# Air purifier running cost calculator: filters plus electricity per year, from the maker's watts and replacement interval and EIA's electricity rate

> Yearly cost = filter price x 12 / interval months + watts x hours x 365 / 1,000 x rate. A 56 W unit at 24 h is 490.56 kWh, $89.82 at EIA's 18.31 cents (July 2026).

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| Source | https://ownerspec.com/air/calculators/air-purifier-running-cost-filter-and-electricity/ |
| Publisher | OwnerSpec (https://ownerspec.com/) |
| Published | 2026-10-02 |
| Updated | 2026-10-02 |
| Facts verified | 2026-10-02 |
| Disclosure | Contains affiliate links. OwnerSpec may earn a commission at no cost to the reader. |

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## Short answer

An air purifier's running cost per year is two lines added together: electricity = watts x
hours per day x 365 / 1,000 x your rate per kWh, and filters = filter price x 12 / the
maker's replacement interval in months, plus the same again for any separate carbon or
pre-filter. EIA's Electric Power Monthly puts the US average residential rate at 18.31 cents
per kWh for July 2026. The Levoit Core 300-P prints a rated power of 56 W: run 24 hours a day
that is 56 x 24 x 365 / 1,000 = 490.56 kWh, or $89.82 a year at the EIA rate; at 8 hours a
day it is 163.52 kWh and $29.94. Levoit's filter page says to replace the Core 300 filter every 6 to 8
months, so the filter line is the filter's price times 1.5 to 2. ENERGY STAR says a standard room air cleaner running continuously uses about 394 kWh a year,
$72.14 at the same rate.

## Fact sheet

- **Answer:** Yearly running cost = filter price x 12 / maker interval months (plus any separate carbon or pre-filter) + watts x hours per day x 365 / 1,000 x your rate. At EIA's July 2026 US average of 18.31 cents per kWh, a 56 W Levoit Core 300-P run 24 hours a day uses 490.56 kWh and costs .82 in electricity; its 6 to 8 month filter means 1.5 to 2 filters a year.
- **Formula:** `Electricity ($/yr) = watts x hours per day x 365 / 1,000 x rate ($/kWh); filters ($/yr) = filter price x 12 / interval months, summed over each filter the maker lists separately; total = electricity + filters`
- **Inputs:** Rated watts at the speed used: 56 W (Levoit Core 300-P product page); Hours per day: 24, and 8 as the second case; Electricity rate: 18.31 cents per kWh (EIA, US average residential, July 2026); Filter interval: 6 to 8 months (Levoit Core 300 filter page); filter price typed by the reader
- **Output:** 24 hours a day: 490.56 kWh and .82 a year; 8 hours a day: 163.52 kWh and .94. Filters: 12 / 8 = 1.5 to 12 / 6 = 2 filters a year, times the filter's price. ENERGY STAR's standard room air cleaner, 394 kWh a year, is .14 at the same rate.
- **Assumptions:** Each maker prints a single rated wattage, not watts per fan speed, so a full year at rated watts is an upper bound for a unit run on a lower speed; a plug-in meter reading at the speed used is the better input; Standby draw is ignored; only Levoit prints one (under 2 W for the Core 400S-P); EIA's 18.31 cents is the US average for one month; the reader's own bill rate replaces it; ENERGY STAR's kWh per year figures are the dataset's values; the hours-per-day basis behind them is not printed in the dataset and is not stated here
- **Method:** The calculator multiplies watts by hours per day by 365, divides by 1,000 for kWh and by 100 for a rate typed in cents, then adds filter price x 12 / interval months for up to two filters. The table is a comparison of maker-printed watts and filter intervals read on 2026-10-02, with kWh and dollars computed at the EIA rate; nothing was metered for this page.
- **Primary source:** [EIA, Electric Power Monthly, Table 5.6.A: Average Price of Electricity to Ultimate Customers by End-Use Sector (July 2026 and 2025)](https://www.eia.gov/electricity/monthly/epm_table_grapher.php?t=table_5_06_a) (government or regulatory source)
- **Facts verified:** 2026-10-02
- **Last updated:** 2026-10-02
- **Canonical URL (cite this):** https://ownerspec.com/air/calculators/air-purifier-running-cost-filter-and-electricity/

Do not choose the purifier on its watts or its CADR alone: on most of these units the filter is the larger yearly bill, and neither the box nor the listing prints it as a per-year figure.

