If you own a newly constructed home in Mason City, it was probably constructed with energy efficiency in mind. This means increased insulation and windows and doors with better seals. While these improvements are fantastic for keeping your energy bills affordable, they’re not so great 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 getting enough filtration. This kind only delivers the lowest level of protection by keeping dust out of 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, even more so if someone in your home has allergies or other respiratory issues.
That’s where a whole-house air purifier can be a good option. These systems are placed within ductwork to provide effective filtration around your residence. Depending on the type you select, you’ll be able to remove allergens, odors and even some viruses under certain airflow conditions.
Here are our top 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, delivers top-of-the-line filtration. These filters were first made to guard scientists as they developed the atomic bomb. Today, they’re a staple in hospitals and other medical facilities.
The Healthy Climate HEPA Filtration System has a three-step filtration process. A prefilter catches significant irritants before the HEPA filter captures the remainder of smaller pollutants. Then, a charcoal filter eradicates odors and chemical vapors.
The PureAir™ S Air Purification System connects to all HVAC brands and seamlessly connects with your smart home. It combats the three leading varieties of indoor air contaminants:
- 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 effective at reducing or destroying 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 residential odors and chemical vapors within 24 hours.
The PureAir S is equipped with sensing features that make it easy to service. When used with an iComfort® S30 smart thermostat, you’ll be notified when 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 are available in a variety of MERV ratings to work with your needs. This rating measures how good filters are at removing contaminants. The higher the number, the better the filtration.
The Healthy Climate Carbon Clean 16® Media Air Cleaner is ideal for households with allergy suffers and pets. This is a HEPA filter air purifier, as it has a MERV 16 rating for hospital-strength 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 looking for better protection from viruses and bacteria. This filter catches 99% of larger particles including dust, pollen and lint. And up to 54% of miniscule particles down to 0.3 microns.4
The Healthy Climate 11 Media Air Cleaner is a a great air purifier for allergies and in houses 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 provide this strong filtration without increasing the price of turning on your home comfort system.
These three media air cleaners work with any brand of HVAC system. But despite that, it’s critical to know that some of the denser ones, like MERV 16 and 13, may decrease your system’s airflow. This can hike up your heating and cooling expenses.
3. UV Air Purifiers
The sun’s UV rays are the reason why you get a blistering sunburn. But this wavelength of light has a useful application when placed 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 decrease the amount of airborne microorganisms by 50% in as quickly as 45 minutes.5 This light destroys cell structure, which halts these microorganisms from growing and moving throughout your house.
And this UV air purifier can also help keep your home comfort system clean and operating like it should. 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 Help of Our Air Purification Professionals
Your loved ones’ comfort and health is important to us at Mechanical Air Systems Co. We realize there are many solutions out there. That’s why we make it easy to partner with our indoor air quality specialists. We specialize in recommending solutions tailored to your needs and budget, and we’d love to learn more about your residence and your air quality challenges. Give us a call at 641-243-4654 today to get started.
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.