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Our verdict:
Air purifiers contribute less than 1% to household energy consumption.
That’s only about 12% of the energy harnessed to run a fridge.
You can expect to pay around $22 annually to power an air purifier, with an average daily consumption of 15W.
Before committing to an air purifier (or any new appliance, for that matter), you’ll want to understand its energy consumption.
Air purifiers should be constantly used for best results — day and night. An appliance that uses 24 hours a day, seven days a week, should be relatively energy efficient.
In this article, we’ve broken down air purifier energy consumption data for 2023 to discover how much electricity they really use. Then we’ve also provided you with a few air purifiers that we know to be energy efficient based on our home testing.
If you want to quickly calculate the cost without reading the full article, use the calculator here.
Do Air Purifiers Use a Lot of Electricity?
You probably already understand the benefits of daily air purification. However, you may need to find out if those health benefits are worth the price of electricity.
| Air purifiers have a maximum wattage of 40 – 200W, though plenty of larger purifiers push up to 100W when operated on their highest settings. Generally, you’ll run a home air purifier on a 10 – 30W setting. |
But what do those numbers really mean? Is that a little or a lot of electricity? And compared to what, exactly?
Air Purifier VS. Refrigerator
Let’s compare the energy usage of a typical air purifier with another common household appliance — your refrigerator.
As of March 2023, the average cost of electricity in the US was $0.17 per kWh. Household fridges can use, on average, between 100 – 400W daily, or 180W daily. So over a year, you can expect a refrigerator to cost you $268 in electricity — about 8% of your household power usage.
In comparison, an air purifier uses between 10- 30W, so we can call that 15W daily on average. Annually, your air purifier will cost you around $22.34. That means an air purifier uses only 12% of the energy to run your fridge.
With those numbers in mind: your air purifier demands a measly 0.96% of your total household power consumption.
Here’s a comparison table for quick reference:
| Appliance | Energy Usage (% of the overall cost) |
| Heating and cooling | 45-50% |
| Water heater | 12% |
| Lighting | 9-12% |
| Refrigerator | 8% |
| Washer and dryer | 5% |
| Electric oven | 3% |
| Dishwasher | 2% |
| TV and cable box | 2% |
| Air purifier | 0.96% |
The Most Energy-Efficient Air Purifiers
We test air purifiers in our home lab — so you can access reliable data and make informed purchase decisions. That’s not to say we don’t research self-reported lab data — we do. But we also test every air purifier in our test room. This makes comparisons between each different appliance direct and representative.
Our testing procedure is based on the primary function of an air purifier, which is to clear a room of pollutants such as dust or smoke. One of the main parts of this test is the energy usage test: Using an energy meter, we record energy usage at the unit’s highest and lowest speeds.
These are the units that pulled the least power at the highest speed:
| 👑 BEST OVERALL | 💰 FOR TIGHT BUDGETS | 🛋️ FOR LARGE SPACES | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blueair Blue Pure 411+ | Levoit Core Mini | Blueair Blue Pure 311 Auto | |
 |  |  | |
| AIR CLEANING SPEED ⚡ | 43 minutes | 1 hour and 53 minutes | 21 minutes |
| CADR 👩🔬 | 120 CFM | 32 CFM | 250 CFM |
| FILTER TECHNOLOGY 💨 | 3-stage True HEPASilent filter with activated charcoal | H13 (Medical) Grade HEPA and Activated Charcoal | 3-stage True HEPASilent filter with activated charcoal |
| MAX ROOM SIZE 📏 | 185 sq. ft. | 178 sq. ft. | 388 sq. ft. |
| WEIGHT ⚖️ | 3.4 lbs (1.54 kg) | 2.2 lbs (1 kg) | 6.8 lbs (3.1 kg) |
| OUR REVIEW 🔍 | Blueair Blue Pure 411+ review | Levoit Core Mini review | Blueair Blue Pure 311 Auto review |
| PRICE 💵 | Price not available | $79.88 | Price not available |
Last update on 2023-09-17 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
Final Thoughts
Air purifiers use comparatively little electricity. In fact, they make up less than one percent of total household power use. Refer to our comparison chart or use our Air Purifier Energy Usage Calculator to select the best appliance for your home.
SOURCES
Energy Use Calculator. (2023). Electricity usage of a Refrigerator. energyusecalculator.com
Perch Energy. (2022). What Appliances Use the Most Electricity in Your Home? perchenergy.com
US Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2023). Average Energy Prices For The United States, Regions, Census Divisions, And Selected Metropolitan Areas. bls.gov
Last update on 2023-09-17 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API