Sizing Guide. How Much Ozone Do I Need?

How many milligrams of ozone per hour (mg/h) you need depends on three factors. 1) Temperature. 2) Humidity. 3) Your objective.

Humidity reduces the amount of ozone that can be created by corona discharge by the percentage of humidity in the air. At 50% humidity, you reduce the amount of ozone that can be created by 50%. At 80% humidity, you reduce the amount of ozone that can be created by 80%. So on and so forth.

For that reason, we’ve invested in the next generator of ozone technology. It utilizes a quarts tube (glass) with stainless steel screens on both sides. The total amount of surface that can create ozone is 5 times larger than our 10g ozone plate. It utilizes ‘cold corona’ technology which means the ozone element does not get over 80 degrees. Less heat. More ozone! Also, since the ozone tube doesn’t get hot, we don’t need to blow ozone directly over the tube to create ozone. We can ‘suck’ the ozone that is being created on the quartz tube through a fan, which allows for 3-4 times higher ozone concentrations exiting the unit vs conventional ozone plate technology. (see video)

So how much ozone do you need? You need around 1000 mg/h per 100 square feet to create ‘shock’ levels of ozone. (6-10 ppm) 1ppm is the EPA guideline for ozone. Above 1ppm, ozone will start to compromise the lung function of humans. Over 5 ppm, ozone will kill small insects like mites (takes around one hour of 5ppm or more exposure) and for sure kill all molds, bacteria, and viruses which often only take minutes to kill.

How much ozone you need also depends on your objective. Are you trying to kill dust mites or bird mites? Mold or fungus? Get rid of second-hand smoke damage? Get rid of VOC’s? Or just freshen the air. They all take different run times and protocols.

We provide exact information on how to perform ozone shock treatments in our manuals and over the phone. This is just general information on how ozone works and how much you need.

61 thoughts on “Sizing Guide. How Much Ozone Do I Need?

  1. I want an ozone generator to try to kill cigarette smoking odor in a 2011 pickup truck l bought. What size generator do I need for that?

    1. I have an auditorium that’s 3100 sq ft with 5 overhead fans (9’ ceilings) that needs weekly shock treatments. What output rate should I use? If I put it in the center of the auditorium with fans on, will the ozone reach / travel 1500 ft?
      How long does ozone exist after being produced?
      Is the sweet smell a metabolite from carpet or ?
      For long term use, which type of generator is best?
      Thanks very much.

      1. Our 24″ commercial fan (80g) can shoot ozone 50 or more feet up towards the ceiling of your auditorium. That would be enough to do the shock treatment. I’d do it every night for 15 minutes. Coronavirus can live up to 9 days on surfaces. Regular virus for 24 hours. To protect your clients, daily shock treatments would be advisable. But again, only for 15 minutes (then let the ozone linger for 40 more minutes) The virus dies within minutes of 6ppm ozone concentrations per studies.

        1. Can the smell of ozone be useful in helping to estimate the ppm concentration? (Wondering what is the lowest concentration that can be smelled…)

          1. I’m not sure I understand the question. But let me give it the ol’ college try.

            The typical ozone generator using a corona discharge plate runs ‘hot’ and produces what some describe as a burnt ozone smell that lingers, sometimes for days. How long it lingers depends on how long you ran the unit and the humidity level. High humidity. Long run time (running hot the whole time) it may take a week for the ozone ‘smell’ to go away.

            Mind you, there is no ozone in the air. Just the smell of ozone! Ozone has a half life of 40 minutes at room temperatures.

            Solution? Use our new quartz tube technology! It doesn’t run hot, and humidity does not affect ozone production, so you need to run it as long to get to a high ppm concentration of ozone. A 30 minute shock is all you usually
            need to get the job done. And best of all. It won’t leave an ‘ozone smell’ that lingers for days.

        1. Our 10g ozone generator will treat a much larger area, but that’s the unit you’ll need. In smaller areas like rooms. It converts the air into ozone faster so that you get a better (higher concentration) ozone shock treatment.

