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!
Regardless of where you live, the good news is, air purifiers do not use a lot of electricity to operate.
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.
Most air purifiers consume between 30 and 250 watts of electricity, with the average unit using around 50 watts. To put this into perspective, a typical 60-watt incandescent light bulb uses more energy than many air purifiers.
Is it safe to run an air purifier all the time? Residential air purifier systems are designed to run continuously, so there is no danger in keeping them running, even when you are out of the house or asleep.
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.
Benefits of Running an Air Purifier All Day
Probably the biggest benefit of keeping an air purifier on at all times is having constant and continual control of airborne pollutants and allergens, which carries numerous other benefits.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
You can leave your air purifier running on a 24-hour basis. Most air purifiers are able to filter all the air in a room in 30 minutes to two hours, however, more pollutants can enter your house at any time.
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.
Do You Need an Air Purifier in Every Room? While having an air purifier in every room of your home can be beneficial, it's not always necessary. You might wonder how to think about whether to use multiple air purifiers.
The Givoni or Woods diagrams show a direct relationship between air speed and the drop in temperature felt by users of the room. In this case, a ceiling fan will consume between 20 and 50 watts (still a long way from the consumption of an air-conditioning system (800 to 1500 watts, i.e. 30 to 40 times more).
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.
According to the U.S. Department of Energy, standby power accounts for as much as 5% to 10% of residential energy use, and homeowners could save $100 to $200 each year on utility bills by unplugging devices that aren't in use.
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.
Ensure your air purifier has enough clearance around it to function optimally. Avoid placing it behind furniture or in tight corners where airflow might be restricted. Ideally, there should be at least 3-5 feet of clear space around the unit to allow for unimpeded air intake and output.
Medical professionals suggest prioritizing maintaining a clean home and frequently sanitizing frequently used surfaces. Air purifiers should just be an accessory to your cleaning routine, not a priority.
However, in general, the duration of use required depends on the size of your space and the amount of indoor pollution (which varies throughout the year). 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.
We recommend elevating it no higher than 5 feet off the ground, and this can be done by placing the air purifier on a piece of furniture, such as a dresser. To save space while increasing the floor-to-ceiling cleaning efficiency, look into getting a wall mountable air purifier, like the MinusA2 or the A3.
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.