If you own a newly built home in Libertyville, it was in all likelihood built with energy efficiency at the top of the list. This means more insulation and windows and doors with improved seals. While these improvements are great for keeping your heating and cooling expenses under control, they’re not so great for your indoor air quality.
Your heating and cooling system needs to run with a filter. But if you have a flat filter, you won’t be experiencing enough filtration. This kind only gives the smallest amount of protection by stopping dust from getting into your HVAC system.
While you can upgrade to a pleated filter or one with a higher MERV rating, it still might not be adequate filtration, particularly if someone in your house has allergies or other respiratory problems.
That’s where a whole-house air purifier can be a great solution. These systems are installed within ductwork to provide effective filtration throughout your home. Depending on the model you go with, 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, delivers the best filtration. These filters were first developed to shield scientists as they developed the atomic bomb. Today, they’re a staple in hospitals and other medical buildings.
The Healthy Climate HEPA Filtration System has a three-step filtration method. A prefilter attracts larger irritants before the HEPA filter captures remaining miniscule particles. Then, a charcoal filter eradicates odors and chemical vapors.
The PureAir™ S Air Purification System works with all HVAC brands and easily links to your smart home. It reduces the three major varieties of indoor air irritants:
- Airborne particles
- Chemical odors and vapors
- Germs and bacteria, under certain airflow conditions
This air purifier can remove 99.9%* of pollutants, like mold spores, pollen, dust and pet dander. It’s also potent at decreasing or destroying 90%1 of flu and cold viruses under certain airflow conditions. And, based on laboratory and field studies, it reduces and eliminates approximately 50% of residential odors and chemical vapors within 24 hours.
The PureAir S is equipped with sensing features that make it uncomplicated to maintain. When linked 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 linked with communicating Lennox systems and the iComfort S30.
2. Media Air Cleaners
Lennox Healthy Climate® Media Air Cleaners come in in a variety of MERV ratings to fit your needs. This rating measures how capable filters are at trapping contaminants. The better the number, the better 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, as it has a MERV 16 rating for hospital-level filtration. And it removes more than 95%3 of irritating particles from your home’s air.
The Healthy Climate 13 Media Air Cleaner is suggested for homes who are seeking enhanced protection from viruses and bacteria. This filter catches 99% of larger particles such as dust, pollen and lint. And up to 54% of finer 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 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 provide this effective filtration without running up the bill for turning on your heating and cooling system.
These three media air cleaners are compatible with any brand of HVAC system. Regardless, it’s critical to realize that some of the thicker ones, such as MERV 16 and 13, may limit your system’s airflow. This can increase your utility costs.
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 helpful application when concealed inside 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 lower the number of airborne microorganisms by 50% in as quickly as 45 minutes.5 This light wrecks cell structure, which prohibits these microorganisms from multiplying and moving across your residence.
And this UV air purifier can also help keep your heating and cooling system clean and running properly. It wipes out of germs, mold and fungi lurking inside ductwork and your system itself. This UV light air purifier achieves all these tasks without making lung-inflaming ozone.6
Breathe Healthier Air with the Support of Our Air Purification Specialists
Your family’s comfort and health is important to us at TopTec. We are aware there are a lot of options out there. That’s why we make it easy to partner with our indoor air quality specialists. We specialize in creating solutions that meet your needs and budget, and we’d love to hear more about your residence and your air quality challenges. Reach us at 847-362-0262 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.