If you live in a newly built house in Oxford, it was in all likelihood built with energy efficiency at the top of the list. This means greater amounts of insulation and windows and doors with enhanced seals. While these improvements are excellent for keeping your energy expenses under control, they’re not so excellent 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 model only provides the smallest amount of protection by stopping dust from getting into your home comfort system.
While you can upgrade to a pleated filter or one with a higher MERV rating, it still might not be ample filtration, especially if someone in your residence has allergies or other respiratory issues.
That’s where a whole-house air purifier can be a good option. These systems are installed within ductwork to provide powerful filtration throughout your home. 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 best options 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 made to guard scientists as they created the atomic bomb. Today, they’re essential in hospitals and other medical buildings.
The Healthy Climate HEPA Filtration System includes a three-step filtration procedure. A prefilter catches larger irritants before the HEPA filter catches remaining miniscule irritants. Then, a charcoal filter takes care of odors and chemical vapors.
The PureAir™ S Air Purification System connects to all HVAC brands and easily connects with your smart home. It fights the three key kinds of indoor air irritants:
- 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 capable of removing or eliminating 90%1 of flu and cold viruses under certain airflow conditions. And, according to laboratory and field studies, it removes and destroys approximately 50% of household odors and chemical vapors within 24 hours.
The PureAir S comes with sensing features that make it easy to service. When linked 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 used 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 measures how effective filters are at capturing contaminants. The greater the number, the greater the filtration.
The Healthy Climate Carbon Clean 16® Media Air Cleaner is ideal for families with allergy suffers and pets. This is a HEPA filter air purifier, as it has a MERV 16 rating for hospital-level filtration. And it removes more than 95%3 of aggravating particles from your home’s air.
The Healthy Climate 13 Media Air Cleaner is great for homes who are seeking improved protection from viruses and bacteria. This filter captures 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 a fantastic air purifier for allergies and in homes with pets. It removes 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 strong filtration without running up the bill for turning on your HVAC system.
These three media air cleaners work with any brand of HVAC system. Regardless, it’s critical to know that some of the more substantial ones, such as MERV 16 and 13, may limit your system’s airflow. This can hike up your utility expenses.
3. UV Air Purifiers
The sun’s UV rays are the fault of why you get a stinging sunburn. But this wavelength of light has a useful application when concealed within your ductwork. It’s also powerful enough to eliminate germs, mold and fungi under certain airflow conditions.
In actuality, the Healthy Climate UV Germicidal Light can lower the amount of airborne microorganisms by 50% in as short as 45 minutes.5 This light wrecks cell structure, which halts these microorganisms from multiplying and spreading throughout your residence.
And this UV air purifier can also help keep your home comfort system clean and operating efficiently. It takes care of germs, mold and fungi that are hidden inside ductwork and your system itself. This UV light air purifier achieves all this work without making lung-inflaming ozone.6
Breathe Healthier Air with the Assistance of Our Air Purification Specialists
Your loved ones’ comfort and health is our top priority at Franklin's Heating & Air Conditioning, Inc. We realize there are a lot of solutions out there. That’s why we make it uncomplicated to partner with our indoor air quality pros. We specialize in creating solutions that meet your needs and budget, and we’d love to learn more about your home and your air quality problems. Call us at 662-281-1231 right away 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.