If you live in a newly built house in Albuquerque, it was probably made with energy efficiency in mind. This means increased insulation and windows and doors with better seals. While these improvements are fantastic for keeping your heating and cooling bills under control, they’re not so excellent for your indoor air quality.
Your HVAC system needs to run with a filter. But if you have a flat filter, you won’t be receiving adequate filtration. This kind only gives the bare minimum of protection by blocking dust from infiltrating your HVAC system.
While you can get a pleated filter or one with a higher MERV rating, it still might not be ample filtration, even more so if someone in your home has allergies or other respiratory problems.
That’s where a whole-house air purifier can be a great solution. These systems are placed within ductwork to provide effective filtration across your home. Depending on the type you choose, you’ll be able to remove allergens, odors and even some viruses under certain airflow conditions.
Here are our best solutions 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 guard scientists as they worked on the atomic bomb. Today, they’re a must-have in hospitals and other medical facilities.
The Healthy Climate HEPA Filtration System includes a three-step filtration process. A prefilter catches larger particles before the HEPA filter catches remaining smaller pollutants. Then, a charcoal filter wipes out odors and chemical vapors.
The PureAir™ S Air Purification System works with all HVAC brands and easily connects with your smart home. It fights the three leading types 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, like mold spores, pollen, dust and pet dander. It’s also effective at removing or eliminating 90%1 of flu and cold viruses under certain airflow conditions. And, as the result of laboratory and field studies, it reduces and destroys approximately 50% of residential odors and chemical vapors within 24 hours.
The PureAir S comes with sensing features that make it easy to maintain. When used with an iComfort® S30 smart thermostat, you’ll be notified when to replace 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 come in in a variety of MERV ratings to match your needs. This rating measures how capable filters are at removing contaminants. The greater the number, the finer the filtration.
The Healthy Climate Carbon Clean 16® Media Air Cleaner is ideal for homes 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 removes more than 95%3 of irritating particles from your house’s air.
The Healthy Climate 13 Media Air Cleaner is recommended for homes who want improved protection from viruses and bacteria. This filter catches 99% of larger particles including 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 a great air purifier for allergies and in residences 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 increasing the bill for turning on your HVAC system.
These three media air cleaners work with any brand of HVAC system. However, it’s important to know that some of the thicker ones, like 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 type of light has a beneficial application when concealed within your ductwork. It’s also tough enough to eliminate germs, mold and fungi under certain airflow conditions.
In fact, the Healthy Climate UV Germicidal Light can decrease the concentration of airborne microorganisms by 50% in as short as 45 minutes.5 This light destroys cell structure, which halts these microorganisms from growing and spreading throughout your residence.
And this UV air purifier can also help keep your HVAC system clean and running properly. It wipes out of germs, mold and fungi hiding in ductwork and your system itself. This UV light air purifier achieves all these things without creating lung-inflaming ozone.6
Breathe Healthier Air with the Assistance of Our Air Purification Professionals
Your loved ones’ comfort and health is our top priority at I-Deal HVAC. We realize there are a lot of options out there. That’s why we make it uncomplicated to collaborate with our indoor air quality specialists. We specialize in developing solutions tailored to your needs and budget, and we’d love to hear more about your home and your air quality challenges. Give us a call at 505-317-9598 today to begin.
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.