Using an air purifier doesn't mean you have to take shorter showers or ride your bike to work to offset your energy use. You may be surprised to learn that Alen air purifiers are ENERGY STAR certified and use less electricity than larger household appliances like refrigerators, washing machines, or HVAC systems. You also don't have to worry about running your Alen air purifier continuously because its energy usage is modest. That’s right—you can breathe consistently clean air all day every day without a notable impact on your electric bill. By understanding how much energy your air purifier consumes and how to optimize its indoor use, you can be the hero of your home and an environmental champion!
Factors that Affect An Air Purifier’s Energy Consumption
In simple ways, you can maximize the efficiency of your air purifier while minimizing your electricity costs. Consider the room’s square footage, the Clean Air Delivery Rate (CADR), the duration of operation, the unit’s energy consumption, and the use of smart settings to influence how much electricity your air purifier will use. Let’s dive into each of these factors.
Square Footage of the Room
The size of the room in which you place the air purifier makes a difference. For instance, it takes more effort for your home air purifier to clean an entire living room compared to a guest bathroom. So, to maximize efficiency, match the air purifier’s capacity to the room’s square footage. Using an air purifier that’s too small for a large room can be inefficient since the unit will have to work harder and longer to clean the air. Note that this mismatch may strain your air purifier, potentially reducing its lifespan. However, if you get a larger unit like Alen’s 75I, it will still use a small amount of electricity in a small space since you can run it at a low fan speed and still keep the space clean. Actually, if you run the 75i in a small room at high speed, it uses less than 45W at its top fan speed. That’s amazing! That’s why we recommend you keep your air purifier running 24/7 at the highest fan speed that sounds comfortable to you.
Clean Air Delivery Rate (CADR)
Did you know there’s a way to measure clean air delivery rates? CADR is a metric used to measure how effectively an air purifier can clean a given space. Hang tight—we promise not to get overly technical. Specifically, the CADR rating quantifies the volume of air—in cubic feet per minute (CFM)—that an air purifier can cleanse the room of pollutants, including smoke, pollen, and dust. Each pollutant receives its own CADR rating. The higher the CADR rating, the faster the air purifier can clean the air in the room. What does this mean for you? The faster rate is important for larger spaces in your home or highly polluted areas, such as kitchens. However, there’s something else we want you to know—air purifiers with a high CADR rating typically require more power to operate as they are designed to move and filter more air faster. So, while you may be getting quicker and more effective air cleaning, more energy is used. Be sure to match the CADR with the room size to balance these factors. To better understand how this rating works, check out our guide on what CADR means in air purifiers.
How Many Hours the Air Purifier Runs
We recommend that you keep the unit running all the time. And why is that? Well, fine particulates quickly come back when the air purifier is turned off. For context, electricity usage is a minor factor in the cost of air purifier ownership. The cost to run Alen’s largest unit, the 75i, on its top fan speed 24/7 for a year is likely less than $50. Customers typically run the unit on speed 2 or 3, so the average cost is likely less than $25 for an entire year.
While many air purifiers are meant to run continuously to ensure consistent air quality, it’s not always necessary to run the unit at full capacity all day. You may want to run the air purifier during peak pollution hours, such as high-traffic times or when allergens are most present. Conveniently, we’ve updated our app to incorporate a scheduler. You can now schedule the fan speed of your Alen air purifier—except for the legacy units like the Classic and FIT50—through our user friendly app. How cool is that!
Energy Consumption
We want you to know that an air purifier’s energy consumption can vary widely depending on the model and its energy efficiency rating. 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. Alen’s energy-efficient air purifiers are certified by ENERGY STAR, significantly reducing operational costs. Designed to use less energy without compromising performance, our ENERGY STAR units are cost and environmentally conscious—a win-win for your wallet and the planet!
Smart Air Purifier Settings
Don’t you love smart technology? The easiest way to minimize energy consumption is to let the device do it for you. Yes! Alen’s 45i and 75i units have smart features designed to optimize energy automatically. One of the most valuable settings is the auto mode, which adjusts the fan speed based on real-time air quality data. Using auto mode means the purifier ramps up to higher speeds only when necessary, reducing energy consumption during periods of lower pollution. At Alen, we offer advanced smart technology, including a Smart Sensor and night mode, to make your experience even more convenient. The smart sensors continuously monitor air quality, ensuring that the air purifier operates at the most efficient level. The night mode reduces fan noise and energy use during sleep hours. With Alen’s smart features, we monitor your indoor air so you don’t have to. You can focus on relaxing and getting a great night’s sleep!
