren't a lot of downsides to having an air purifier in your home aside from the financial investment. Many ionizers, especially older models, can generate ozone when they are operating, which is known to exacerbate asthma.
Ozone-Generating Air Cleaners
One mechanism of damage results from ozone-olefin reactions, and another from ozone reacting with electron donors (such as glutathione). Inhalation of relatively small amounts of ozone can cause coughing, chest pain, throat irritation, and shortness of breath.
As you can see, the drawbacks of leaving your air purifier on all the time are minimal. It's perfectly safe to keep the device running continuously, and the amount of energy it consumes is very small.
Yes, we recommend running your air purifier 24/7, depending on the season, or your needs.
Heating and cooling: 45-50%
The largest electricity consumer in the average household is your heating and cooling appliance. By a long shot. Central air conditioners and heaters use tons of energy in order to keep your home set to the right temperature.
Finally, to calculate the cost, multiply the daily kWh by the cost of electricity per kWh, which you can find on your local utility bill. If electricity costs $0.12 per kWh, running your air purifier for 10 hours a day would cost you 0.6 kWh * $0.12 = $0.072 per day, or approximately $2.16 per month. Wow, that's cheap!
Keep your device away from moisture or areas with high humidity. Place your device at least 6 inches from walls, furniture, or other items while in use. Place your air purifier near the most likely source of indoor air pollution. Consider investing in an air purifier that shuts off automatically with a timer.
Mold is an obvious health risk in any home, but investing in an air purifier can help limit your exposure. The best among them will ideally offer HEPA-level filtration, with this level of filtration being able to trap up to 99.97% of airborne particles down to 0.3 microns in diameter.
As a rule of thumb, Air Purifiers are reasonably cheap to run. Their power consumption generally depends on the size and power of the unit. Smaller, cheaper units such as the Levoit Core 300 uses 33 watts. This would equate to 27p a day and is considered on the cheaper end as far as appliances are concerned.
Over time, these filters accumulate dirt and debris, leading to obstructed airflow. When the airflow is hindered, your HVAC system must exert more effort, consuming more energy than usual to maintain your home's comfort levels, leading to increased utility bills.
Air purifiers assist in eliminating household dust by helping to clean and purify the air in the home. Dyson's advanced purification machines are engineered with technology that traps dust before it settles on your furniture and floors. Dyson purifiers capture 99.95% of dust and ultrafine particles1.
How much electricity does a TV use? Generally, TVs use between 50 to 200 watts (W) of electricity, depending on the model. Most TVs use less than one amp and connect to a 120-volt outlet. Older TVs that use technology such as Plasma and CRT are much less efficient compared to newer LED and LCD TVs.
What costs the most on your electric bill? Heating and cooling are by far the greatest energy users in the home, making up around 40% of your electric bill. Other big users are washers, dryers, ovens, and stoves. Electronic devices like laptops and TVs are usually pretty cheap to run, but of course, it can all add up.
Room air cleaners are portable, electric appliances that remove fine particles, such as dust and pollen, from indoor air. A standard room air cleaner, operating continuously, uses approximately 450 kWh per year in electricity. This is more than the energy used by some new refrigerators!
An air purifier and specific filters effectively eliminate harmful gases and unwanted odors from your indoor environment. A standard particle filter is not designed to remove gases and odors. For gas and odor removal, the air purifier should be equipped with a filter that includes activated carbon.
This is why most manufacturers will recommend you to leave your air purifier running all day, especially if it comes equipped with an automatic setting. This setting allows your device to monitor the quality of your air in your home for you and to adjust its speed depending on the levels of pollutants that it detects.
Dyson purifiers are optimal when left switched on in auto-mode. This allows the purifier to constantly monitor your air quality, and automatically sense and capture pollutants.
Headaches, sore throat, coughing, Asthma attacks, and difficulty breathing are a few of the symptoms that can be brought on by some air purifiers. Yes, that's right. Your air purifier may actually aggravate many of the health issues you hoped it would solve.
Specialists recommend placing the device on the floor, because it is near the ground that there is a higher concentration of pollutants. Setting it on a shelf can significantly reduce the filtration efficiency. An important issue is also where not to place the air purifier.
Overall, removing contaminants from the air will not have a negative impact on sleep. Here at Molekule we recommend keeping your purifier on at all times so it cleans the air as much as possible. If the white noise is too loud all our units have variable speeds to balance efficiency and sound.