If you own a newly constructed residence in Ames, it was probably constructed with energy efficiency at the top of the list. This means more insulation and windows and doors with improved seals. While these enhancements are great for keeping your heating and cooling costs affordable, 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 experiencing enough filtration. This kind only provides the bare minimum of protection by stopping dust from getting into your heating and cooling system.
While you can upgrade to a pleated filter or one with a better MERV rating, it still might not be ample filtration, particularly if someone in your home has allergies or other respiratory issues.
That’s where a whole-house air purifier comes in. These systems are installed within ductwork to provide strong filtration around your house. Depending on the model you go with, you’ll be able to remove allergens, odors and even some viruses under certain airflow conditions.
Here are our best 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 created to guard scientists as they developed the atomic bomb. Today, they’re essential in hospitals and other medical facilities.
The Healthy Climate HEPA Filtration System features a three-step filtration method. A prefilter catches significant particles before the HEPA filter traps the rest of smaller irritants. Then, a charcoal filter eradicates odors and chemical vapors.
The PureAir™ S Air Purification System is compatible with all HVAC brands and easily integrates with your smart home. It fights the three leading types 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, such as mold spores, pollen, dust and pet dander. It’s also effective at removing or destroying 90%1 of flu and cold viruses under certain airflow conditions. And, according to laboratory and field studies, it decreases and eliminates approximately 50% of residential odors and chemical vapors within 24 hours.
The PureAir S comes with sensing features that make it uncomplicated to keep up. When linked with an iComfort® S30 smart thermostat, you’ll receive an alert to install a new 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 come in in a variety of MERV ratings to work with your needs. This rating calculates how good filters are at capturing contaminants. The greater the number, the better the filtration.
The Healthy Climate Carbon Clean 16® Media Air Cleaner is recommended for homes with allergy suffers and pets. This is a HEPA filter air purifier, as it has a MERV 16 rating for hospital-level filtration. And it removes more than 95%3 of aggravating particles from your house’s air.
The Healthy Climate 13 Media Air Cleaner is recommended for households who are seeking better protection from viruses and bacteria. This filter catches 99% of larger particles such as 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 houses with pets. It removes more than 87% of bigger particles down to 3 microns and more than 28% of finer ones down to 0.3 microns.4 It’s able to provide this powerful filtration without driving up the price of operating your heating and cooling system.
These three media air cleaners work with any brand of HVAC system. Regardless, it’s critical to know that some of the denser ones, such as MERV 16 and 13, may limit your system’s airflow. This can hike up your energy bills.
3. UV Air Purifiers
The sun’s UV rays are the reason why you get a blistering sunburn. But this wavelength of light has a useful application when installed within your ductwork. It’s also strong enough to reduce germs, mold and fungi under certain airflow conditions.
In fact, the Healthy Climate UV Germicidal Light can reduce the number of airborne microorganisms by 50% in as quickly as 45 minutes.5 This light destroys cell structure, which prohibits these microorganisms from flourishing and spreading across your house.
And this UV air purifier can also help keep your heating and cooling system clean and working like it should. It takes care of germs, mold and fungi hiding in ductwork and your system itself. This UV light air purifier accomplishes all this work without producing lung-aggravating ozone.6
Breathe Better with the Help of Our Air Purification Pros
Your family’s comfort and health is our top priority at Haselhoff Air Solutions. We know there are a lot of solutions out there. That’s why we make it simple to partner with our indoor air quality specialists. We specialize in creating solutions that fit your needs and budget, and we’d love to hear more about your residence and your air quality problems. Give us a call at 515-450-8739 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.