Comparing Energy Use: Air Purifiers vs. Other Appliances
| Appliance | Average Wattage (W) | Estimated Annual Energy Use (kWh) |
| Air Purifier | 30-100 | 200-400 |
| Refrigerator | 100-800 | 600-1600 |
| Washing Machine | 500-1500 | 300-500 |
| Television (LED) | 50-150 | 100-300 |
| Desktop Computer | 100-250 | 200-600 |
The energy use chart helps to visualize our point. Compared to other common household appliances, air purifiers are relatively low in energy consumption. The difference is striking, isn’t it? A refrigerator or washing machine consumes significantly more energy than an air purifier, which typically uses a fraction of energy in comparison—between 30 to 100 watts, translating to 200 to 400 kWh annually depending on your usage. Who knew? Air purifiers are a cost-effective option for creating your optimal indoor air quality. Considering the potential energy savings with Alen’s smart settings and energy-efficient models, you can rest assured knowing you’re breathing clean indoor air without blowing your budget.
How to Calculate an Air Purifier’s Electricity Cost
You don't need high-order math skills to determine the electricity cost of running your air purifier. You just need Alen. We’ll take you through step by step how to calculate this cost, which starts with identifying the wattage of your air purifier that’s listed in the product specifications. For example, let’s estimate that your Alen air purifier operates at 60 watts. To convert watts into kilowatts, divide the wattage by 1000 (1 kW = 1000 watts). In this case, 60 watts is equivalent to 0.06 kW.
Next, determine how many hours per day you run the air purifier. If you operate it for 10 hours a day, you would multiply the 0.06 kW by 10 hours to get a daily energy usage of 0.6 kilowatt-hours (kWh).
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!
Now that you know how to estimate the impact of your air purifier on your monthly electricity bill, you have the power to make informed decisions on using it.
Tips to Reduce Air Purifier Electricity Cost
We know you don't want to compromise your air quality or wallet, so we have a few smart tips to help you ensure that your air purifier operates efficiently every day. By taking the time to adjust settings, conduct regular maintenance, and properly place your unit, you can optimize your energy use and your home’s air quality. It’s that easy!
Adjust Settings Based on Air Quality
Recall that Alen air purifiers have automatic settings that adjust the fan speed based on real-time air quality. These smart settings amp up the power only when it detects higher levels of pollutants, increasing efficiency and decreasing your need to intervene. How smart is that! These settings ensure that your indoor air remains clean while conserving energy by avoiding unnecessary high-speed operation when air quality is already good. By letting the air purifier’s smart technology manage the settings, you don't have to give it a second thought.
Maintain Your Air Purifier Regularly
Just like maintenance you perform on your car, maintaining your air purifier should be something you do regularly. We recommend cleaning prefilters and replacing HEPA filters to ensure unobstructed airflow, allowing the unit to function effectively without straining. When filters become clogged or dirty, the air purifier has to work harder to push air through, which increases energy usage and reduces overall performance. So, when you stay on top of filter maintenance, you can ensure your air purifier operates smoothly and provides clean air with low electricity costs.
Optimize Placement
Our last tip involves some planning and strategically placing your air purifier in an area where air can circulate freely. For instance, avoid placing the unit in corners, behind furniture, or in tight spaces, since these locations can obstruct airflow and force the air purifier to work harder to pull in and push out air. Instead, position the purifier centrally in the room or near sources of pollutants for best performance and increased efficiency.
How to Choose an Energy-Efficient Air Purifier
When selecting an air purifier, choosing an energy-efficient model can significantly reduce your electricity costs while creating clean indoor air. Alen understands the importance of conserving energy. All Alen units are ENERGY STAR certified air purifiers designed for greater energy efficiency than standard models. Our air purifiers use less electricity while delivering a powerful air cleaning performance, making them a smart choice if you are looking to breathe pure air and keep your energy costs low.
Alen’s air purifiers also contain advanced HEPA filters that capture a high volume of airborne pollutants with minimal energy consumption. HEPA filter technology is designed to capture 99.97% of particles down to 0.3 micron, cleaning the air more effectively than other non-HEPA filters and assisting with lowering the power output and energy cost of your device.
Remember, the 75i and 45i are also equipped with a Smart Sensor that detects the particulate level and automatically adjusts the air purifier’s settings based on the current air quality. We designed this feature to ensure that your air purifier operates at the most efficient level, using higher power only when necessary, and reducing your energy consumption when air quality is good. For you, this means that you don't have to compromise, and can have energy efficiency, smart features, and low costs all at once. At Alen, we want to make pure air an easy decision for you.
Sources:
- U.S. Department of Energy: https://www.energy.gov/energysaver/estimating-appliance-and-home-electronic-energy-use
- https://www.usairpurifiers.com/interpret-aham-cadr-chart.html?srsltid=AfmBOopoqgNzlH979QJ663hTWMNf_1oTPScp5LkvQ8riTO1cyuLK8vZM
- EPA: https://www.epa.gov/indoor-air-quality-iaq/guide-air-cleaners-home#:~:text=This%20number%20is%20intended%20to,the%20air%20cleaner's%20highest%20speed.
- https://generatorist.com/list-of-electric-appliances-their-wattage-usage
- https://www.energystar.gov/productfinder/product/certified-room-air-cleaners/details/2357376