  2. 1600 sq ft, 4 br house. Humidity inside home at present 45, I live in Sacramento ca, TMI on the website, difficulty determining product help

  3. Hi. I have a 1700 sqf home . What size unit would i need? And i have 90 gal saltwater reef tank , are the fish safe?

    Regards

    Will

  4. How can you quantify the amount of mg/h based on sq ft when cubic ft gives you the actual volume of air? For example, a 2400 sq ft space with 15 foot ceilings would be 36,000 cubic ft. A 2400 sq ft space with 8 ft ceilings would be 19,200 cubic ft. Is the volume not taken into consideration when calculating the necessary output from an ozone generator?

    1. A good question. The calculations are based on a 8′ ceiling. Ozone is heavier than air, so it accumulates at ground level then builds up higher. Since our design shoots 3000 CFM of ozone towards the roof,
      and forces the oxygen near the roof down, our machines create higher o3 concentrations that the typical machine with a 4.5′ 80 CFM fan.

      If you have 10′ or higher ceilings, then up the amount of ozone a little. However, humidity still remains the main consideration in how much ozone you need.

  5. I’m currently in the process of purchasing an ozone generator for my cleaning business as a service to my customers. What type ozone generator do i need to purchase for jobs? My aim is to kill viruses…

    1. A 30-minute shock treatment will kill surface viruses (total 10-hour high ozone – ozone lingers for about 40 minutes) You’ll need to get 1000 mg per 500 sq ft at 50% humidity to create over 5ppm (shock level)

  6. I am treating a 2,000 sqft basement with moderate mold and mild cigarette/wood stove smoke. How long should I run a 10,000 mg/hr machine for? Humidity will be around 50%. Should this be tackled in one large single treatment or multiple smaller treatments.

    1. Two of the 10g quartz tube machines would be what the doctor ordered. They come with a 24 hr timer so you can have it cut on and off several times a day. The quartz tube has a lifetime warranty. No need to ever replace. We’re selling these too cheap if you ask me!

  7. I have a 12 square foot grow area. How much do I need to kill powdery mildew?

  8. I have a single room in the house with a slight smoke odor as I believe the room was historically a cigar room. The return vent was closed off so there is no smell throughout the house but the room itself has a very slight hint of smoke smell. Also, there were exhaust fans installed behind the recessed lights which is likely why the room only has a minor smell. The room is currently completely empty and is 11×14 with 10′ ceilings and hardwood floor. I’ve washed the walls down in a vinegar solution which appears to have helped alittle but the smell still lingers. Given this will be used as an office I’m curious if you would recommend I use an ozone machine in the room and if so what size and how long should it run? Also, do you recommend multiple applications?

    1. Any of our ozone generators will do the trick to get rid of second hand smoke damage. The process is to do the ozone shock for 30 minutes. Air out with fresh air. Then heat up the area to cause the smoke damage to come to the surface. And repeat. (as many times as necessary)

  9. Looking to buy an ozone generator for my green house to treat both powdery mildew and spider mites. It is a 1260 sq/ft space with an 8ft ceiling. I have a few questions if you don’t mind?
    What size would I need to do a “Shock” treatment and how long would you recommend running it for? Would it be safe for the plants to do a one time treatment or does the room need to be empty between harvests? If it is safe for the plants, I have read that UV ozone generators are the better choice because they have a stable output through humidity variation, would you agree?

    1. With plants you want to hit them with ozone for a short period of time (to kill the mites, fungus) and then air it out. High concentration works best, short duration. I’m going to make videos that show how fast our quartz tube units create ozone. (over 10-20ppm)

  10. if im running three ozone generators at 7000 mgh each am I getting a total of 21,000 mgh or still 7000 mgh in three locations in the basement?

    Also my basement is about 55% humidity 2000 sq ft 7 foot ceiling which unit would be best for killing mold? the 7000mgh units or the commercial 40,000 mgh unit with an added fan to blow the oazonated air around the basement?

    1. At 55% humidity, you reduce the amount of ozone you can produce by around 50%. The benefit of our 3 units is that you can spread them around a 2 story house. But we don’t recommend that unit in humid areas (over 20%). We recommend the quartz tube ozone generators (10g) or the 40g commercial unit. Humidity doesn’t bother those units, and they don’t run ‘hot.’ Typical ozone generator plates get up to 140 degrees. The quartz tube doesn’t get above 80 degrees. So which unit do I recommend? I think 2 of our 10g units would be the best value. We offer 2 for $240 if you call us.

