The main reason why you’d install an air purifier at home is the need for clean air free from dust and other pollutants.
If you are allergic to some of these particles, pollen, for example, an air purifier can help alleviate the symptoms.
Ceiling fans, on another hand, are integral for temperature control.
So, Can You Run an Air Purifier and Ceiling Fan at The Same Time?
In one word – “Yes.” It is perfectly OK to run your air purifier and ceiling fan at the same time. Air purifiers are probably the most misunderstood household devices out there. For example, it is widely believed that the device can be forced to overwork as a result of the positive pressure (more on this later) and the activities of the ceiling fan. Another has it that air purifiers can’t be effective if allowed to operate with open windows and doors in the presence of a running fan. We’re about to debunk some of these misconceptions later on. But first, we need to understand how the air purifier works.
How Does an Air Purifier Do Its Job?
To understand why it’s safe to run your ceiling fan and air purifiers at the same, you first need to understand how the air purifier works.
Essentially, the job of your air purifier is to sanitize the air. This includes the removal of pollutants, toxins, allergens, and microorganisms.
It’s the exact opposite of humidifiers and essential oil diffusers, which add unwanted particles to your indoor space.
Also, air purifiers function a little differently compared to filters – filters are limited to particle removal, but air purifiers go a step further to sanitize.
The type of particles removed through an air purifier depends on the kind of device you choose.
Certain versions are equipped with filters to trap even the tiniest particles as wafts of air run through them. Others will neutralize particles present in the air without necessarily filtering them first.
Then some apply the negative ion method to trap the particles. This type of device negative ions, which attract positive ion particles from the air so that they are neutralized.
A Ceiling Fan May Complement Your Air Purifier
It can be a great idea to run these two devices in tandem.
Think about it – the job of the fan is to blow air around the room to create the much-needed cooling effect.
This can be beneficial to your air purifier.
Remember that the air purifier simply sucks in the air, removes the pollutants, and pumps the clean air back into the environment.
But your need ample airflow to bring the dirty air close to the device for cleaning and distribute the clean air far and wide.
You can count on your ceiling fan to contribute to this airflow, not entirely though.
Running these two together means that the air purifiers do all the cleaning while the fan helps spread the clean air all over the room for even distribution.
This way, you can use one not-so-powerful air purifier placed somewhere in the corner of your home to serve an expansive room with fresh and clean air.
Air Purifiers Are Very Much Like Fans (In Some Way)
Perhaps the best proof that your ceiling fan and an air purifier can coexist is that most air purifiers nowadays are equipped with in-built fans.
During the winter when the air is cold and dense, an air purifier can have a hard time sucking the air and delivering the right amount of clean air per given time.
That’s why some of them come with built-in fans.
These fans help draw in dirty and dense air into the device and blow out the clean air into the atmosphere. This doesn’t mean your ceiling fan can replace these built-in fans.
Let’s debunk the most common misconception about ceiling fans and air purifiers:
“Positive Pressure Wouldn’t Let a Fan Work with an Air Purifier”
It is believed that when windows and doors are shut and the fan is left to run together with the air purifier, the positive pressure is created and ends up sucking the outside air plus all the pollutants.
These pollutants eventually add to the particles in the room to overwork your air purifier by creating a bigger load.
That’s not how things work.
Positive pressure (pressure in a system that’s greater than that in the environment that surrounds it) doesn’t affect the working of an air purifier.
When you turn on your ceiling fan, the purifier in the room simply takes longer to clean a load of air present because it influences the airflow to the purifier.
The only effect a fan has on the air purifier is an increased time required to clean the larger load of air.
The quality of the air outside the home may influence the time taken by the air purifier to clean the air, so it’s recommended you close the windows and doors in such a case but let the fan blow uninhibited.
Are Fans Helpful to Air Purifiers?
Not much. Yes, you will need some good airflow to ensure better circulation to allow the dirty air into the air purifier and the clean air to every corner of the room.
But you don’t require a miniature hurricane to assist the purifier at all times.
You don’t even need the service of a fan to have clean air.
A Thing About Built-In Fans
Most of the air purifiers you will find in the store have a fan in them.
The difference between the built-in fans and your ceiling fan is that built-in fans have been carefully engineered and specifically designed to function with your air purifier.
In fact, if those little fans fail to work, your air purifier won’t work as desired.
What you don’t need, therefore, is a second fan on top of it. Still, many users erroneously think that the second fan will speed up the process of air purification.
Final Remarks – Can You Run an Air Purifier and Ceiling Fan at The Same Time?
At this point, if you are still pondering “can you run an air purifier and ceiling fan at the same time?” we can advise you – plainly – that it’s a perfectly harmless thing to do.
But it is not necessary.
Yes, you will need some good airflow to ensure better circulation to allow the dirty air into the air purifier and the clean air to every corner of the room, but the purifier is designed to do this relatively easily and on its own.
If the home is badly maintained that there’s dust on every fixture in the room including the lights and the fan, it can be a bad idea to run the ceiling fan in tandem with the air purifier.
That’s because the dust and other debris may be blown into the air and end up overworking the purifier.
Conclusion
The job of your air purifier is to sanitize the air.
This includes the removal of pollutants, toxins, allergens, and microorganisms.
It’s the exact opposite of humidifiers and essential oil diffusers, which add unwanted particles to your indoor space.
While the ceiling can be used to compliment it, the assistance is unnecessary because air purifiers are designed for their job. You have nothing to worry about if you choose to use them together.
