If you have a newly built home in Fredericksburg, it was likely made with energy efficiency as a priority. This means more insulation and windows and doors with better seals. While these improvements are good for keeping your utility expenses reasonable, they’re not so good for your indoor air quality.
Your home comfort system needs to work with a filter. But if you have a flat filter, you won’t be receiving ample filtration. This kind only provides the bare minimum of protection by blocking dust from infiltrating your HVAC system.
While you can get a pleated filter or one with a higher MERV rating, it still might not be enough filtration, especially if someone in your residence has allergies or other respiratory troubles.
That’s where a whole-house air purifier can be a good option. These systems are placed within ductwork to provide effective filtration around your house. Depending on the kind you choose, you’ll be able to filter allergens, odors and even some viruses under certain airflow conditions.
Here are our top 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, delivers top-of-the-line filtration. These filters were first made to defend scientists as they made the atomic bomb. Today, they’re a staple in hospitals and other medical facilities.
The Healthy Climate HEPA Filtration System has a three-step filtration method. A prefilter catches bigger irritants before the HEPA filter captures the remainder of smaller irritants. Then, a charcoal filter takes care of 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 irritants:
- Airborne particles
- Chemical odors and vapors
- Germs and bacteria, under certain airflow conditions
This air purifier can remove 99.9%* of pollutants, such as mold spores, pollen, dust and pet dander. It’s also potent at decreasing or eradicating 90%1 of flu and cold viruses under certain airflow conditions. And, as the result of laboratory and field studies, it decreases and destroys approximately 50% of household odors and chemical vapors within 24 hours.
The PureAir S is equipped with sensing features that make it uncomplicated to keep up. When paired 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 made in a variety of MERV ratings to fit your needs. This rating determines how good filters are at capturing contaminants. The better the number, the greater the filtration.
The Healthy Climate Carbon Clean 16® Media Air Cleaner is ideal for residences 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 aggravating particles from your house’s air.
The Healthy Climate 13 Media Air Cleaner is recommended for families who are looking for stronger protection from viruses and bacteria. This filter traps 99% of larger particles like dust, pollen and lint. And up to 54% of smaller particles down to 0.3 microns.4
The Healthy Climate 11 Media Air Cleaner is a an excellent air purifier for allergies and in houses with pets. It eliminates 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 powerful filtration without increasing 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 critical to be aware that some of the more substantial ones, including MERV 16 and 13, may restrict 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 blistering sunburn. But this wavelength of light has a beneficial application when concealed inside your ductwork. It’s also powerful enough to decrease germs, mold and fungi under certain airflow conditions.
In fact, the Healthy Climate UV Germicidal Light can reduce the amount of airborne microorganisms by 50% in as fast as 45 minutes.5 This light wrecks cell structure, which stops these microorganisms from multiplying and infiltrating around your house.
And this UV air purifier can also help keep your home comfort system clean and operating like it should. It eliminates of germs, mold and fungi lurking within ductwork and your system itself. This UV light air purifier achieves all these things without producing lung-irritating ozone.6
Breathe Healthier Air with the Support of Our Air Purification Specialists
Your loved ones’ comfort and health is important to us at Childress Heating & AC. We know there are many options out there. That’s why we make it simple to work with our indoor air quality professionals. We specialize in recommending solutions that match your needs and budget, and we’d love to learn more about your house and your air quality issues. Call us at 540-675-4306 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.