> Interactive calculator, "Air purifier cost per year: electricity plus filters": use it on the HTML page at the URL above; the formula, constants and sources are written out below.

## What is the formula?

**Rated power** is the single wattage a maker prints on the spec sheet; none of the pages read for this page prints watts per fan speed. **Filter interval** is the maker's replacement period in months, and the number of filters a year is 12 divided by it.

| Line | Formula | Where each input comes from |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Electricity ($/yr) | watts x hours per day x 365 / 1,000 x rate ($/kWh) | watts from the maker's spec sheet or your own plug-in meter; rate from your bill, or EIA's 18.31 cents per kWh (US average residential, July 2026) |
| Main filter ($/yr) | filter price x 12 / interval months | price from the listing on the day you buy; interval from the maker's filter page or manual |
| Second filter ($/yr) | the same, for a carbon or pre-filter sold separately | Coway, for example, lists its deodorization filter at 6 months and its HEPA at 1 year |
| Total ($/yr) | electricity + every filter line | |

Dividing watts by 1,000 turns watt-hours into kilowatt-hours, the unit a bill prices. A rate typed in cents is divided by 100 in the calculator.

The formula leaves standby out. Only Levoit prints a standby figure here (under 2 W for the Core 400S-P): 2 W for 24 hours a day is 17.5 kWh a year, a few dollars at most.

## What does a worked example look like?

A Levoit Core 300-P, rated 56 W on Levoit's product page, at EIA's July 2026 rate of 18.31 cents per kWh.

1. Running all day: 56 x 24 x 365 / 1,000 = 490.56 kWh. Times $0.1831 = $89.82 a year.
2. Running 8 hours a night: 56 x 8 x 365 / 1,000 = 163.52 kWh, $29.94 a year.
3. Filters: Levoit's Core 300 filter page says every 6 to 8 months. 12 / 8 = 1.5 and 12 / 6 = 2, so 1.5 to 2 Core 300 filters a year, times the price shown on the card today.
4. Total: $29.94 to $89.82 in electricity plus the filter line.

The filter price is not printed here because it changes; the live card shows it, and the [deal-check guide](/air/guides/air-purifier-black-friday-prime-day-deal-check/) says which claimed discounts on purifiers and filters are real.

## What do the models on this site draw, and how often do their filters change?

The units are the ones compared on the [bedroom and living room purifier review](/air/reviews/best-air-purifier-for-bedroom-and-living-room/), with filters from the [replacement filter by model page](/air/parts/air-purifier-replacement-filter-by-model/). Watts and intervals are the makers' printed figures, re-read on 2026-10-02; kWh and dollars are 24 hours a day at rated watts and EIA's 18.31 cents.

| Unit | Rated watts (maker) | kWh/yr at 24 h | $/yr at 18.31 c | ENERGY STAR dataset kWh/yr | Filter interval (maker) | Filter |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Levoit Core 300-P | 56 W | 490.56 | $89.82 | not listed | 6 to 8 months | Core 300 filter |
| Levoit Core 400S-P | 38 W, standby under 2 W | 332.88 | $60.95 | 237 (IEF 5.8) | about 12 months (manual, at 12 hours a day) | Core 400S filter |
| Levoit Vital 200S-P | 50 W | 438.00 | $80.20 | not listed | 6 to 12 months | Vital 200S filter |
| Blueair Blue Pure 211i Max | 46 W | 402.96 | $73.78 | 259 (IEF 10.2, Most Efficient) | up to 9 months | F2MAX filter |
| Coway Airmega Mighty AP-1512HH | 77 W | 674.52 | $123.50 | not listed | HEPA 1 year; deodorization 6 months | filter set, 1 HEPA + 2 deodorization |
| Shark NeverChange HP152 | 26 W (26 W peak, 0.26 A) | 227.76 | $41.70 | not listed | up to 5 years | built in; 0.2 changes a year at the maker's maximum |
| Winix 5510 | not printed on the 5510 page | not computed | not computed | not listed | 12 months, HEPA and AOC carbon together | Filter Q 1712-0123-00 (not linked: listing not checked) |
| Honeywell HPA304 | not readable (Honeywell Store returned 403) | not computed | not computed | not listed | not readable | see the filter page |

The Coway at 77 W and the Shark at 26 W are a 3x gap in electricity at the same hours, $123.50 against $41.70 for a full year; and the Shark's one filter in up to 5 years is 0.2 changes a year against the Core 300-P's 1.5 to 2.

