How much does an air purifier cost?

Air purifiers have taken the market by storm in recent years. The COVID-19 pandemic and seasonal epidemics, concerns over worsening air quality indoors and outdoors alike, and more severe allergy seasons are a few of the major drivers that have inspired people to install an air purifier in their homes and/or offices. For many consumers, budget remains both a question and a concern when choosing an air purifier. What is the price of purchasing an air purifier? What is involved in determining the budget for an air purification device? Which one would be the best for your needs? Read on below to learn more.

Do I need an air purifier?

The first line of defence in improving your indoor air quality is to contribute less to indoor air pollution. There are many things you can do to improve the state of your breathing air at home and at work. Some helpful tips are:

• Avoid products that contain chemicals and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) – natural products are best!
• VOCs can be found in a variety of everyday products like paints, solvents, adhesives, cleaning agents, maintenance and DYI products, sprays and aerosols, cosmetics, fragrances, and air fresheners (to name a few).
• VOCs can be released by new furniture (couches, rugs and carpets, wooden furniture, etc.) for up to several years! Avoid purchasing new furniture by buying second-hand whenever possible.
• Keep moisture and humidity at bay in your home to reduce proliferation of biological pollutants like mould and mildew
• Be mindful of fine particle released during wood or gas combustion (for heating or cooking)
• Properly ventilate your home and office so that stale air does not accumulate¹

Unfortunately, the above tips are not always possible for everyone. Properly ventilating your space, for instance, can be difficult for safety reasons. Additionally, if you live in an urban area that has high levels of outdoor pollution, ventilation is complicated, if not counter-productive. By opening your windows and doors, outdoor air pollution can enter your space and become trapped inside, leading to even worse indoor air quality. Also, this may encourage allergens like pollen to enter your home or office which may be problematic for allergy sufferers.

Furthermore, some buildings create their own indoor air pollution, creating a phenomenon known as ‘sick building syndrome’. With energy efficiency rising to the top of the list of priorities when new buildings are designed and built, this can create an unintended consequence: the building becomes airtight. The materials used for construction of the building release air pollutants. With an airtight design, the stale air has nowhere to go, causing a building’s residents to continuously breathe in the contaminated air and fall ill.

Budgeting for an air purifier: a three-part equation

Typically, there are three factors to consider as part of budgeting for an air purifier: 1) the initial cost of the device, 2) maintenance costs, and 3) costs associated with energy usage of the device (including operation costs).

The cost of the device itself

Because this part of the budget has the highest price tag upfront, consumers tend to focus most on this part of an air purifier’s budget. And for good reason! With air purification products ranging anywhere from £200 to £1000 with a wide range of options and technologies, it is important to fully understand exactly what you are paying for upon making your purchase.

Air purifiers are available with a host of varying technologies that may impact their price and determine their quality/price ratio. Devices may contain one, two, several, or even all of these technologies depending upon the model. A few technologies available are:

• HEPA filters: HEPA-certified filters are defined by their capacity to remove 99.95% of airborne particles with a diameter of 0.01 µm or less. This includes fine and ultrafine particle pollution (also known as particulate matter or PM) down to PM0.1 and even PM0.01, germs (viruses and bacteria), and allergens (dust, pollen, pet dander), to name a few. The presence of this technology will determine which types of pollutants are filtered and is one of the most important technologies to seek out in an air purifier.
• Keep in mind: some air purifiers offer ‘HEPA-type’ filters which, albeit cheaper, are not guaranteed to filter out the same airborne particles as a true HEPA-certified filter does!

• Activated carbon filter: this is one of the oldest forms of air (and water) filtration that has been utilised for thousands of years. Activated carbon is particularly effective against VOCs and bad odours.

• Ionisation: an ioniser diffuses negative ions into the ambient air. Negative ions bind themselves to positively-charged particle pollution (fine particles, nanoparticles, and even dust) and either disintegrate the particles or weigh them down to the ground where they cannot be breathed in by your lungs.