    1. The unit is 5.5″ x 5.5″ x 11 inches long. You can place the unit level but have a fan blow the ozone towards the roof, unit doesn’t need to face upwards.

  11. nevada desert possible bird mites in a car and a small 2bdrm apt . will the car unit work and can you clarify the power on that unit

    1. Ozone will kill bird mites over a 3 week period but you have to hit them with two sessions a day. (Doesn’t kill eggs, egg cycle is 3 weeks)

      Our units are 10,000 mgh but produce more ozone than ozone plate units. Humidity reduces the amount of ozone they can make. At 70% humidity, you
      only get 3000 mgh from a 10,000 mgh unit. With ours? 10,000 mgh regardless of the humidity levels.

  12. Which unit would you recommend for cigarette smoke in a minivan with leather seats? I’m in KY Which stays pretty humid. The smell gets much worse when the van sits in the sun and heats up. Thanks!

    1. The car unit that comes with a cig lighter adaptor would be best. Run it for 15 mins / the AC running then open the windows and air it out. You can do that multiple times as needed to get rid
      of second hand smoke odors. Our new glass tube ozone generators still produce high ozone concentrations even with high humidity. The old plate technology isn’t made for humidity. With 70% humidity
      they only produce 30% ozone. Ours is 100% regardless.

  13. I live in a 3 bedroom/2.5 bath townhouse. Only 1 bedroom is being used due to spores or something which makes us feel very sick when we experiment moving to other rooms. The townhome was built 3yrs ago. We came to live in them 18mos ago. What size machine should I purchase for schock treatment in 1 room at a time? Also, can we do the treatment in abandoned rooms wo having to leave? If we do have to leave how long would we have to stay out? Thank you so much, pretty desperate!! Oh, guess I should mention we were sensitized to toxic mold living in a rental 7yrs ago.

    1. Our weakest machine is 10 grams an hour (10,000 milligrams) which treats up to 1000 sq ft. In small rooms,
      it quickly converts all of the air into ozone so you don’t have to run it for 30 minutes. 10-15 will do the job. Then
      allow the ozone to do it’s thing for 40 more minutes. Then air it out by opening a window and bringing in fresh air,
      unless it’s humid outside.

      If it is toxic mold (have confirmed via testing) then I’d move. I’d file a claim with the insurance company, get lawyers involved, etc. I wouldn’t put my health at risk living with toxic mold. If it’s regular mold. Then you can use ozone to treat it. Some use ozone to treat toxic mold. And ozone does kill all types of molds. However, you asked for my advise, and that’s what I’d do. Not mess living with toxic mold.

  14. I have a classic car that has been in a garage for 20 years which has a mildew odor. Which unit would be best to remove this?

    Also once the order is removed/gone, do I need to do other applications or will it be gone forever?

    1. The best unit would be the ‘all in one’ 10g that features a silicone ozone tube that outputs 100 ppm ozone via a cracked window, the unit sitting on the top of the unit. That is the best
      auto ozone generator in the world because of it’s high output and portability. But it’s pricy to just do cars ($500) For $100 you can get out 10g quartz tube/fan ozone generator and place
      it inside the car and run it for 15 minutes per application. It should get rid of the mildew with 2 or 3 applications max, after that, you’ll want to do a follow-up once a month if it’s
      outside to keep mold from growing again.

  15. Which unit would you recommend for ozone generator for laboratory animals in a cage housing six animals. What is the unit in mg/hr I must use to get 0.25- 2.5 PPM range and what humidity I must maintain to ensure ozone exposure to animals. Thanks!

    1. Any amount of ozone will harm the poor animals lungs. Sure. I get it. They’re going to die anyway and you just want to get rid of the poop and urine odor
      without killing them or harming their lungs (unless that’s not a concern) That biologically active urine and feces gets airborne and can harm the health
      of the research staff, so I get why you want to address it.

