If you have a newly constructed home in Bartlesville, it was likely constructed with energy efficiency in mind. This means more insulation and windows and doors with enhanced seals. While these enhancements are good for keeping your utility expenses under control, they’re not so great for your indoor air quality.
Your home comfort system needs to work with a filter. But if you have a flat filter, you won’t be receiving ample filtration. This style only delivers the bare minimum of protection by stopping dust from getting into your home comfort system.
While you can get a pleated filter or one with a increased MERV rating, it still might not be ample 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 placed within ductwork to provide effective filtration throughout your home. Depending on the model you select, you’ll be able to get rid of 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, gives the best filtration. These filters were first made to protect scientists as they worked on the atomic bomb. Today, they’re a must-have in hospitals and other medical settings.
The Healthy Climate HEPA Filtration System includes a three-step filtration process. A prefilter catches bigger pollutants before the HEPA filter traps the remainder of 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 major kinds of indoor air contaminants:
- Airborne particles
- Chemical odors and vapors
- Germs and bacteria, under certain airflow conditions
This air purifier can remove 99.9%* of pollutants, including mold spores, pollen, dust and pet dander. It’s also capable of reducing or destroying 90%1 of flu and cold viruses under certain airflow conditions. And, as the result of laboratory and field studies, it removes and destroys approximately 50% of residential odors and chemical vapors within 24 hours.
The PureAir S comes with sensing features that make it easy to keep up. When used 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 used 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 measures how good filters are at trapping contaminants. The higher the number, the better the filtration.
The Healthy Climate Carbon Clean 16® Media Air Cleaner is ideal for residences with allergy suffers and pets. This is a HEPA filter air purifier, since it has a MERV 16 rating for hospital-grade filtration. And it removes more than 95%3 of irritating particles from your home’s air.
The Healthy Climate 13 Media Air Cleaner is great for households who are seeking stronger 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 great air purifier for allergies and in residences 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 offer this powerful filtration without running up the bill for turning on your HVAC system.
These three media air cleaners can be used with any brand of HVAC system. But despite that, it’s critical to realize that some of the denser ones, like MERV 16 and 13, may decrease your system’s airflow. This can increase your utility expenses.
3. UV Air Purifiers
The sun’s UV rays are the fault of why you get a painful sunburn. But this wavelength of light has a useful application when installed in your ductwork. It’s also strong enough to reduce germs, mold and fungi under certain airflow conditions.
In reality, the Healthy Climate UV Germicidal Light can reduce the amount of airborne microorganisms by 50% in as fast as 45 minutes.5 This light wrecks cell structure, which halts these microorganisms from multiplying and infiltrating around your house.
And this UV air purifier can also help keep your home comfort system clean and operating 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 this work without making lung-inflaming ozone.6
Breathe Healthier Air with the Help of Our Air Purification Pros
Your household’s comfort and health is our top priority at Farris Heating & Air. We realize there are many solutions out there. That’s why we make it easy to work with our indoor air quality pros. We specialize in recommending solutions that match your needs and budget, and we’d love to find out more about your home and your air quality issues. Call us at 918-333-0376 today 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.