India’s AC Market Is Set to Double to 30 Million Units by 2030 And One IIT Bombay Aerosol Scientist Is Building the Clean Air Ecosystem That Fits Every One of Them

India’s AC Market Is Set to Double to 30 Million Units by 2030 And One IIT Bombay Aerosol Scientist Is Building the Clean Air Ecosystem That Fits Every One of Them

We spend nearly 90% of our lives indoors. We sleep, work, study, exercise, and recover inside four walls, and through almost all of it, we breathe air-conditioned air. Most people assume their AC is giving them clean, cool, fresh air. The truth is the opposite. The air circulating through most ACs is among the most polluted air we breathe in a day, loaded with PM2.5, dust, allergens, bacteria, and viruses that ordinary AC mesh filters were never designed to stop.

With ACs now running 8–9 hours a day across Indian homes, offices, and public spaces, indoor air quality has quietly become one of the country’s most under-addressed health crises. And this is exactly the gap that AIRTH is solving, not with one product, but with an entire ecosystem.

The Dirty Secret Inside Your AC and How AIRTH Cracked It

An AC’s fan is roughly 5X stronger than an air purifier’s, which typically pushes only 200–300 m³/hr of air. AIRTH was the first to invent a way to clean that air using a smart “leaky” filtration system. A 1.5-ton AC throws around 1,000 m³/hr. AIRTH’s filter covers 50% of the air inlet area, and empirically, 20–30% of the air passes through the filter. The result: a Clean Air Delivery Rate (CADR) equivalent to expensive air purifiers, with no separate machine, no extra electricity, and no habit problem.

There’s a 30Pa pressure drop, which reduces airflow by 10–15% and increases power consumption by just 1–3% of 1.5kW (roughly 15–45W). This has been the biggest perception barrier for AIRTH — people fear it could harm the AC. The truth is the exact opposite.

Your mesh filter is the biggest problem creator for your AC. Most ACs suffer from two issues:

  • AC air is not enough—because the mesh filter gets clogged within 3–4 weeks.
  • AC air is not cool enough—because dust the mesh filter can’t stop settles on the cooling coil, acting as an insulation layer and killing heat exchange efficiency.

With India’s installed base of 10 crore ACs, most are running in a suboptimal range—losing 30–50% of airflow within a month of servicing. AIRTH ensures ACs run in their optimal range while delivering clean air at the same time.

Busting the Biggest Myth: “AIRTH Only Makes Filters for Split ACs.”

This is the single most common misconception about AIRTH and it’s wrong. 

Today, AIRTH is building a complete clean air ecosystem that works across every major AC system used in India—split ACs, window ACs, cassette ACs, FCUs (Fan Coil Units), AHUs (Air Handling Units) and fresh air units.

AIRTH is indoor clean air infrastructure designed to scale across homes, luxury residences, commercial buildings, offices, hospitals, schools, hotels, gyms, malls, and large real estate developments. India doesn’t have one indoor air problem. It has many different AC types, different pollution levels, different building designs, and different seasons. 

At the center of this mission is Ravi Kaushik, founder & CEO of AIRTH, an aerosol scientist from IIT Bombay who has spent the last 8 years working on air. His vision is clear on making clean air a reality and an affordable solution.

FILTRIX is AIRTH’s filtration technology. It uses smart 3D partial-coverage filtration to capture pollutants and uses no bulky machines or separate purifiers, is installed in mins, and has a universal fit for every AC type. The technology has been validated by IIT Bombay, IIT Delhi, and IIT Kanpur and tested at NABL-accredited and BEE-certified labs.

AIRTH’s clean air technology is already at work in 75,000+ Indian homes; premium residences including Magnolias, Camellias, and Aralias in Gurugram; leading international schools; hospitals; gyms; international organizations; and commercial spaces across the country. The company gained national visibility through Shark Tank India Season 4. 

The Bigger Picture

Air pollution in India is no longer a seasonal Delhi problem. It is a year-round, nationwide indoor health issue. Standalone air purifiers solve it for a few rooms and a few people. ACs are already everywhere in 30+ million Indian homes and counting. By upgrading the device that’s already running, AIRTH is doing something no one could have imagined.

The Impact of Indoor Air Quality on Health

The Impact of Indoor Air Quality on Health

Our perceptions of our homes, workplaces, schools, retail establishments, and other shared private or public spaces have altered since the year 2020. The spread of the Covid-19 epidemic around the world has forced us to change how we interact with one another, go about our daily lives, and use our spare time. The increase in the amount of time individuals spend indoors has been one of the biggest shifts. People were already expected to spend 90% of their time indoors in 2019, but we still had national lockdowns, the move to remote work, and self-quarantine advice. As a result, awareness of indoor air quality has increased (IAQ).

The subject of indoor air, air pollution, its quality, and how it affects our health gained popularity amid the procedures being made to safeguard us. Since then, it has been a problem for many, affecting people at home, in educational institutions, and in all kinds of businesses.

It’s difficult to comprehend how or in what ways poor indoor air quality impacts us, even though we often hear that it has a detrimental impact on health. For instance, did you know that excessive heat in a closed environment reduces our desire to interact with others or engage in activities?

How Does Indoor Air Pollution affect?

Some of the symptoms we experience when in poor air quality are:

  • Triggerallergies
  • Irritatedeyes, nose, orthroat
  • Blockednose
  • Dry, itchy skin
  • Tiredness
  • Rashes
  • Dizziness
  • Nausea

These are caused when we are exposed to closed environments such as gyms, schools, offices, living with pets, indoor spaces that have carpets, open fires/candles, etc. Most often, symptoms will go away soon after you leave the area. However, excessive, or repetitive exposure to such environments might have a harmful effect on already existing health conditions or cause new ones.

Air Conditioning as part of the solution

As much as ventilation is important in such indoor spaces, air conditioning systems keep humidity levels low and manage indoor temperatures.

Hitachi air conditioners not only cool your indoor environment but also provide clean, odor-free, and fresh air to keep health issues at bay. Hitachi’s Auto Coil Dry Technology(Soft Dry)prevents the accumulation of debris, dust, and pollen in the form of condensed water droplets on the evaporator coil and keeps the unit dry and clean to ensure fresh and healthy air.

Further, Hitachi’s FrostWashTechnology is an innovative self-cleaning technology that cleans in indoor evaporator coil, improves air quality, and creates a healthier environment by eliminating dirt. It significantly reduces the amount of dust, mold, and germs that accumulate on the indoor heat exchanger of your air conditioner and decreases their presence inside the unit. By encapsulating moisture created during routine operation, it captures the dust and debris that adhere to the heat exchanger. The dust, mold, and germs are subsequently drained out of the appliance together with the melted and defrosted frost. So, the air that meets the AC is free from dust and the air coming out of the AC is always clean and fresh.

To learn more about our ranges and products, visit our site www.hitachiaircon.com/in to see how you can benefit from Hitachi Cooling & Heating India.