If you own a newer house in Circleville, it was likely built with energy efficiency at the top of the list. This means greater amounts of insulation and windows and doors with enhanced seals. While these advances are fantastic for keeping your utility costs economical, they’re not so great 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 style only provides the smallest amount 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, especially if someone in your residence has allergies or other respiratory issues.
That’s where a whole-house air purifier can be a great solution. These systems are placed within ductwork to provide powerful filtration across 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 top 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, gives the best filtration. These filters were first developed to guard scientists as they made the atomic bomb. Today, they’re a staple in hospitals and other medical buildings.
The Healthy Climate HEPA Filtration System has a three-step filtration method. A prefilter draws bigger pollutants before the HEPA filter traps 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 seamlessly integrates with 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 eradicating 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 your home’s odors and chemical vapors within 24 hours.
The PureAir S is equipped with sensing features that make it easy to maintain. When linked with an iComfort® S30 smart thermostat, you’ll be notified when to install a new 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 match your needs. This rating determines how good 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 households with allergy suffers and pets. This is a HEPA filter air purifier, since it has a MERV 16 rating for hospital-strength filtration. And it removes more than 95%3 of irritating particles from your residence’s air.
The Healthy Climate 13 Media Air Cleaner is recommended for families who desire stronger 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 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 increasing the bill for using your home comfort system.
These three media air cleaners work with any brand of HVAC system. Regardless, it’s essential to know that some of the thicker ones, such as MERV 16 and 13, may restrict your system’s airflow. This can increase your heating and cooling costs.
3. UV Air Purifiers
The sun’s UV rays are to blame when you get a stinging sunburn. But this type of light has a helpful application when concealed in 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 reduce the amount of airborne microorganisms by 50% in as short as 45 minutes.5 This light destroys cell structure, which halts these microorganisms from multiplying and spreading throughout your house.
And this UV air purifier can also help keep your home comfort system clean and working properly. It takes care of germs, mold and fungi hiding in ductwork and your system itself. This UV light air purifier accomplishes all these things without creating lung-irritating ozone.6
Breathe Healthier Air with the Help of Our Air Purification Specialists
Your family’s comfort and health matters to us at Stephen Hurst Pack Heating and Cooling. We realize there are many solutions out there. That’s why we make it easy to collaborate with our indoor air quality pros. We specialize in creating solutions that match your needs and budget, and we’d love to find out more about your residence and your air quality problems. Call us at 740-474-5940 right away 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.