If you own a newly built home in Mount Hope, it was likely built with energy efficiency as a priority. This means more insulation and windows and doors with improved seals. While these advances are fantastic for keeping your heating and cooling expenses under control, they’re not so fantastic for your indoor air quality.
Your HVAC system needs to work with a filter. But if you have a flat filter, you won’t be getting adequate filtration. This kind only delivers the smallest amount of protection by keeping dust out of your heating and cooling system.
While you can upgrade to a pleated filter or one with a higher MERV rating, it still might not be adequate filtration, particularly if someone in your house has allergies or other respiratory troubles.
That’s where a whole-house air purifier can be a great solution. These systems are attached within ductwork to provide effective filtration throughout your house. Depending on the type you choose, you’ll be able to get rid of allergens, odors and even some viruses under certain airflow conditions.
Here are our favorite styles 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, delivers the best filtration. These filters were first made to protect scientists as they developed the atomic bomb. Today, they’re a must-have in hospitals and other medical buildings.
The Healthy Climate HEPA Filtration System features a three-step filtration method. A prefilter catches larger irritants before the HEPA filter catches remaining miniscule irritants. Then, a charcoal filter takes care of odors and chemical vapors.
The PureAir™ S Air Purification System connects to all HVAC brands and easily integrates with your smart home. It reduces the three key types of indoor air irritants:
- Airborne particles
- Chemical odors and vapors
- Germs and bacteria, under certain airflow conditions
This air purifier can eliminate 99.9%* of pollutants, like mold spores, pollen, dust and pet dander. It’s also potent at removing or destroying 90%1 of flu and cold viruses under certain airflow conditions. And, according to laboratory and field studies, it decreases and destroys approximately 50% of household odors and chemical vapors within 24 hours.
The PureAir S comes with sensing features that make it uncomplicated to service. When linked with an iComfort® S30 smart thermostat, you’ll get a notification to install a new 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 available in a variety of MERV ratings to work with your needs. This rating determines how good filters are at removing contaminants. The higher the number, the finer the filtration.
The Healthy Climate Carbon Clean 16® Media Air Cleaner is ideal for families with allergy suffers and pets. This is a HEPA filter air purifier, because it has a MERV 16 rating for hospital-level filtration. And it eliminates more than 95%3 of irritating particles from your home’s air.
The Healthy Climate 13 Media Air Cleaner is recommended for homes who are looking for enhanced protection from viruses and bacteria. This filter traps 99% of larger particles such as dust, pollen and lint. And up to 54% of miniscule particles down to 0.3 microns.4
The Healthy Climate 11 Media Air Cleaner is a a fantastic air purifier for allergies and in homes with pets. It traps 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 deliver this strong filtration without running up the price of operating your home comfort system.
These three media air cleaners are compatible with any brand of HVAC system. However, it’s critical to realize that some of the denser ones, such as MERV 16 and 13, may restrict your system’s airflow. This can increase your utility bills.
3. UV Air Purifiers
The sun’s UV rays are to blame when you get a blistering sunburn. But this type of light has a useful application when concealed in your ductwork. It’s also powerful enough to reduce germs, mold and fungi under certain airflow conditions.
In fact, the Healthy Climate UV Germicidal Light can lower the concentration of airborne microorganisms by 50% in as fast as 45 minutes.5 This light destroys cell structure, which prohibits these microorganisms from multiplying and spreading across your house.
And this UV air purifier can also help keep your HVAC system clean and working like it should. It eliminates of germs, mold and fungi lurking within ductwork and your system itself. This UV light air purifier does all these tasks without creating lung-inflaming ozone.6
Breathe Easier with the Assistance of Our Air Purification Pros
Your loved ones’ comfort and health is important to us at Appalachian Heating. We are aware there are a lot of solutions out there. That’s why we make it easy to collaborate with our indoor air quality pros. We specialize in making solutions tailored to your needs and budget, and we’d love to hear more about your home and your air quality challenges. Call us at 304-707-0600 today 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.