If you have a newer house in Houston, it was probably made with energy efficiency in mind. This means greater amounts of insulation and windows and doors with improved seals. While these advances are great for keeping your utility expenses economical, they’re not so great for your indoor air quality.
Your home comfort system needs to operate with a filter. But if you have a flat filter, you won’t be receiving enough filtration. This kind only delivers the bare minimum of protection by stopping dust from getting into your HVAC 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 house has allergies or other respiratory problems.
That’s where a whole-house air purifier can be a good option. These systems are placed within ductwork to provide mighty filtration throughout your residence. Depending on the kind you select, you’ll be able to filter allergens, odors and even some viruses under certain airflow conditions.
Here are our favorite styles 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 top-of-the-line filtration. These filters were first made to shield scientists as they worked on the atomic bomb. Today, they’re a staple in hospitals and other medical buildings.
The Healthy Climate HEPA Filtration System features a three-step filtration method. A prefilter draws larger particles before the HEPA filter traps remaining 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 works with your smart home. It reduces the three key types 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, like mold spores, pollen, dust and pet dander. It’s also potent at decreasing or eliminating 90%1 of flu and cold viruses under certain airflow conditions. And, as the result of laboratory and field studies, it reduces and eradicates approximately 50% of residential odors and chemical vapors within 24 hours.
The PureAir S comes with sensing features that make it simple to service. When paired with an iComfort® S30 smart thermostat, you’ll receive an alert to replace the filter and UVA light.2 This home air purifier must be installed 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 effective 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, since 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 families who want stronger protection from viruses and bacteria. This filter catches 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 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 cost of turning on your home comfort system.
These three media air cleaners can be used with any brand of HVAC system. However, it’s critical to know that some of the more substantial ones, like MERV 16 and 13, may restrict your system’s airflow. This can inflate your energy bills.
3. UV Air Purifiers
The sun’s UV rays are the fault of why you get a blistering sunburn. But this type of light has a beneficial application when installed in your ductwork. It’s also powerful enough to reduce germs, mold and fungi under certain airflow conditions.
In actuality, the Healthy Climate UV Germicidal Light can reduce the number of airborne microorganisms by 50% in as quickly as 45 minutes.5 This light damages cell structure, which stops these microorganisms from flourishing and spreading throughout your home.
And this UV air purifier can also help keep your HVAC system clean and working like it should. It wipes out of germs, mold and fungi lurking in ductwork and your system itself. This UV light air purifier accomplishes all these tasks without developing lung-aggravating ozone.6
Breathe Easier with the Support of Our Air Purification Pros
Your loved ones’ comfort and health matters to us at Air Current AC & Heat. We are aware there are lots of options out there. That’s why we make it simple to collaborate with our indoor air quality pros. 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 issues. Call us at 713-322-4318 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.