If you live in a newer residence in Auburn, it was probably built with energy efficiency in mind. This means increased insulation and windows and doors with enhanced seals. While these enhancements are great for keeping your heating and cooling expenses affordable, they’re not so excellent 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 receiving enough filtration. This style only provides the smallest amount 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 increased MERV rating, it still might not be enough filtration, particularly if someone in your residence has allergies or other respiratory problems.
That’s where a whole-house air purifier can be a good option. These systems are installed within ductwork to provide powerful 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, delivers the best filtration. These filters were first created to guard scientists as they worked on the atomic bomb. Today, they’re a staple in hospitals and other medical facilities.
The Healthy Climate HEPA Filtration System features a three-step filtration procedure. A prefilter draws larger pollutants before the HEPA filter traps the remainder of tiny pollutants. Then, a charcoal filter takes care of odors and chemical vapors.
The PureAir™ S Air Purification System works with all HVAC brands and seamlessly works with your smart home. It combats the three major kinds of indoor air contaminants:
- 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 removing or eradicating 90%1 of flu and cold viruses under certain airflow conditions. And, based on laboratory and field studies, it decreases and destroys approximately 50% of residential odors and chemical vapors within 24 hours.
The PureAir S is equipped with sensing features that make it easy to keep up. 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 come in in a variety of MERV ratings to work with your needs. This rating measures how capable filters are at capturing contaminants. The better the number, the better 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-level filtration. And it eliminates more than 95%3 of irritating particles from your residence’s air.
The Healthy Climate 13 Media Air Cleaner is suggested for homes who are seeking enhanced protection from viruses and bacteria. This filter traps 99% of larger particles such as 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 a fantastic air purifier for allergies and in homes with pets. It catches 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 deliver this powerful filtration without increasing the bill for operating your heating and cooling system.
These three media air cleaners work with any brand of HVAC system. But despite that, it’s important to be aware that some of the denser ones, including MERV 16 and 13, may restrict your system’s airflow. This can inflate your utility costs.
3. UV Air Purifiers
The sun’s UV rays are the reason why you get a blistering sunburn. But this type of light has a beneficial application when installed in your ductwork. It’s also tough enough to eliminate germs, mold and fungi under certain airflow conditions.
In actuality, the Healthy Climate UV Germicidal Light can lower the number of airborne microorganisms by 50% in as fast as 45 minutes.5 This light damages cell structure, which prohibits these microorganisms from multiplying and infiltrating around your house.
And this UV air purifier can also help keep your heating and cooling system clean and working like it should. It eliminates of germs, mold and fungi lurking inside ductwork and your system itself. This UV light air purifier does all these things without developing lung-aggravating ozone.6
Breathe Better with the Help of Our Air Purification Professionals
Your household’s comfort and health is our top priority at Forster Heating. We know there are a lot of options out there. That’s why we make it easy to collaborate with our indoor air quality professionals. We specialize in developing solutions that match your needs and budget, and we’d love to find out more about your residence and your air quality challenges. Reach us at 530-885-8081 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.
