How to budget for clean air

For many Indian families, clean air has become a budget item, with spending on air purifiers and treatment for pollution-triggered respiratory problems.

From Srinagar in the north to Andhra Pradesh in the south, India’s air quality map as of 6 November showed unhealthy to hazardous pollution across regions well beyond the seasonal smog in the National Capital Region (NCR).

A July 2024 study published in The Lancet Planetary Health showed that air pollution is no longer just a Delhi problem, with PM2.5, fine particles that can penetrate deep into the lungs and bloodstream, posing a major health risk across large parts of India.

Seasonal factors such as stubble burning, combined with winter weather, trap pollutants close to the ground, creating dense smog across North India from October to February. However, the study pointed to a broader, year-round threat driven by locally generated urban pollution—typically driven by vehicle exhaust, heavy industry, thermal power plants, and construction. The researchers also found that these local city emissions are especially toxic, driving up daily death rates across 10 major cities even on days when air quality fell within India's official safety limits.

Ronak Sutaria, founder and chief executive of climate tech startup Respirer Living Sciences, said that PM2.5 awareness has led many people to buy air purifiers, especially for their bedrooms. Since air purifiers are now a household expense, it is worth understanding the costs and what to budget for.

Cost of owning the right purifier

Most buyers, according to Sutaria, look for a HEPA filter, specifically the H13 grade, and then pick whatever fits their budget. But performance depends largely on the clean air delivery rate (CADR), which measures how much filtered air a purifier produces. If the CADR does not match your room's size, the purifier will not be effective.

As a rule of thumb, he said a CADR of up to 200 cubic metres per hour suits a room of about 250 square feet. A bigger room needs more machines, which is why many homes end up with two or three purifiers.

His price guide, based on evaluations his team has done, suggests that purifiers costing less than ₹10,000 are usually suited to rooms smaller than about 100 square feet and for rooms bigger than 150 square feet, a decent one can cost between ₹12,000 and ₹18,000.

Cheaper models tend to have a low CADR, a weaker filter or a low-powered motor, and for purifiers that cost more than ₹20,000, “you’re paying for aesthetics, not for functionality,” he said, adding that the filter itself should capture 99.9% of particles at the PM 2.5 level.

Maintenance costs

Rajan Rawal, professor at CEPT University and senior adviser to the Centre for Advanced Research in Building Science and Energy (CRDF), said operating a 30-40W living room air purifier consumes 12-15 kWh of electricity monthly. While energy costs are minimal, the primary expense is replacing specialized HEPA and activated carbon filters whose costs vary by manufacturer and technology.

Localized residential purification systems offer minimal initial capital expenditure, but their long-term operational expenditures, driven by cumulative electricity consumption and recurring filter replacements across multiple rooms, are financially inefficient, he added.

To address maintenance beyond periodic filter replacement, extended warranty and protection plans typically range from ₹599 to over ₹1,400, depending on the device's purchase price and the coverage duration. It covers functional parts like fan motors, blower assemblies, and air quality sensors, along with repair and logistics costs, but excludes consumables and replaceable wear items such as HEPA or carbon filters, pre-filters, physical or liquid/water damage, and power surge/voltage fluctuation issues.

Long warranties and service plans are not worth paying extra for, according to Sutaria.

He said an air purifier has only two parts that matter: a filter and a motor, so long warranties and service plans are not worth paying extra for, since filters are not covered and, in most cases, the motor warranty does not include physical damage or voltage fluctuations.

He suggested budgeting about ₹2,000 a year to change the filter, which users can do themselves. A good purifier’s motor should last three to five years, he added, and if you run it continuously, he suggested switching it off for half an hour in the middle of the day.

Put together, a ₹12,000 to ₹18,000 purifier plus ₹2,000 a year for filters and about ₹336 a year for electricity comes to roughly ₹19,000 to ₹25,000 over three years, provided that the purifier itself does not need fixing during this period.

Some people in Delhi rent purifiers only during the most polluted months, which cost around ₹400- ₹ 700 per month. Sutaria said rentals can be cost-effective but warns users to check that the filter is not sealed in plastic bags.

Cheaper investment

For urban households battling bad air, purchasing an air purifier is fast becoming an essential insurance policy, as the cost looks cheaper and less taxing compared to medical bills and hospital visits.

Aditya Nag, assistant professor and consultant pulmonologist at Noida International Institute of Medical Sciences, said that hospital admission in case of a respiratory attack for the most vulnerable people can easily cost ₹50,000- ₹1 lakh at a good hospital, and emergency department admission can further cost ₹10,000- ₹15,000.

The costs go beyond the hospitalized period in terms of loss of working days and other therapies that may be required if the disease is chronic, he added. There is a misconception that only smokers face lung diseases, but the majority are those who are exposed to pollution.

He advised avoiding going out during peak pollution hours, keeping doors and windows closed, getting coughs and colds treated, and buying an air purifier for the room where you spend most of your time.

Sutaria said people should consider filter replacement costs, the outdoor environment and energy efficiency before buying an air purifier.

Additionally, he said one common mistake is closing every window and door and running the purifier, which causes PM 2.5 to come down while carbon dioxide (CO2) builds up quickly, even with just two or three people in the room. A purifier removes particles, not CO2, so the room can still feel stuffy.

“If you are locking up the room from outdoor air, you will need some form of mechanical ventilation to keep CO2 low, as low CO2 levels are essential for cognitive tasks and better REM sleep,” he said.

How to budget for it

Preeti Zende, Sebi-registered investment adviser and founder of Apanadhan Financial Services, called air purifiers a precautionary expense and suggested planning and budgeting for it in advance.

She added that if the need is driven by necessity, people can use their credit card and be disciplined about honouring the EMIs or the amount due.

What she said is extremely important is having health insurance covering all family members separate from the one provided by an employer and slowly building an emergency medical kitty to cover all the peripheral expenses. This can either be parked in a debt or arbitrage fund, or if it is for the long term, in an equity savings or a balanced advantage fund.

Rawal said that the most cost-effective and long-term solution is to create and maintain urban habitats with an Air Quality Index (AQI) below an acceptable level. He said that the high initial capital expenditure required to install centralized mechanical systems is offset by significantly lower per-unit operational costs over the buildings’ lifecycle.