      The EPA has set standards for ozone exposure (8 hrs) I’m sure you’re aware of. IF I were you, I would buy an ozone meter to monitor the ozone exposure in the
      air to make sure it doesn’t go above that concentration then set-up one of our ozone generators on a repeat cycle timer (for instance turn on for 10 seconds ever two minutes continuously)
      In order to achieve an ozone concentration that addresses airborne contaminants in an occupied room without causing too much ozone exposure to your lungs.

      1. Thank you Mike for your valuable response. I had planned for ozone monitor as well which I had not mentioned earlier as it was not my concern at that time. My intention was to know the capacity of generator and PPM set with other parameters like humidity. I would use your method of 10 seconds exposure every two minutes which would be less harmful for both staff and animals

        1. Regarding humidity, at 50% humidity, ozone production is reduced by 50% with ozone plate technology. With UV or quartz tube technology, no reduction in ozone production
          and no NoX production. (that’s what we sell). Just keep the ozone in the air under the EPA guidelines for 8 hr exposure and you and the animals should be fine. Also. Turn
          off ozone machine when no humans present as to not harm the animals lungs.

    2. My 600 sqft pole barn tuned shop has heavy smoke odor from a fire. Humidity is currently in the 75% range. What would you recommend?

      1. Our $99 10g unit will easily treat the area. Place it up high. Set the timer to turn on for 30 minutes four times a day (if no animals are present) It will scare away rats and snakes. Kill small insects. But if they’re trespassers? Who cares, right?

  16. I still do not understand how much milligram I need? What If I buy the highest milligram ozone generator and can I use it on the max setting for a car and for a garage?

    1. Cars are an outlier. They can’t be shocked longer than 15 minutes without risking damage to the rubber gaskets in the doors. As for mgh, 10,000 mgh treats areas up to 1000 sq ft. So say you have a 900 sq ft apt, 10g with our quartz tube generators is plenty. If you opt to buy an ozone plate ozone generator, then it depends upon the humidity. At 60% humidity, an ozone plate ozone generator has the ozone production reduced by 60%. (Not ours our UV ozone generators) So keep that in mind. Best bet. Buy our quartz tube ozone generator. No replacement plate cost. Lifetime warranty. US design. Great service. Can’t beat that!

  17. My 10,000 mg/hr ozone unit has completely eliminated all odors in our basement. After a broken pipe we treated our basement again before the odors and were lucky enough to avoid them completely. I did run a 20′ box fan 24/7 with 2 shock treatments from our ozone unit. We could not be happier. Your advice has been very well received.

  18. G’day Mike, I have a 105m2 (1200 sq ft) with 10ft ceilings controlled grow room with 92.5% humidity at 20 degree Celcius. I would like to shock treat this as needed to kill mold and kill/reduce fruit flies. What size machine do you recommend and do you ship to Australia?
    thanks

    1. Hello Nathan.

      At 92.5% humidity, you will reduce the amount of ozone you can make, even with our machines. The ozone plates won’t work at all above 90% humidity, as you probably know. UV lamps work best but that technology cost over $1000 and the bulbs are expensive to replace. With two 10g machine run for 30 minutes ever 3 hrs, I think you can keep the mold and mites, flies away. I’d start that.

  19. Hi
    I want to wipe out any powdery mildew spores that I might have in a 4×4 grow tent. Would 5000 mg/h be too much for minutes? I doubt I would need more than that (maybe less), but I’m not certain.

    1. That’s a small area. Too much will harm pot plants (if that’s what you’re growing) and I don’t want to advise you in case it causes damage and opens me to liability. I can advise you to
      experiment with small amounts at first then check to see how the plants take it, then increase the amount of ozone. You know. Experiment. Document. Proceed.

    2. Ozone generators fell out of favor with growers because the ozone gas treatments, and perhaps any residual gas, severely impacted bud aroma. BEWARE!

      1. Correct. You don’t expose the plants to ozone. Growers use ozone after harvest to kill the molds and mites that harm the plants during the grow season. In between grows is when ozone shock treatments are beneficial to the bottom line.

  20. I was hoping to use this in a large cold plunge (100 gal) as an alternative to chlorine…what unit would you recommend.

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