Oxygen + Power: Hidden Costs and Risks for Stationary Concentrator Users

July 10, 2007

Rising fuel prices have contributed to increased power costs, placing a burden on the oxygen user. According to a 2005 report by the nonprofit Edison Foundation, fuel and purchased power expense growth contributed to a 22-percent increase in utility expenses from 2002 to 2005.

The high cost of running an oxygen concentrator, estimated at $30-40 a month is magnified by the fact that the majority of oxygen users fall in the 65-84 age bracket, ages when most people are retired and living on substantially less money.

"The power is an issue and sort of the hidden costs that a patient pays," says Bob McCoy, of Valley Inspired Products. "These concentrators consume about as much electricity as a refrigerator. The estimate is about $30 a month. And the home filling systems are a little bit more — it's a concentrator plus a pumper. Depending on how efficient they are, it's going to be a little bit more. So, it might be $40 a month. That's a patient cost. They can write it off on taxes, but if they don't have the money in the first place, then it becomes an issue."

Fortunately, portable concentrators have made a step in the right direction. Because many of these systems rely on battery power, manufacturers have begun to reduce the amount of power the systems use.

"In other words, when you turn the knob, that adjusts what the power draw is going to be, so you'd be consuming less electricity," McCoy says. He calls the portable an "electricity conserving device" and says manufacturers of larger stationary concentrators should use it as a model to cut power consumption.

While the high cost of electricity may be hitting oxygen users' pocketbooks hard, a power outage could put oxygen users at serious risk. As a result, oxygen users should always have backup oxygen that does not require electricity to use.

In a May CNN story, a New Zealand woman who needed an electric oxygen pump to breathe died after an energy company cut power to her home because of a $122 unpaid bill. The woman had been out of work because of an illness and had fallen behind on payments. The family claimed that the company representative had been made aware of the woman's condition but cut the power anyway. She died two hours later.