If you have a newly constructed home in Tucson, it was probably made with energy efficiency as a priority. This means increased insulation and windows and doors with improved seals. While these enhancements are good for keeping your energy bill reasonable, they’re not so excellent for your indoor air quality.
Your HVAC system needs to work with a filter. But if you install a flat filter, you won’t be receiving adequate filtration. This type only provides the smallest amount of protection by blocking dust from infiltrating your heating and cooling system.
While you can get 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 great solution. These systems are placed within ductwork to provide mighty filtration around your home. Depending on the kind you select, you’ll be able to remove allergens, odors and even some viruses under certain airflow conditions.
Here are our favorite solutions 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 made to shield scientists as they developed the atomic bomb. Today, they’re must-have in hospitals and other medical applications.
The Healthy Climate HEPA Filtration System has a three-step filtration procedure. A prefilter attracts bigger irritants before the HEPA filter captures the rest of miniscule pollutants. Then, a charcoal filter wipes out odors and chemical vapors.
The PureAir™ S Air Purification System is compatible with all HVAC brands and smoothly works with with your smart home. It fights the three key kinds of indoor air pollutants:
- Airborne particles
- Chemical odors and vapors
- Germs and bacteria, under certain airflow conditions
This air purifier can remove 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, as the result of laboratory and field studies, it decreases and eliminates approximately 50% of household odors and chemical vapors within 24 hours.
The PureAir S comes with sensing features that make it easy to serviced. When paired with an iComfort® S30 smart thermostat, you’ll get a notification 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 available in a variety of MERV ratings to match your needs. This rating determines how effective filters are at removing contaminants. The better the number, the finer the filtration.
The Healthy Climate Carbon Clean 16® Media Air Cleaner is great for households with allergy suffers and pets. This is a HEPA filter air purifier, as it has a MERV 16 rating for hospital-grade filtration. And it removes more than 95%3 of unhealthy particles from your house’s air.
The Healthy Climate 13 Media Air Cleaner is suggested for households who want better protection from viruses and bacteria. This filter captures 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 an excellent air purifier for allergies and in houses with pets. It catches 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 deliver this powerful filtration without increasing the price of turning on your HVAC system.
These three media air cleaners work with any brand of HVAC system. But despite that, it’s essential to know that some of the more substantial ones, such as MERV 16 and 13, may decrease your system’s airflow. This can inflate your energy costs.
3. UV Air Purifiers
The sun’s UV rays are to the reason why you get a stinging sunburn. But this wavelength of light has a beneficial application when installed inside your ductwork. It’s also strong enough to reduce germs, mold and fungi under certain airflow conditions.
In fact, the Healthy Climate UV Germicidal Light can decrease the number of airborne microorganisms by 50% in as quickly as 45 minutes.5 This light wrecks cell structure, which stops these microorganisms from multiplying and moving around your house.
And this UV air purifier can also help keep your home comfort system clean and working efficiently. It takes care of germs, mold and fungi lurking inside ductwork and your system itself. This UV light air purifier does all this work without developing lung-aggravating ozone.6
Breathe Better with the Help of Our Air Purification Professionals
Your household’s comfort and health is important to us at A&M Heating & Cooling LLC. We realize there are lots of possibilities out there. That’s why we make it simple to collaborate with our indoor air quality specialists. 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 520-200-1048 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.