Should I Turn My Purifier Off At Night?

You’ve read the reports about how important clean air is. But, you also care about saving energy and keeping your electricity bills low. Turning off your purifier when you’re not home or sleeping seems like easy ways to save money and still benefit from clean air, right? Wrong. Here’s why clean air is never something you should skimp on.

What happens when you turn your purifier off?

The air in your home is continuously changing. Indoor pollutants are released every time you do things like turn on the stove, open packages, fold clothes, or use scented products… not to mention the dander and hair that is constantly generated if you have pets.

Outdoor pollutants are another factor in your home air quality. They come into your home every time you open a window, enter your house, or allow someone else in. In fact, because our homes aren’t perfectly sealed, outdoor pollutants would leak inside even if you were to keep the windows and doors closed at all times.

Air purifiers work by forcing air through the filters to remove pollutants. Every time you turn off the purifier, pollutants begin to accumulate again, making it more difficult for the purifier to do its job. Leaving the air purifier on continuously will allow new contaminants to be removed as they are introduced.

Is it really necessary to leave your purifier on when you’re sleeping?

But, what about at night? You can’t be doing anything to allow pollutants in when you’re sleeping. Isn’t that a good time to save on energy?

No. In fact, if you were only to purchase one purifier for your home, it should probably be in the bedroom. Because we spend about one third of our life sleeping, and the quality of our sleep is important to our overall health, it is very important to keep your bedroom purifier on continuously.

Not only will indoor pollutants like mold, pet hair, and dust quickly accumulate when the purifier is turned off, remember that outdoor air is constantly entering your home, even while you sleep.

Are there any times that you shouldn’t run your air purifier?

While it is generally recommended to leave your purifier on continuously, there are instances in which running the purifier at all may present a safety hazard such as:

Ozone purifiers: The EPA advices against using any purifier that generates ozone indoors when people are present.

Expired filter: While a worn out or expired filter doesn’t generally present a safety hazard, it also won’t be very helpful in keeping your indoor air clean. Make sure to follow the manufacturer’s recommendation on how frequently to change your filters.

Should you run your purifier at the same speed all day long?

Not necessarily. Because the air in your home changes all day long, your fan speed should change as well. High quality purifiers will automatically adjust their settings according to indoor air quality.

aeris takes this technology a step beyond. Each aeris purifier comes equipped with artificial intelligence that gathers data and adapts to your habits and the air quality in your home over time. Therefore, the longer you own an aeris air purifier, the better it runs and the less energy it uses.

Leaving your aeris purifier running all day will ensure your home has continuously clean air while saving energy and keeping your electricity bill low.

This post was originally published on December 1, 2020, and was last edited on October 10, 2022.