If you live in a newer house in Crystal and Twin Cities, it was in all likelihood made with energy efficiency as a priority. This means greater amounts of insulation and windows and doors with better seals. While these improvements are great for keeping your utility costs economical, they’re not so fantastic for your indoor air quality.
Your HVAC system needs to run with a filter. But if you have a flat filter, you won’t be experiencing adequate filtration. This kind only provides the bare minimum of protection by blocking dust from infiltrating your HVAC system.
While you can upgrade to a pleated filter or one with a increased MERV rating, it still might not be enough filtration, particularly if someone in your house has allergies or other respiratory troubles.
That’s where a whole-house air purifier comes in. These systems are placed within ductwork to provide effective filtration across your residence. Depending on the type you select, you’ll be able to filter allergens, odors and even some viruses under certain airflow conditions.
Here are our top 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 premium filtration. These filters were first created to protect scientists as they created the atomic bomb. Today, they’re a must-have in hospitals and other medical settings.
The Healthy Climate HEPA Filtration System features a three-step filtration method. A prefilter draws significant irritants before the HEPA filter traps the rest of smaller pollutants. Then, a charcoal filter wipes out odors and chemical vapors.
The PureAir™ S Air Purification System works with all HVAC brands and seamlessly 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 removing or eradicating 90%1 of flu and cold viruses under certain airflow conditions. And, according to laboratory and field studies, it reduces and eradicates approximately 50% of household odors and chemical vapors within 24 hours.
The PureAir S is equipped with sensing features that make it easy to maintain. When paired 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 fit your needs. This rating calculates how good filters are at capturing contaminants. The better the number, the finer 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-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 recommended for homes who want better protection from viruses and bacteria. This filter captures 99% of larger particles including 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 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 finer ones down to 0.3 microns.4 It’s able to provide this powerful filtration without driving up the bill for operating your heating and cooling system.
These three media air cleaners are compatible with any brand of HVAC system. Regardless, it’s essential to be aware that some of the denser ones, including MERV 16 and 13, may decrease your system’s airflow. This can increase your energy costs.
3. UV Air Purifiers
The sun’s UV rays are the reason why you get a stinging sunburn. But this wavelength of light has a beneficial application when installed inside your ductwork. It’s also tough enough to eliminate germs, mold and fungi under certain airflow conditions.
In reality, the Healthy Climate UV Germicidal Light can reduce the concentration of airborne microorganisms by 50% in as little as 45 minutes.5 This light destroys cell structure, which halts these microorganisms from growing and spreading around your home.
And this UV air purifier can also help keep your home comfort system clean and working efficiently. It takes care of germs, mold and fungi hiding within ductwork and your system itself. This UV light air purifier achieves all this work without creating lung-irritating ozone.6
Breathe Healthier Air with the Assistance of Our Air Purification Professionals
Your loved ones’ comfort and health matters to us at GV Heating & Air. We know there are a lot of solutions out there. That’s why we make it easy to partner with our indoor air quality pros. We specialize in making solutions that fit your needs and budget, and we’d love to find out more about your residence and your air quality challenges. Reach us at 763-535-2000 right away to begin.
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.
