But I also have time-of-day energy pricing, and it would be nice to automatically turn off (or at least slow) my air filters during the 5pm-8pm window. This project inspires me to at least look into the feasibility of adding that functionality myself.
So now I just have them plugged into a few smart plugs with automations in homeassistant
Ten bucks, and completely hacker-proof: https://www.acehardware.com/departments/lighting-and-electri...
$16 if you need a remote control: https://www.acehardware.com/departments/lighting-and-electri...
Or $17 if you want to get all digital and fancy: https://www.acehardware.com/p/3001323
Also I can easily turn them on or off from my phone which is nice if I'm feeling lazy.
It's been working so well I was actually surprised one night when the dehumidifier in the bedroom turned itself on from the automation (which I have set to do after dark if humidity is higher then 70%).
It had been within tolerance for ages and I just hadn't had to even think about it.