'AQI Down To...': Delhi Resident Builds Air Purifier At Home For Rs 2000. How Does It Work?

Air purifiers are no longer considered a luxury item, but a necessity of the hour. The deteriorating air quality across the North Indian belt has driven up the sales of air purifiers both online and offline. “Sales have gone up by around 60 per cent, both through walk-ins and online orders. Since mid-October, customers have been reaching out to us regularly, so we’ve increased our stock to meet the demand,” a representative at Mahajan Electronics in Raja Garden, New Delhi, was quoted as saying PTI.

Delhi residents have been waking up to hazy mornings and battling a thick layer of smog lingering in the air. With air quality consistently remaining in the “poor” category, a chorus of people has suggested enforcing lockdowns to ensure the safety

of the city’s inhabitants. Others have switched on their air purifiers to make their indoor air breathable and safe.

Then, some people are assembling air purifiers at home, or at least this one particular Reddit user who jerry-rigged an air purifier and claimed that it was effective as well. All in a shoestring budget of Rs 2000.

4 purifier running 24×7 at home

Reading while all doors are closed – 100

Just opened main door and touched – 500

Life become hell in NCR and govt is busy in bihar campaign. pic.twitter.com/7b5Zg3QXea

— Kapil Dhama (@kapildhama) November 1, 2025

Also Read: Gurugram Resident Shares Shocking Photo Of Air Purifier Filter Clogged With Dust: ‘We Are Breathing Through Chimney’

What Does Air Purifier Do?

An air purifier can trap pollen, dust, smoke, pollutants, and germs using filters such as HEPA (H13 or H14) and pump out fresh air to the surroundings. The HEPA filter (H13 or H14) captures 99.97% of particles as small as 0.3 microns, including PM2.5 and allergens.

According to health experts, prolonged exposure to polluted air can trigger respiratory infections, eye irritation, fatigue, and exacerbate existing health conditions.

Homemade Air Purifier

Posting his contraption on Reddit’s r/delhi, a user (u/shukrant25) shared he had put together an air purifier for Rs 1965. To achieve this, he bought a few items and assembled them.

He purchased a 150mm exhaust fan for Rs 750, and used Amazon to purchase a HEPA filter for Rs 1000. A switch, and a regulator with a wire cost him Rs 65. Bringing all these items together was a cardboard box and glue, which set him back by Rs 150.

He also comically scribbled “Philips” on the air purifier body to really hit the message home.

Does It Work?

The Reddit user claimed that his room’s AQI dropped from 400 to below 50 in 15 minutes when the exhaust fan was at its lowest speed. He further informed that he used a factory-made air purifier, which he already had in his possession, as a sensor to measure the AQI achieved by his contraption.

I Built my Personal Air Purifier for 2000 INR
byu/shukrant25 indelhi

Reddit Requests

A bunch of people in the community insisted that the OP, Shukrant, share a tutorial video of the build.

“Can you make a video of it or something I’m pretty sure u would get good views in utube (sic),” wrote one.

“Bhai weekend pe workshop organise krdo sab saman leke aajaenge tum bnwa dena (Conduct a workshop on the weekend, we will get the items, you assemble it for us).”

Also Read: New Air Purifier Not Working? You May Have Missed This Crucial Step

“Bhai ek youtube pr DIY video daal do, it will surely get viral and will be helpful to many (sic),” added another.

Tutorial Video Up

Upon being bombarded with several requests from the Reddit community, Shukrant actually stitched together a tutorial video and uploaded on his YouTube channel.

The DIYer also insisted that an air purifier could be assembled at home without the need to shell out thousands of rupees.

“A simple one can be built very economically. No need to spend 10-12k on it,” he wrote.

Another user agreed with this sentiment, sharing that air purifiers simply filter polluted air, a principle the OP had perfectly demonstrated.

“Air purifier is just a fan and a filter that’s it , just build a contraption that can make air flow through the air filter and you’re done , that’s it it’s not complicated like RO or something (sic).”