• Photocatalysis: photocatalysis has many functions in industrial filtration of air and water. Using a redox reaction, light (UV rays) react with oxygen and water present in the air to generate free radicals which have powerful depollution properties. They react with chemical pollutants in the air and degrade them. This technology is, therefore, great for combatting chemical pollution and VOCs.

• Ultraviolet (UV) sterilisation: a popular technology in medical settings, UV sterilisation targets viruses and bacteria by damaging their DNA. This technology kills 99.99% of pathogens including MRSA, SARS, and COVID-19. It works on all germs, no matter the type or the size. UVC rays are typically used as they are more efficient and are the safest form of UV rays.

Aside from filtration, some other technologies that may be found in an air purifier may include an Automatic mode, a setting which allows your device to detect new pollutants and increase its speed accordingly to purify the air in your space. You may also find a Sleep mode which dims all of the indicator lights and lets the device run on its lowest speed to provide you with peace and quiet at night. Additionally, more modern devices may come equipped with a handheld remote control, WiFi capability, and app compatibility, all of which allow you to view your air quality at a glance and control your device on your smartphone.

Maintenance costs

All filters found in air purifiers have a given lifespan and need replacing after a certain amount of time. A filter that is saturated will no longer properly filter the pollutants in your air, rendering your air purifier useless. It is absolutely crucial to change your filters regularly regardless of your model to ensure that your device does what it is intended to do!

Depending upon your model, the manufacturer’s instructions on how often to replace your filter will vary. Some air purifiers, particularly those with lower-quality filters, need filter replacements several times a year. Others with average-quality filters need replacing twice a year. And some air purifiers with high-quality filters – as you will find in Eoleaf’s air purifiers – require filter replacements only once a year.

Energy usage

There are a few factors that will determine how much energy your device uses.

1. Energy consumption. Every device has a different level of energy consumption. The less energy a device consumes, the better.
2. The size of your device. Naturally, the larger your device, the more energy it will consume.
3. Your device’s fan speeds. Air purifiers often come equipped with multiple fan speeds (Eoleaf’s devices, for instance, come with 4). Devices set to higher fan speeds will consume more energy.
4. Your device’s clean air delivery rate (CADR), or the volume of filtered air your device can deliver. This designation is used to help consumers choose the most efficient air purification devices. The higher the CADR, the better: a high CADR means that your device will take less time to filter the air in your room and will use less power in the long-run.

Devices containing smart features like Automatic and Sleep modes can also help to reduce energy consumption of your device.

The Eoleaf difference

Eoleaf’s devices contain all of the above-mentioned technologies, providing 8 different filtration technologies plus modern features to make your experience more practical and user-friendly. This provides you with an extensive range of action against all types of indoor air pollutants.

The prices of our devices are as follows:

• AEROPRO 40 for rooms of 0 to 40 m2 (450 square feet): £429.99
• Annual replacement filter price: £114.99
• AEROPRO 100 for rooms of 0 to 80m2 (850 square feet): £649.99
• Annual replacement filter price: £129.99
• AEROPRO 150 for rooms of 0 to 120 m2 (1300 square feet): £799.99
• Annual replacement filter price: £169.99

We even have a model for your car, the Pure CAR! It is designed for vehicles up to 13 m3. It offers 6 filtration technologies and is available for £215.00. Its bi-annual replacement filter costs £33.99.

Our devices are extremely energy efficient. Using our AEROPRO 40 as an example, by speed level, it consumes:

• Speed 1: 12 Wh
• Speed 2: 18 Wh
• Speed 3: 32 Wh
• Speed 4: 49 Wh

Our devices offer the best technologies available in today’s air purification market, yet our prices fall into the mid-range category. This means that high-quality purification is accessible to most customers in the market for an air purifier without breaking the bank.

If you require further information or assistance in choosing your air purifier, our Buying Guide is an excellent resource in helping you choose the right model for you. You can also contact us anytime with additional questions.

References

¹ Gallagher, P. (2023, May 4). Best air purifiers 2023: Which? best buys and expert buying advice. Which? https://www.which.co.uk/reviews/air-purifiers/article/how-to-buy-the-best-air-purifier-akWaW9F3kdIH