If you live in a newly built house in Pacheco, it was likely built with energy efficiency as a priority. This means greater amounts of insulation and windows and doors with enhanced seals. While these enhancements are great for keeping your heating and cooling costs in check, they’re not so great for your indoor air quality.
Your heating and cooling system needs to operate with a filter. But if you have a flat filter, you won’t be receiving ample filtration. This model only delivers the smallest amount of protection by blocking dust from infiltrating your HVAC system.
While you can upgrade to 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 troubles.
That’s where a whole-house air purifier comes in. These systems are placed within ductwork to provide strong filtration around your residence. Depending on the kind you choose, you’ll be able to remove allergens, odors and even some viruses under certain airflow conditions.
Here are our top systems 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 created to defend scientists as they created the atomic bomb. Today, they’re essential in hospitals and other medical settings.
The Healthy Climate HEPA Filtration System includes a three-step filtration process. A prefilter draws significant pollutants before the HEPA filter captures the remainder of tiny particles. Then, a charcoal filter wipes out odors and chemical vapors.
The PureAir™ S Air Purification System is compatible with 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 get rid of 99.9%* of pollutants, such as mold spores, pollen, dust and pet dander. It’s also effective at removing or eradicating 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 household odors and chemical vapors within 24 hours.
The PureAir S comes with sensing features that make it simple to service. When linked 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 linked 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 match your needs. This rating measures how effective filters are at removing contaminants. The better the number, the better the filtration.
The Healthy Climate Carbon Clean 16® Media Air Cleaner is recommended for families 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 aggravating particles from your residence’s air.
The Healthy Climate 13 Media Air Cleaner is great for homes who desire enhanced 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 traps 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 driving up the price of turning on your home comfort system.
These three media air cleaners are compatible with any brand of HVAC system. However, it’s important to be aware that some of the thicker ones, like MERV 16 and 13, may limit your system’s airflow. This can inflate your utility bills.
3. UV Air Purifiers
The sun’s UV rays are the fault of why you get a stinging sunburn. But this kind of light has a useful application when placed inside your ductwork. It’s also tough enough to eliminate germs, mold and fungi under certain airflow conditions.
In fact, the Healthy Climate UV Germicidal Light can lower the number of airborne microorganisms by 50% in as fast as 45 minutes.5 This light destroys cell structure, which stops these microorganisms from growing and infiltrating around your home.
And this UV air purifier can also help keep your home comfort system clean and operating properly. It eliminates of germs, mold and fungi that are hidden in ductwork and your system itself. This UV light air purifier achieves all this work without making lung-aggravating ozone.6
Breathe Better with the Help of Our Air Purification Specialists
Your family’s comfort and health is important to us at Clean Air HVAC. We know there are a lot of solutions out there. That’s why we make it simple to work with our indoor air quality professionals. We specialize in creating solutions that match your needs and budget, and we’d love to hear more about your residence and your air quality problems. Give us a call at 925-233-6238 right away 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.
