The age old myth do an air purifiers cool the room?
Well I'm here to debunk that myth...
NO it doesn't
In this article we'll cover:

- The truth about air purifiers and whether they cool a room or not – we’re going to be debunking all the myths you’ve heard!
- Cold hard facts about airflow and direction.
- The difference between fans and air purifiers.
- Also, whether fans and air purifiers can even co-exist!
Let’s just jump in headfirst! That might have some cooling effect too (just kidding!).
Do Air Purifiers Cool the Room?
Despite popular belief, air purifiers don’t cool a room. They only filter airborne particles and clean the air surrounding them.
Other filtration processes help clean the air through a purifier. You can check them out in detail on Wikipedia, which gives a thorough rundown of the process and the inclusive technologies.
Air purifiers ‘purify’ the air in a given place which is about all they can do.
Read More: Do Air Purifiers Dry Out Your Air
Most air purifiers have multiple filters and a motorized fan. The fan is necessary to pull air inside the machine to be purified before being released.
This is where the myth starts. Air is released (purified and ready to be inhaled) by a small fan throwing it out of the cleaner as a cool breeze.
People experience slight “wind-chills” from the air circulation and assume the purifier is doing some cooling magic (but they aren't made in Harry Potters' wizarding war as much as I wish it was)!
You might have this experience more:
- When the air purifier fan is set at a higher speed.
- When you are standing in front of the air purifier and you are sweating or feeling warmer than usual.

You feeling chilly doesn’t mean that the room as a whole is cooled down. Air purifier fans are a lot smaller than ceiling fans or other air conditioning machine.
They cannot affect the room due to their size.
Why Does Air Flow Direction Matter?
The fact that air purifiers don’t cool the room doesn’t take away from the actual essence of the idea.
Which is the importance of airflow direction when cooling a room.
You might not think that a thing like an airflow direction could even slightly affect the coolness of a room. But, physics claims that it does(got to love science). And here’s a quick rundown of that:
- In summer, a ceiling fan rotates counterclockwise, directing the airflow towards people sitting under it. The warm air rises to the ceiling and gathers at the top of the fan, which then cools it down and sends it to the ground, that is, to us. This is because of the basic principle of physics that states that cold air will sink, and warm air will rise.
- In the winter, however, the fan rotates clockwise, changing the direction of the airflow. The cool air is sucked upward, and the warm air is pushed down.
Of course, air purifiers have similar designs, and they can be shown through the following:
- Upward Airflow – These purifiers suck in air from the front, back, or sideways and circulate the clean air towards the top of the room.
- Forward Airflow – This design takes in air from the back of the purifier and releases it from the front.
Can Air Purifiers Make A Room Feel Cold?
Like I said earlier, purifiers do not cool a room and thus cannot lower the temperature. They can make you feel chills if the purified air hits you directly.
Read More: Best Air Purifiers For Vaping
But there’s no change in temperature change caused by your air purifier. Air purifiers don’t make a room colder.
Do Air purifiers Work As Fans?
Unfortunately, air purifiers cannot do what they aren’t meant to do. Even if that means replacing a small electric fan. They use a small, motorized fan to serve their pull air in and purify it..
They don't move air around in a way to cool or warm a specific room or person. Making their use completely different from a fan.
Just as air purifiers can’t replace fans, fans can’t filter out dust and other harmful particles from the air like air purifiers.
Unlike the purifiers, fans only pressure air in a circular motion to amplify its effect. But if there are any impurities in the atmosphere, the fan is unable to filter them.
That’s why they should work together… which leads us to our next important question!
Can You Use A Fan With An Air Purifier?
There should never be an issue with running a fan with an air purifier! In fact, both appliances can co-exist without problems. They coexist by balancing the purpose of each other.
Not only will the air quality of the room improve, but the room will also stay cool and livable in the hotter months.
Read More: Do Air Purifiers Work
Air circulation with a fan will allow the air to reach every corner of the room and constantly displace it, allowing the purifier to clean all air within the room.
The purified air will be circulated everywhere with the help of the fan, providing them with a cycle of symbiosis, and proving that air purifiers can easily co-exist with fans.
The Bottom Line
You shouldn't buy an air purifier and hope that it can cool down your room. The only thing it's really good at is making your air cleaner.
The fan in your air purifier isn't strong enough to change the temperature in your room.
But...
If you sit close enough to your air purifier it might cool you down some.
If you want cool the air down in your room a fan is your best bet.