What Size Air Purifier Do You Need? [Fators to Determine the Perfect Size]

If you want to buy an air purifier, its’ size is the most often question you are likely to ask yourself. An air purifier’s efficiency is the most ultimate thing that almost everyone needs.

The size of an air purifier determines many of its’ functions. If you buy a small air purifier, most likely you can’t use it in a large room; also, maintenance cost is likely to be high due to small filter sizes, which often require replacement.

A large air purifier is expected to have higher CADR ratings, making it very efficient in cleaning a room. Besides, your budget, the purpose, the energy you can afford also determines the size of an air purifier you are likely to buy.

This article deeply explains the key factors you can consider when purchasing an air purifier.

Key factors that determine the size of air purifier

Below listed the important factors that influence the size of air purifier, please go through and pick the right product suitable for your home or room.

1. Room size

If you want to buy an air purifier, the size of the room you keep it plays an important role. You can buy an air purifier with the most outstanding modern features like digital panels, remotely controlled, Wi-fi operation.

Still, it can turn out to be worthless if you don’t consider the coverage area. Most manufacturers write convincing information about an air purifier that the buyers usually misinterpret.

In case one reads that an air purifier can clean up to 1000feets, they go for it without thinking that the air purifier was tested in a clean place or where they try many cleaners.

Let’s say your room is 16 feet. You can check the size of the air purifier by:

 Room area =16*16=256 square feet’s

 The best method to use is CADR * 1.55, which gives you the room square footage.

The CADR (Clean air delivery rate) scale runs from 400-450, whereby smoke and dust can be 450, and pollen being 400. It helps show the cleaner’s clean air at the highest fan speed.

Efficiency and air flowing through the filters influence the CADR ratings. Higher CADR ratings indicate the higher efficiency to eliminate pollutants in a room.

You can find the AHAM (Association of home appliance manufactures) seal, which shows the CADR rating at the back of the air purifier box.

CADR also provides the best outcome in terms of room air purification. Air purifiers are sold in sizes depending on room footage.

Don’t go for a small air purifier if you want to keep it in a big room since you’ll not get the outcome.

Usually, whole-house air cleaners are suitable for purifying every room in the house, and medium air purifiers are meant to purify rooms with 200 to 400 square footage.

Large air purifiers are for rooms with 400 to 1500 square footage, while small purifiers are meant for spaces with up to 200 square footage.

2. Cost

Cost is a crucial factor to consider when purchasing an air purifier. Big and large air purifiers are likely to be costly than smaller ones.

An air purifier designed for a single room can’t be equivalent to a cleaner designed for the whole house. Here, their size difference is a clear indication of the cost difference.

Most people consider buying small air purifiers to save on costs. To make sure that you don’t mess up, check out all the requirements you would like in an air purifier, then make sure they are an excellent match to the cost.

3. Portability

Portable air purifiers are usually smaller than the whole house or wall-mounted cleaners. If you need an air purifier in your rental room, then a portable air purifier is the best though it comes in small size.

If you also want an air purifier that can move from one room to another, then a portable one serves the best. The size of a portable air purifier is designed to be smaller as compared to the medium and whole-house air purifier for easy transportation.

4. The CADR and ACH Jargon

CADR (Clean air delivery rate) determines an air purifier’s size. An extensive air purifier with a high CADR (Clean air delivery rate) rating is ideal for cleaning a larger room.

Just use (CADR*1.55) to get the square footage of your room.

The three CADR (Clean air delivery rate) indicates dust, smoke, and pollen. If the CADR (Clean air delivery rate) is of a low value, it can still purify the house, but it takes time.

ACH (Air change per hour) shows the room’s size to be filtered in an hour. An air purifier’s effectiveness is usually directly attached to ACH (Air change per hour). 

Don’t purchase an air purifier with a rating less than 2x. If you are asthmatic, then a 4x rating is the best. It indicates that an effective air purifier needs to be quite extensive.

5. Purpose

The issue you want to resolve with an air purifier determines the size when buying an air purifier.

For example, the size of an air purifier bought for an asthmatic person or children can’t be equivalent to an air purifier’s size to clean the whole house. The air purifier purchased for a single purpose is likely to be small than the one purchased for a multipurpose.

6. The filter area and size

The filter surface area and size determine the size of an air purifier you are likely to buy.  If the air purifier is large, expect large filter spaces instead of small ones.