The Winix 5500-2 manual prints 70 W, but the 5510 is a different model and its own page prints no wattage, so the row stays empty rather than borrow a neighbour's number.

## Where do the numbers come from?

The electricity rate is EIA's Electric Power Monthly, Table 5.6.A, released 24 September 2026: 18.31 cents per kWh for US residential customers in July 2026, against 17.45 cents in July 2025. It is a one-month national average, so the calculator uses it as a placeholder for the rate on your bill.

The 394 kWh and the 211 kWh saving are ENERGY STAR's own words on its air purifiers page, and the per-model kWh figures are from ENERGY STAR's certified room air cleaners dataset, which rates efficiency by Integrated Energy Factor, a CADR-to-watt ratio. The dataset does not print the hours-per-day assumption behind its kWh, so those figures compare models with each other and are not a bill forecast.

Watts and intervals are the makers' product pages, filter pages and manuals, listed under Sources. Three gaps stayed open: no maker prints watts per speed, the Winix 5510 page prints no wattage, and Honeywell's store would not load. Room size is a separate question: the [CADR room size calculator](/air/calculators/air-purifier-room-size-cadr-calculator/) answers it.

**Run the calculator before the cart**

Type the filter's price from the live card into the calculator and compare the two lines first. If the filter line wins, the Shark NeverChange HP152 (26 W, up to 5 years per filter) or the Levoit Core 400S-P (38 W, about 12 months) changes the answer more than any discount on a Core 300-P. Skip all three if you run the unit on its lowest speed for a few hours a day: at that use, the electricity line is small on any of them and the room-size calculator is the one that matters.

## The picks

- **Levoit Core 300-P**: The worked example: a bedroom unit with a 6 to 8 month filter (Levoit page: Rated Power 56 W, 143 CFM; Levoit filter page: replace every 6 to 8 months, so 1.5 to 2 filters a year; 24 h at 56 W = 490.56 kWh) Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07VVK39F7/?tag=ownerspec-20
- **Levoit Core 400S-P**: A large room with one filter a year and an ENERGY STAR kWh figure (Levoit page: Rated Power 38 W, standby under 2 W; user manual: filter indicator at about 12 months, filter life based on 12 hours of daily use; ENERGY STAR dataset: 237 kWh per year, IEF 5.8) Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08R794ZMX/?tag=ownerspec-20
- **Blueair Blue Pure 211i Max**: A living room where the electricity line matters most (Blueair page: 46 W, filter up to 9 months tracked by RealTrack; ENERGY STAR dataset: 259 kWh per year, IEF 10.2, meets Most Efficient criteria) Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BN2MGV5H/?tag=ownerspec-20
- **Shark NeverChange HP152**: The lowest filter line on this page: one filter in up to 5 years (Shark page: 26 watts, 26 watts peak, 0.26 amps, up to 5 years of filtration, so 0.2 filters a year; 24 h at 26 W = 227.76 kWh) Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CM6VDKSQ/?tag=ownerspec-20

## Frequently asked questions

### How much electricity does an air purifier use per year?

Watts x hours per day x 365 / 1,000. ENERGY STAR says a standard room air cleaner operating continuously uses approximately 394 kWh a year, and that ENERGY STAR models are more than 50 percent more efficient, saving about 211 kWh. The maker-printed figures on this page run from 26 W (Shark HP152, 227.76 kWh at 24 hours) to 77 W (Coway AP-1512HH, 674.52 kWh).

### Is the rated wattage the draw on every fan speed?

No maker page read for this page prints watts by speed; each prints one rated figure, which is most likely the highest speed, although none says so. A unit run on sleep or auto draws less, so a full year at rated watts is an upper bound. A plug-in energy meter at the speed you use gives the number the calculator should take.

### What does ENERGY STAR's kWh per year figure mean for a purifier?

ENERGY STAR's certified room air cleaners dataset lists an annual energy use for each model, for example 237 kWh for the Levoit Core 400S and 259 kWh for the Blueair Blue Pure 211i Max, and rates efficiency by Integrated Energy Factor, a CADR-to-watt ratio. The dataset does not print the hours-per-day assumption behind the kWh, so compare models with it rather than reading it as your bill.

