If you have a newly built house in Richmond, it was probably constructed with energy efficiency as a priority. This means more insulation and windows and doors with improved seals. While these advances are fantastic for keeping your utility expenses economical, they’re not so fantastic for your indoor air quality.
Your heating and cooling system needs to operate with a filter. But if you have a flat filter, you won’t be getting ample filtration. This style only delivers 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 higher 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 can be a great solution. These systems are attached within ductwork to provide effective filtration across your residence. Depending on the kind you select, you’ll be able to remove allergens, odors and even some viruses under certain airflow conditions.
Here are our favorite 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 created to defend scientists as they made the atomic bomb. Today, they’re a must-have in hospitals and other medical settings.
The Healthy Climate HEPA Filtration System includes a three-step filtration procedure. A prefilter catches bigger irritants before the HEPA filter captures the rest of smaller particles. Then, a charcoal filter wipes out odors and chemical vapors.
The PureAir™ S Air Purification System works with all HVAC brands and smoothly integrates with your smart home. It reduces the three major varieties of indoor air contaminants:
- Airborne particles
- Chemical odors and vapors
- Germs and bacteria, under certain airflow conditions
This air purifier can eliminate 99.9%* of pollutants, like mold spores, pollen, dust and pet dander. It’s also potent at decreasing 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 eradicates approximately 50% of your home’s odors and chemical vapors within 24 hours.
The PureAir S is equipped with sensing features that make it simple to maintain. When used with an iComfort® S30 smart thermostat, you’ll be notified when to change 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 work with your needs. This rating measures how effective filters are at trapping contaminants. The higher the number, the finer the filtration.
The Healthy Climate Carbon Clean 16® Media Air Cleaner is recommended for households with allergy suffers and pets. This is a HEPA filter air purifier, as it has a MERV 16 rating for hospital-grade filtration. And it eliminates more than 95%3 of aggravating particles from your house’s air.
The Healthy Climate 13 Media Air Cleaner is great for households who are looking for improved 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 residences with pets. It catches 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 provide this strong filtration without running up the cost of operating 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 thicker ones, including MERV 16 and 13, may decrease your system’s airflow. This can hike up your heating and cooling bills.
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 helpful application when concealed inside your ductwork. It’s also tough enough to reduce germs, mold and fungi under certain airflow conditions.
In reality, the Healthy Climate UV Germicidal Light can lower the number of airborne microorganisms by 50% in as short 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 HVAC system clean and operating properly. It wipes out of germs, mold and fungi that are hidden in ductwork and your system itself. This UV light air purifier does all these things without developing lung-irritating ozone.6
Breathe Healthier Air with the Help of Our Air Purification Specialists
Your household’s comfort and health matters to us at Refrigeration Systems Ltd.. We realize there are lots of possibilities out there. That’s why we make it easy to work with our indoor air quality professionals. We specialize in recommending solutions that fit your needs and budget, and we’d love to find out more about your house and your air quality issues. Call us at 778-693-2532 now to start the process.
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.