Purchasing an air purifier with large filter spaces saves you since you will not incur high maintenance or replacement cost than a small one that often needs replacement.

Most air filters have a surface area ranging from 3.8m squared o E7 and E8 to 6.4m squared on E20 and DE20.

If the filter is 99.97% effective, then it’s the best for an air purifier since it serves roles like much airflow, high filtration rate, and removing all unwanted materials from the air.

7. Energy

Would you like to buy an air purifier with expensive electricity bills?  Large air purifiers are likely to use much electricity compared to small purifiers. Large air purifiers might be a burden, especially if you run them throughout the day due to the required electricity.

Anyway, they don’t use so much energy like you can imagine. Air purifiers can use from 40W to 200W, even the bigger ones. In counts, you can use $0.05 to 1$ per day, which is equivalent to $0.35 to $7.00 in a week.

In general, a small air purifier which is usually designed for smaller rooms, uses less than $0.10 in a day, equivalent to 28W; a large air purifier which is generally intended for larger spaces uses from $0.24 to 0.40 in a single day which is equivalent to 100W.

In contrast, a medium-sized air purifier designed for a medium-sized room uses up to $0.24 in a day, equivalent to 77W.

To calculate the electricity wattage, you can multiply kWh cost with time in hours, and wattage then divides by a thousand to get power consumption. When considering the air purifier’s size to buy, consider this feature.

8. Maintenance cost

When selecting an air purifier’s size to purchase, most people look down on the maintenance cost factor. Proper maintenance cost is where almost everybody goes wrong without considering the implications of not maintaining.

The maintenance cost you can require when repairing a whole house’s large air purifier is not equivalent to the price you need when repairing a small portable air purifier or a medium one.

For an entire house air purifier, the maintenance cost is likely to be relatively high than a small or medium one.

Should I have an air purifier in every room?

No, you don’t need an air purifier in every room. If you are working towards installing an air purifier in every room, stop. Even if you want to remove all irritants and keep your house fresh, purchasing cleaners for every room is unnecessary.

Concentrate on the cleaner in one room and leave the rest since a single air purifier can serve a significant role over multiple air purifiers.

Firstly, keeping an air purifier in every room will be quite expensive than purchasing one for the whole house. Besides, several other things are to be looked at when buying a cleaner rather than purchasing multiple of them.

Secondly, if you have to install an air purifier in many rooms, you should evaluate the air quality issues you need to resolve, the number of rooms, the room sizes, and the budget.

Remember, if you are purchasing cleaners for every room, it is a clear indication that you are likely to go for the cheaper which are of less outcome whereby it would be better if you never bought any cleaner at all.

Spending $100 to buy multiple air conditioners with low quality is much worthless than purchasing a single at$ 200, high quality.  

Some cheap air purifiers produce harmful chemicals and circulate dirt in the room rather than cleaning the room. If you insist on installing purifiers in every room, then go ahead; It’s your choice.

Can you have too many air purifiers?

You can have too many air purifiers in your home if you need to clean many contaminants in your home. In general, if there is no varied environmental condition and specific need, we suggest going for a big-size single air purifier than too many air purifiers.

But if there is a need and situation, then, there is no harm in going for multiple air purifiers. The air purifiers need for a garage can’t be equivalent to the ones used in the kitchen or bathroom.

It would be best to choose an air purifier that fits its usage. While making your decision, you can also consider have a single air purifier of high quality that serves many functions instead of multiple air purifiers.

For example, an air purifier that is carbon filtered and has HEPA (High-Efficiency Particulate Air) serves many roles like removing many particles, smells, and gases from your surroundings.

In the end, both options are fine – either you can go for one big-size purifier, or you can go for many air purifiers. Hence, we recommend you assess your requirements, needs, and environmental conditions, and finally, pick the best option that serves your need.

Final words:

To sum up, air purifiers play significant roles in cleaning your home, depending on your needs. If you have been looking for key factors to consider when determining the air purifier’s size to buy, the above article gives you everything you need.

Just be careful and follow every instruction to purchase an air purifier to avoid disappointments. Check the size of your room, its cost, usage, cleaning capability, the maximum energy required, and maintenance cost to ensure you are buying the correct air purifier type. A good air purifier should also be AHAM (Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers) verified.