If you own a newly constructed home in Port Orchard, it was probably constructed with energy efficiency at the top of the list. This means greater amounts of insulation and windows and doors with improved seals. While these enhancements are fantastic for keeping your heating and cooling expenses affordable, they’re not so great for your indoor air quality.
Your home comfort system needs to run with a filter. But if you have a flat filter, you won’t be getting adequate filtration. This type only provides the smallest amount of protection by stopping dust from getting into your home comfort system.
While you can upgrade to a pleated filter or one with a better MERV rating, it still might not be adequate filtration, even more so if someone in your residence has allergies or other respiratory troubles.
That’s where a whole-house air purifier comes in. These systems are installed within ductwork to provide effective filtration throughout your home. Depending on the kind you select, you’ll be able to get rid of allergens, odors and even some viruses under certain airflow conditions.
Here are our favorite 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, gives the best filtration. These filters were first developed to shield scientists as they developed the atomic bomb. Today, they’re necessary in hospitals and other medical facilities.
The Healthy Climate HEPA Filtration System features a three-step filtration procedure. A prefilter attracts significant particles before the HEPA filter catches the remainder of tiny irritants. Then, a charcoal filter wipes out odors and chemical vapors.
The PureAir™ S Air Purification System works with all HVAC brands and seamlessly connects with your smart home. It reduces the three major varieties 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, 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 decreases and eliminates approximately 50% of your home’s odors and chemical vapors within 24 hours.
The PureAir S comes with sensing features that make it uncomplicated to keep up. When used with an iComfort® S30 smart thermostat, you’ll get a notification 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 made in a variety of MERV ratings to work with your needs. This rating determines 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 ideal for households 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 gets rid of more than 95%3 of irritating particles from your residence’s air.
The Healthy Climate 13 Media Air Cleaner is great for families who are looking for stronger protection from viruses and bacteria. This filter captures 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 a great air purifier for allergies and in houses with pets. It catches more than 87% of bigger particles down to 3 microns and more than 28% of miniscule ones down to 0.3 microns.4 It’s able to offer this effective filtration without running up the price of operating your heating and cooling system.
These three media air cleaners are compatible with any brand of HVAC system. However, it’s essential to know that some of the denser ones, like MERV 16 and 13, may limit your system’s airflow. This can increase your energy expenses.
3. UV Air Purifiers
The sun’s UV rays are the reason why you get a stinging sunburn. But this kind of light has a useful application when placed inside your ductwork. It’s also powerful enough to eliminate 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 little as 45 minutes.5 This light damages cell structure, which prohibits these microorganisms from growing and moving across your home.
And this UV air purifier can also help keep your HVAC system clean and working like it should. It takes care of germs, mold and fungi lurking in ductwork and your system itself. This UV light air purifier does all these things without making lung-aggravating ozone.6
Breathe Healthier Air with the Help of Our Air Purification Specialists
Your loved ones’ comfort and health matters to us at Air Masters Heating & Cooling. We realize there are many options out there. That’s why we make it simple to collaborate with our indoor air quality professionals. We specialize in making solutions that meet your needs and budget, and we’d love to learn more about your house and your air quality problems. Call us at 360-205-7115 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.