If you live in a newer home in Ellsworth, it was in all likelihood constructed with energy efficiency at the top of the list. This means greater amounts of insulation and windows and doors with better seals. While these improvements are great for keeping your utility expenses in check, they’re not so great for your indoor air quality.
Your home comfort system needs to run with a filter. But if you have a flat filter, you won’t be experiencing enough filtration. This type only provides the lowest level of protection by stopping dust from getting into your HVAC system.
While you can get a pleated filter or one with a higher MERV rating, it still might not be ample filtration, especially if someone in your house has allergies or other respiratory issues.
That’s where a whole-house air purifier can be a great solution. These systems are attached within ductwork to provide powerful filtration around your house. Depending on the kind you go with, you’ll be able to get rid of allergens, odors and even some viruses under certain airflow conditions.
Here are our favorite 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, provides the best filtration. These filters were first developed to protect scientists as they created the atomic bomb. Today, they’re essential in hospitals and other medical applications.
The Healthy Climate HEPA Filtration System includes a three-step filtration method. A prefilter draws larger irritants before the HEPA filter captures the remainder of smaller pollutants. Then, a charcoal filter wipes out odors and chemical vapors.
The PureAir™ S Air Purification System works with all HVAC brands and seamlessly works with your smart home. It fights the three major 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, such as mold spores, pollen, dust and pet dander. It’s also capable of removing or eradicating 90%1 of flu and cold viruses under certain airflow conditions. And, based on laboratory and field studies, it decreases and destroys approximately 50% of residential odors and chemical vapors within 24 hours.
The PureAir S includes sensing features that make it uncomplicated to service. When used with an iComfort® S30 smart thermostat, you’ll get a notification to replace the filter and UVA light.2 This home air purifier must be installed 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 capable filters are at trapping contaminants. The greater the number, the better the filtration.
The Healthy Climate Carbon Clean 16® Media Air Cleaner is great for households with allergy suffers and pets. This is a HEPA filter air purifier, since it has a MERV 16 rating for hospital-grade filtration. And it gets rid of more than 95%3 of unhealthy particles from your residence’s air.
The Healthy Climate 13 Media Air Cleaner is great for households who are seeking better protection from viruses and bacteria. This filter traps 99% of larger particles like dust, pollen and lint. And up to 54% of finer particles down to 0.3 microns.4
The Healthy Climate 11 Media Air Cleaner is a an excellent air purifier for allergies and in homes with pets. It catches more than 87% of bigger particles down to 3 microns and more than 28% of miniscule ones down to 0.3 microns.4 It’s able to deliver this strong filtration without running up the cost of turning on your home comfort system.
These three media air cleaners are compatible with any brand of HVAC system. But despite that, it’s important to know that some of the more substantial ones, including MERV 16 and 13, may limit your system’s airflow. This can increase your utility costs.
3. UV Air Purifiers
The sun’s UV rays are the fault of why you get a stinging sunburn. But this kind of light has a beneficial application when placed in your ductwork. It’s also powerful enough to reduce germs, mold and fungi under certain airflow conditions.
In actuality, the Healthy Climate UV Germicidal Light can decrease the amount of airborne microorganisms by 50% in as short as 45 minutes.5 This light damages cell structure, which stops these microorganisms from growing and infiltrating around your home.
And this UV air purifier can also help keep your home comfort system clean and operating properly. It eliminates of germs, mold and fungi hiding within ductwork and your system itself. This UV light air purifier does all these tasks without making lung-irritating ozone.6
Breathe Better with the Support of Our Air Purification Professionals
Your loved ones’ comfort and health matters to us at Walter's-Eaton's Electric, Plumbing, Heating & AC. We know there are lots of options out there. That’s why we make it easy to collaborate with our indoor air quality pros. We specialize in making solutions that match your needs and budget, and we’d love to find out more about your home and your air quality issues. Reach us at 715-318-6728 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.
