How Long To Run An Air Purifier
Air purifiers have become extremely popular in recent years due to their ability to free the air of dust, smoke, and allergens. You’ll notice a significant difference in air quality when you use an air purifier. Its simple mechanism can improve the air quality quickly. However, a lot of new users wonder whether they can run the appliance all the time. To your rescue, we’re here to guide you on how long you should run an air purifier.
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How Long Should You Run an Air Purifier?
The short answer to this question is around the clock. Now, let’s elaborate it so you can understand why an air purifier needs to run all day and night. When you turn off the air purifier, it takes about 3 to 4 hours for the air to get contaminated again.
This defeats the purpose of using the appliance if you’re only able to breathe clean air for a certain period during the day. However, you’ll most likely not be at home 24 hours a day due to work. In that case, the air purifier never gets turned off, leading to a high cost of operation.
If you do not mind bearing the high operational cost, you should certainly stick to running the air purifier 24 hours a day. But if you’d like to save money and breathe quality air throughout the majority part of the day, you can calculate the cost as shown below.
Based On Cost
Similar to any electronic appliance, the cost of operation of an air purifier can be calculated by multiplying the following,
Cost of Operation = Consumption x Rate of Electricity x Hours of Use
You can stick to operating it for a certain number of hours every day if you’re satisfied with the calculated cost of operation. With that being said, specific hours of the day are quite suitable to use electronic appliances such as an air purifier. From 9 pm to 9 am, the energy consumption is comparatively low instead of the other 12 hours. This might be beneficial for users who are out of the house most of the time during the day.
However, to filter the air in the room, the appliance needs to keep running; therefore, you can turn it on when you enter your house in the evening. By the time you turn in, you’ll be breathing in clean air. Although ideally, you should run the air purifier 24 hours, you can opt for operating it partially throughout the day. Still, it shouldn’t be less than 12 hours.
Related reading: Do Hepa Filters Have Fiberglass?
Based on Reason for Using the Air Purifier
Some people prefer to use an air purifier to get rid of dust and smoke from the air. In contrast, others do so to eliminate allergens. In case of reducing allergies, you must use the air purifier constantly. But if you just want to clean out the air, you can simply open the windows (if the weather permits). This will allow the airborne pollutants and dust accumulated indoors to escape.
However, this also depends on how the air quality is surrounding your home. So, opt for this if you’re sure that the air where you live isn’t too polluted already. But you can regularly dust your furniture and vacuum the floors to remove the unwanted dust and pollutants from the source.
How Long Does It Take For An Air Purifier To Clean A Room?
On average, an air purifier takes about 30 minutes to 3 hours to purify most of the air in a confined space. The exact time it takes for the appliance to start cleaning the air depends on multiple factors, including the model, the ACH (rate of air changes per hour), the chosen power settings, the airflow capacity, and the filers.
Apart from that, your location and weather play a huge role in determining how long it would take an air purifier to clean a room. For example, there are more pollens in the air during the summer, so it would take the appliance longer to get rid of them.
With that being said, you should notice a change in air quality after 20 minutes of its operation. However, even if the manufacture claims that the entire room will be cleaned within 30 minutes of an air purifier running, you shouldn’t fall for that as that’s completely unrealistic. A minimum of 45 minutes is required for the air to clean out, given that all the mentioned factors are on their best potential.
When Should You Change The Filter In Your Air Purifier?
The workings of an air purifier depend on trapping air pollutants in its filter. Based on the type of filter your air purifier uses, you’ll have to replace them at some point as the effectiveness will reduce over time. For example, a HEPA air filter needs replacement after 6 months or by 1 year. It’s important to replace it with the same type of filter for the appliance to deliver maximum efficiency.
To make matters easier, you can have both the True HEPA Filter and the HEPA-type pre-filter. The latter can be washed and cleaned to use for a more extended period. Plus, the True HEPA Filter works excellent for a long time anyway, especially if it’s not subjected to too many large particles over time.
Related reading: Best Place To Put An Air Purifier
Final Words
Since airborne pollutants dwell on the air round the clock, running the air purifier for a few hours won’t improve the air quality for the rest of the day. Air purifiers constantly clean the air and eliminate dust, allergens, and pollutants. So, when you turn it off, these toxins will be present in the air again. This is why you must run an air purifier 24 hours a day so that you can breathe in clean air constantly.
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