If you have a newer residence in Cache Valley, it was in all likelihood built with energy efficiency in mind. This means more insulation and windows and doors with improved seals. While these enhancements are fantastic for keeping your utility bills reasonable, they’re not so fantastic for your indoor air quality.
Your home comfort system needs to work with a filter. But if you have a flat filter, you won’t be receiving adequate filtration. This type only provides the bare minimum of protection by keeping dust out of your HVAC system.
While you can upgrade to a pleated filter or one with a better MERV rating, it still might not be ample filtration, even more so if someone in your house has allergies or other respiratory issues.
That’s where a whole-house air purifier comes in. These systems are installed within ductwork to provide effective filtration around your residence. Depending on the type you choose, you’ll be able to filter allergens, odors and even some viruses under certain airflow conditions.
Here are our best systems from Lennox, an industry leader in air purification.
Best Air Purifiers from Lennox
1. HEPA Air Purifiers
A HEPA air purifier, like the Healthy Climate® High-Efficiency Particulate Air Filtration System, gives the best filtration. These filters were first created to protect scientists as they made the atomic bomb. Today, they’re essential in hospitals and other medical operations.
The Healthy Climate HEPA Filtration System includes a three-step filtration method. A prefilter catches significant pollutants before the HEPA filter captures the remainder of miniscule irritants. Then, a charcoal filter wipes out odors and chemical vapors.
The PureAir™ S Air Purification System connects to all HVAC brands and seamlessly connects with your smart home. It combats the three key kinds of indoor air pollutants:
- Airborne particles
- Chemical odors and vapors
- Germs and bacteria, under certain airflow conditions
This air purifier can get rid of 99.9%* of pollutants, such as mold spores, pollen, dust and pet dander. It’s also potent at decreasing or eliminating 90%1 of flu and cold viruses under certain airflow conditions. And, as the result of laboratory and field studies, it removes and eliminates approximately 50% of household odors and chemical vapors within 24 hours.
The PureAir S includes sensing features that make it easy to keep up. When linked with an iComfort® S30 smart thermostat, you’ll be notified when to change the filter and UVA light.2 This home air purifier must be used with communicating Lennox systems and the iComfort S30.
2. Media Air Cleaners
Lennox Healthy Climate® Media Air Cleaners are made in a variety of MERV ratings to work with your needs. This rating calculates how effective filters are at trapping contaminants. The higher the number, the greater the filtration.
The Healthy Climate Carbon Clean 16® Media Air Cleaner is great for residences with allergy suffers and pets. This is a HEPA filter air purifier, as it has a MERV 16 rating for hospital-level filtration. And it removes more than 95%3 of unhealthy particles from your home’s air.
The Healthy Climate 13 Media Air Cleaner is suggested for families who want better protection from viruses and bacteria. This filter traps 99% of larger particles including dust, pollen and lint. And up to 54% of smaller particles down to 0.3 microns.4
The Healthy Climate 11 Media Air Cleaner is a a fantastic air purifier for allergies and in houses with pets. It removes more than 87% of bigger particles down to 3 microns and more than 28% of smaller ones down to 0.3 microns.4 It’s able to provide this powerful filtration without driving up the price of operating your home comfort system.
These three media air cleaners are compatible with any brand of HVAC system. But despite that, it’s critical to realize that some of the denser ones, such as MERV 16 and 13, may limit your system’s airflow. This can hike up your utility bills.
3. UV Air Purifiers
The sun’s UV rays are the reason why you get a painful sunburn. But this kind of light has a helpful application when installed within your ductwork. It’s also strong enough to decrease germs, mold and fungi under certain airflow conditions.
In fact, the Healthy Climate UV Germicidal Light can reduce the amount of airborne microorganisms by 50% in as little as 45 minutes.5 This light damages cell structure, which halts these microorganisms from growing and moving around your home.
And this UV air purifier can also help keep your HVAC system clean and running properly. It takes care of germs, mold and fungi lurking within ductwork and your system itself. This UV light air purifier does all these things without creating lung-irritating ozone.6
Breathe Better with the Help of Our Air Purification Specialists
Your family’s comfort and health is important to us at Western Mechanical, Inc.. We know there are many solutions out there. That’s why we make it uncomplicated to work with our indoor air quality pros. We specialize in developing solutions that meet your needs and budget, and we’d love to find out more about your house and your air quality challenges. Call us at 435-753-5515 right away to start the process.
1Based on laboratory and field studies.
2PureAir™ S requires the iComfort® S30 and a communicating indoor unit.
3Leading consumer magazine, January 2012. Based on the published CADR, which is the standardized measurement system to determine the cubic feet of clean air produced per minute. Particles captured range in size down to 0.3 micron. One micron = 1/25,000 of an inch in diameter.
4Based on lab tests conducted on filters with conditions included in ASHRAE standard 52.2 for E1 and E3 size ranges.
5Based on constant circulation of air in the home, 3,000-square-foot home with a 5-ton air handler.
6U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, “Ozone Generators that are Sold as Air Cleaners: An Assessment of Effective and Health Consequences,” August 2006.