If you own a newly constructed home in Rockford, it was likely built with energy efficiency in mind. This means greater amounts of insulation and windows and doors with enhanced seals. While these enhancements are great for keeping your heating and cooling expenses in check, they’re not so great for your indoor air quality.
Your HVAC system needs to operate with a filter. But if you install a flat filter, you won’t be experiencing ample filtration. This type only gives the smallest amount of protection by keeping dust out of your HVAC system.
While you can upgrade to a pleated filter or one with a better MERV rating, it still might not be ample filtration, even more so if someone in your home has allergies or other respiratory issues.
That’s where a whole-house air purifier comes in. These systems are placed within ductwork to deliver powerful filtration throughout your house. Depending on the kind you choose, you’ll be able to get rid of allergens, odors and even some viruses under certain airflow conditions.
Here are our top styles 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 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 process. A prefilter draws larger pollutants before the HEPA filter captures the remainder of smaller particles. Then, a charcoal filter eradicates odors and chemical vapors.
The PureAir™ S Air Purification System is compatible with all HVAC brands and easily connects with with your smart home. It combats 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 get rid of 99.9%* of pollutants, including mold spores, pollen, dust and pet dander. It’s also potent at reducing or eradicating 90%1 of flu and cold viruses under certain airflow conditions. And, based on laboratory and field studies, it removes and destroys approximately 50% of household odors and chemical vapors within 24 hours.
The PureAir S is equipped with sensing features that make it easy to maintain. 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 used 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 effective 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-grade filtration. And it eliminates more than 95%3 of unhealthy particles from your house’s air.
The Healthy Climate 13 Media Air Cleaner is recommended for households who are looking for 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 a fantastic air purifier for allergies and in homes with pets. It eliminates 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 powerful filtration without increasing the bill for turning on your HVAC system.
These three media air cleaners work with any brand of HVAC system. But despite that, it’s important to be aware that some of the thicker ones, such as MERV 16 and 13, may limit your system’s airflow. This can increase your energy costs.
3. UV Air Purifiers
The sun’s UV rays are to the reason why you get a painful sunburn. But this type of light has a helpful application when concealed in your ductwork. It’s also strong enough to eliminate germs, mold and fungi under certain airflow conditions.
In actuality, the Healthy Climate UV Germicidal Light can lower the amount of airborne microorganisms by 50% in as fast as 45 minutes.5 This light wrecks cell structure, which stops these microorganisms from growing and infiltrating throughout your house.
And this UV air purifier can also help keep your heating and cooling system clean and operating properly. It takes care of germs, mold and fungi hiding within ductwork and your system itself. This UV light air purifier does all these things without producing lung-aggravating ozone.6
Breathe Healthier Air with the Assistance of Our Air Purification Professionals
Your family’s comfort and health is our top priority at Temperature Doctors Heating & Cooling, Inc. We realize there are a lot of possibilities out there. That’s why we make it easy to work with our indoor air quality pros. We specialize in recommending solutions that meet your needs and budget, and we’d love to find out more about your house and your air quality issues. Give us a call at (815)914-6197 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.