### Why does the filter cost more than the electricity on most units?

Because the interval is short. Levoit's Core 300 filter page says 6 to 8 months, so 1.5 to 2 filters a year; Coway lists its deodorization filter at 6 months and its HEPA at 1 year. Type the filter's current price into the calculator and compare it with the electricity line: a 56 W unit at 8 hours a day is $29.94 a year at EIA's July 2026 rate.

### Which electricity rate should I enter?

The rate on your own bill, in cents per kWh, including any delivery charges billed per kWh. The calculator's default, 18.31 cents, is EIA's US average residential price for July 2026 from Electric Power Monthly Table 5.6.A, up from 17.45 cents in July 2025. State averages in the same table range widely around it, so the national figure is only a placeholder.


## Sources

- [EIA, Electric Power Monthly, Table 5.6.A: Average Price of Electricity to Ultimate Customers by End-Use Sector (July 2026 and 2025)](https://www.eia.gov/electricity/monthly/epm_table_grapher.php?t=table_5_06_a) (government or regulatory source)
- [ENERGY STAR, Air purifiers (cleaners): 394 kWh a year for a standard unit run continuously, 211 kWh saving, Integrated Energy Factor](https://www.energystar.gov/products/air_purifiers_cleaners) (government or regulatory source)
- [ENERGY STAR, Certified Room Air Cleaners dataset (annual energy use, CADR, IEF, Most Efficient flag per model)](https://data.energystar.gov/resource/gaa3-swy6.json) (government or regulatory source)
- [Levoit, Core 300-P air purifier product page (Rated Power 56 W, 143 CFM)](https://levoit.com/products/core300-p-air-purifier) (manufacturer or vendor document)
- [Levoit, Core 300 series original replacement filter page (replace every 6 to 8 months)](https://levoit.com/products/core300-p-air-purifier-replacement-filter) (manufacturer or vendor document)
- [Levoit, Core 400S-P smart air purifier product page (Rated Power 38 W, standby under 2 W)](https://levoit.com/products/core-400s-p-smart-air-purifier) (manufacturer or vendor document)
- [Levoit, Core 400S-P user manual PDF (filter indicator at about 12 months, filter life based on 12 hours of daily use)](https://files.vesync.com/vmall/product/manual/v1/1b307a6f69a452e13f20bee8a9e428eb.pdf) (manufacturer or vendor document)
- [Levoit, Vital 200S-P smart air purifier product page (Rated Power 50 W)](https://levoit.com/products/levoit-vital-200s-p-smart-air-purifier-black) (manufacturer or vendor document)
- [Levoit, Vital 200S-P replacement filter page (designed to last 6 to 12 months)](https://levoit.com/products/vital-200s-replacement-filter) (manufacturer or vendor document)
- [Blueair, Blue Pure 211i Max product page (46 W, filter up to 9 months via RealTrack)](https://www.blueair.com/products/blue-pure-211i-max) (manufacturer or vendor document)
- [Blueair, Blue Pure 211i Max Particle + Carbon filter F2MAX page (up to 9 months depending on usage and pollution)](https://www.blueair.com/products/blue-pure-211i-max-1) (manufacturer or vendor document)
- [Coway, Airmega Mighty AP-1512HH product page (77 W, deodorization filter 6 months, HEPA 1 year)](https://cowaymega.com/products/mighty-ap-1512hh) (manufacturer or vendor document)
- [Coway, Airmega 200M and AP-1512HH filter set page (1 HEPA plus 2 deodorization filters)](https://cowaymega.com/products/airmega-200m-ap-1512hh-filter-set) (manufacturer or vendor document)
- [Shark, NeverChange HP152 product page (26 watts, 26 watts peak, 0.26 amps, up to 5 years of filtration)](https://www.sharkninja.com/shark-neverchange-air-purifier/HP152.html) (manufacturer or vendor document)
- [Winix America, 5510 product page (True HEPA 12M, AOC Carbon 12M; no wattage printed)](https://www.winixamerica.com/product/5510/) (manufacturer or vendor document)
- [Winix America, Filter Q 1712-0123-00 page (fits 5510, 5520, 5530; both filters every 12 months)](https://www.winixamerica.com/product/filter-q-1712-0123-00/) (manufacturer or vendor document)

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Citation: OwnerSpec, "Air purifier running cost calculator: filters plus electricity per year, from the maker's watts and replacement interval and EIA's electricity rate", https://ownerspec.com/air/calculators/air-purifier-running-cost-filter-and-electricity/, facts verified 2 October 2026.
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