If you have a newly constructed home in Greensburg, it was likely made with energy efficiency as a priority. This means increased insulation and windows and doors with better seals. While these enhancements are good for keeping your heating and cooling bills reasonable, they’re not so great for your indoor air quality.
Your heating and cooling system needs to work with a filter. But if you have a flat filter, you won’t be experiencing ample filtration. This kind only gives the lowest level of protection by blocking dust from infiltrating your heating and cooling system.
While you can upgrade to a pleated filter or one with a increased MERV rating, it still might not be enough filtration, even more so if someone in your house has allergies or other respiratory troubles.
That’s where a whole-house air purifier can be a great solution. These systems are attached within ductwork to provide powerful filtration throughout your home. 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 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 the best filtration. These filters were first created to defend scientists as they created the atomic bomb. Today, they’re necessary in hospitals and other medical operations.
The Healthy Climate HEPA Filtration System includes a three-step filtration process. A prefilter draws larger pollutants before the HEPA filter traps remaining smaller pollutants. Then, a charcoal filter takes care of odors and chemical vapors.
The PureAir™ S Air Purification System connects to all HVAC brands and easily works with your smart home. It fights the three major kinds of indoor air irritants:
- Airborne particles
- Chemical odors and vapors
- Germs and bacteria, under certain airflow conditions
This air purifier can remove 99.9%* of pollutants, like mold spores, pollen, dust and pet dander. It’s also potent at reducing 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 is equipped with sensing features that make it uncomplicated to service. When linked with an iComfort® S30 smart thermostat, you’ll get a notification to install a new 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 available in a variety of MERV ratings to fit your needs. This rating measures how effective filters are at capturing contaminants. The higher the number, the greater the filtration.
The Healthy Climate Carbon Clean 16® Media Air Cleaner is great for homes 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 gets rid of more than 95%3 of unhealthy particles from your residence’s air.
The Healthy Climate 13 Media Air Cleaner is suggested for homes who are seeking stronger protection from viruses and bacteria. This filter catches 99% of larger particles including 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 residences with pets. It traps 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 deliver this strong filtration without driving up the cost of using your heating and cooling system.
These three media air cleaners are compatible with any brand of HVAC system. Regardless, it’s important to be aware that some of the thicker ones, including MERV 16 and 13, may decrease your system’s airflow. This can hike up your energy expenses.
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 beneficial application when concealed inside your ductwork. It’s also strong enough to decrease germs, mold and fungi under certain airflow conditions.
In reality, the Healthy Climate UV Germicidal Light can lower the amount of airborne microorganisms by 50% in as short as 45 minutes.5 This light damages cell structure, which stops these microorganisms from flourishing and moving across your house.
And this UV air purifier can also help keep your heating and cooling 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 accomplishes all these tasks without developing lung-aggravating ozone.6
Breathe Better with the Support of Our Air Purification Specialists
Your loved ones’ comfort and health is important to us at Wallpe Heating & Cooling. 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 developing solutions that meet your needs and budget, and we’d love to learn more about your house and your air quality challenges. Give us a call at 812-663-7252 today 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.