If you own a newly built home in Macon, it was in all likelihood constructed with energy efficiency as a priority. This means more insulation and windows and doors with improved seals. While these advances are good for keeping your energy expenses under control, they’re not so fantastic for your indoor air quality.
Your heating and cooling system needs to run with a filter. But if you have a flat filter, you won’t be experiencing enough filtration. This model only delivers the bare minimum of protection by blocking dust from infiltrating your heating and cooling system.
While you can install a pleated filter or one with a increased MERV rating, it still might not be adequate filtration, especially if someone in your house has allergies or other respiratory troubles.
That’s where a whole-house air purifier comes in. These systems are installed within ductwork to provide strong filtration around your home. Depending on the kind you select, you’ll be able to filter allergens, odors and even some viruses under certain airflow conditions.
Here are our top options 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 top-of-the-line filtration. These filters were first made to shield scientists as they worked on the atomic bomb. Today, they’re essential in hospitals and other medical buildings.
The Healthy Climate HEPA Filtration System includes a three-step filtration process. A prefilter catches significant pollutants before the HEPA filter captures the remainder of smaller irritants. Then, a charcoal filter eradicates odors and chemical vapors.
The PureAir™ S Air Purification System connects to all HVAC brands and easily links to your smart home. It combats the three key varieties of indoor air pollutants:
- Airborne particles
- Chemical odors and vapors
- Germs and bacteria, under certain airflow conditions
This air purifier can eliminate 99.9%* of pollutants, including mold spores, pollen, dust and pet dander. It’s also effective at decreasing or destroying 90%1 of flu and cold viruses under certain airflow conditions. And, as the result of laboratory and field studies, it reduces and eliminates approximately 50% of residential odors and chemical vapors within 24 hours.
The PureAir S is equipped with sensing features that make it simple to maintain. When used 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 come in in a variety of MERV ratings to match your needs. This rating measures how effective filters are at removing contaminants. The greater the number, the better the filtration.
The Healthy Climate Carbon Clean 16® Media Air Cleaner is ideal for residences with allergy suffers and pets. This is a HEPA filter air purifier, because it has a MERV 16 rating for hospital-strength filtration. And it gets rid of more than 95%3 of unhealthy particles from your home’s air.
The Healthy Climate 13 Media Air Cleaner is recommended for families who are looking for enhanced protection from viruses and bacteria. This filter removes 99% of larger particles like 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 great air purifier for allergies and in homes 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 offer this powerful filtration without running up the price of turning on your HVAC system.
These three media air cleaners work with any brand of HVAC system. But despite that, it’s important to know that some of the denser ones, such as MERV 16 and 13, may restrict your system’s airflow. This can hike up your utility bills.
3. UV Air Purifiers
The sun’s UV rays are the fault of why you get a stinging sunburn. But this wavelength of light has a helpful application when placed in 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 decrease the amount of airborne microorganisms by 50% in as quickly as 45 minutes.5 This light destroys cell structure, which stops these microorganisms from multiplying and infiltrating across your home.
And this UV air purifier can also help keep your HVAC system clean and operating like it should. It wipes out of germs, mold and fungi lurking inside ductwork and your system itself. This UV light air purifier does all these tasks without creating lung-inflaming ozone.6
Breathe Healthier Air with the Help of Our Air Purification Specialists
Your household’s comfort and health is our top priority at Air Temperature Control. We realize there are lots of possibilities out there. That’s why we make it uncomplicated to partner with our indoor air quality professionals. We specialize in developing solutions that match your needs and budget, and we’d love to find out more about your home and your air quality challenges. Give us a call at 478-202-3170 now to get started.
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.