If you live in a newer home in Houston, it was probably built with energy efficiency in mind. This means greater amounts of insulation and windows and doors with enhanced seals. While these enhancements are good for keeping your utility costs in check, 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 getting adequate filtration. This kind only delivers the lowest level of protection by keeping dust out of your HVAC system.
While you can install a pleated filter or one with a higher MERV rating, it still might not be enough filtration, particularly if someone in your house has allergies or other respiratory issues.
That’s where a whole-house air purifier comes in. These systems are installed within ductwork to provide powerful filtration around your home. Depending on the type you go with, you’ll be able to get rid of 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, gives top-of-the-line filtration. These filters were first made to shield scientists as they worked on the atomic bomb. Today, they’re a must-have in hospitals and other medical applications.
The Healthy Climate HEPA Filtration System has a three-step filtration method. A prefilter catches significant particles before the HEPA filter catches the remainder of tiny particles. Then, a charcoal filter takes care of odors and chemical vapors.
The PureAir™ S Air Purification System connects to all HVAC brands and smoothly works with your smart home. It combats the three key varieties of indoor air irritants:
- Airborne particles
- Chemical odors and vapors
- Germs and bacteria, under certain airflow conditions
This air purifier can eliminate 99.9%* of pollutants, such as mold spores, pollen, dust and pet dander. It’s also potent at removing 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 destroys approximately 50% of your home’s odors and chemical vapors within 24 hours.
The PureAir S is equipped with sensing features that make it simple to maintain. When used with an iComfort® S30 smart thermostat, you’ll be notified when to install a new 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 are available in a variety of MERV ratings to work with your needs. This rating determines how good filters are at capturing contaminants. The greater the number, the greater the filtration.
The Healthy Climate Carbon Clean 16® Media Air Cleaner is recommended for households 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 removes more than 95%3 of aggravating particles from your house’s air.
The Healthy Climate 13 Media Air Cleaner is suggested for families who are looking for enhanced protection from viruses and bacteria. This filter removes 99% of larger particles including 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 great air purifier for allergies and in residences 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 driving up the price of operating your home comfort system.
These three media air cleaners work with any brand of HVAC system. Regardless, it’s essential to be aware that some of the thicker ones, such as MERV 16 and 13, may limit your system’s airflow. This can increase your heating and cooling expenses.
3. UV Air Purifiers
The sun’s UV rays are the fault of why you get a painful sunburn. But this type of light has a useful application when placed within your ductwork. It’s also powerful enough to eliminate germs, mold and fungi under certain airflow conditions.
In fact, the Healthy Climate UV Germicidal Light can decrease the amount of airborne microorganisms by 50% in as little as 45 minutes.5 This light damages cell structure, which stops these microorganisms from flourishing and infiltrating across your home.
And this UV air purifier can also help keep your HVAC system clean and working properly. It wipes out of germs, mold and fungi that are hidden within ductwork and your system itself. This UV light air purifier accomplishes all these things without creating lung-inflaming ozone.6
Breathe Better with the Help of Our Air Purification Professionals
Your family’s comfort and health is important to us at Air Current AC & Heat. We realize there are many options out there. That’s why we make it uncomplicated to partner with our indoor air quality specialists. We specialize in creating solutions that fit your needs and budget, and we’d love to hear more about your house and your air quality issues. Reach 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.