If you live in a newly built residence in Huntsville, it was probably constructed with energy efficiency at the top of the list. This means more insulation and windows and doors with enhanced seals. While these improvements are good for keeping your energy costs reasonable, they’re not so excellent for your indoor air quality.
Your heating and cooling system needs to work with a filter. But if you have a flat filter, you won’t be receiving adequate filtration. This model only delivers the smallest amount of protection by keeping dust out of your HVAC system.
While you can get a pleated filter or one with a increased MERV rating, it still might not be adequate filtration, even more so if someone in your home has allergies or other respiratory troubles.
That’s where a whole-house air purifier can be a great solution. These systems are placed within ductwork to provide mighty filtration around your home. Depending on the type you go with, you’ll be able to remove 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, provides top-of-the-line filtration. These filters were first made to protect scientists as they created the atomic bomb. Today, they’re a must-have in hospitals and other medical facilities.
The Healthy Climate HEPA Filtration System has a three-step filtration method. A prefilter attracts significant particles before the HEPA filter traps the rest of tiny irritants. Then, a charcoal filter eradicates odors and chemical vapors.
The PureAir™ S Air Purification System connects to all HVAC brands and seamlessly links to your smart home. It combats the three major types of indoor air irritants:
- 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 effective 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 eliminates approximately 50% of household odors and chemical vapors within 24 hours.
The PureAir S is equipped with sensing features that make it easy to keep up. When linked with an iComfort® S30 smart thermostat, you’ll receive an alert to change the filter and UVA light.2 This home air purifier must be linked 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 measures how good filters are at trapping contaminants. The better the number, the better 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 unhealthy particles from your house’s air.
The Healthy Climate 13 Media Air Cleaner is suggested for homes who are seeking enhanced protection from viruses and bacteria. This filter removes 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 an excellent air purifier for allergies and in residences with pets. It catches more than 87% of bigger particles down to 3 microns and more than 28% of finer ones down to 0.3 microns.4 It’s able to offer this powerful filtration without driving up the cost of operating your heating and cooling system.
These three media air cleaners are compatible with any brand of HVAC system. But despite that, it’s essential to know that some of the denser ones, like MERV 16 and 13, may limit your system’s airflow. This can inflate your energy expenses.
3. UV Air Purifiers
The sun’s UV rays are the reason why you get a painful sunburn. But this wavelength of light has a beneficial application when concealed within your ductwork. It’s also powerful 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 damages cell structure, which stops these microorganisms from flourishing and spreading around your house.
And this UV air purifier can also help keep your heating and cooling system clean and operating efficiently. It takes care of germs, mold and fungi that are hidden inside ductwork and your system itself. This UV light air purifier accomplishes all these things without producing lung-aggravating ozone.6
Breathe Healthier Air with the Support of Our Air Purification Pros
Your loved ones’ comfort and health matters to us at All Weather Heating & Air Conditioning Inc. We know there are a lot of options out there. That’s why we make it simple to partner with our indoor air quality specialists. We specialize in creating solutions tailored to your needs and budget, and we’d love to find out more about your home and your air quality problems. Give us a call at 256-801-4701 today 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.