If you have a newly constructed residence in Manassas, it was probably constructed with energy efficiency at the top of the list. This means greater amounts of insulation and windows and doors with improved seals. While these improvements are excellent for keeping your heating and cooling expenses under control, they’re not so fantastic for your indoor air quality.
Your HVAC system needs to operate with a filter. But if you have a flat filter, you won’t be receiving adequate filtration. This style only provides the bare minimum of protection by keeping dust out of your home comfort system.
While you can upgrade to a pleated filter or one with a better MERV rating, it still might not be enough filtration, particularly 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 installed within ductwork to provide powerful filtration around your house. Depending on the kind you select, you’ll be able to get rid of 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, provides premium filtration. These filters were first created to shield scientists as they worked on the atomic bomb. Today, they’re essential in hospitals and other medical facilities.
The Healthy Climate HEPA Filtration System has a three-step filtration procedure. A prefilter draws larger particles before the HEPA filter catches the remainder of miniscule particles. Then, a charcoal filter eradicates odors and chemical vapors.
The PureAir™ S Air Purification System is compatible with all HVAC brands and smoothly links to your smart home. It reduces the three leading types 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, including mold spores, pollen, dust and pet dander. It’s also capable of decreasing or destroying 90%1 of flu and cold viruses under certain airflow conditions. And, based on laboratory and field studies, it removes and destroys approximately 50% of your home’s odors and chemical vapors within 24 hours.
The PureAir S is equipped with sensing features that make it easy to service. When linked with an iComfort® S30 smart thermostat, you’ll receive an alert to install a new 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 match your needs. This rating calculates how good filters are at trapping contaminants. The better the number, the finer the filtration.
The Healthy Climate Carbon Clean 16® Media Air Cleaner is recommended for residences with allergy suffers and pets. This is a HEPA filter air purifier, because it has a MERV 16 rating for hospital-strength filtration. And it removes more than 95%3 of aggravating particles from your home’s air.
The Healthy Climate 13 Media Air Cleaner is suggested for households who desire stronger protection from viruses and bacteria. This filter removes 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 a fantastic 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 miniscule ones down to 0.3 microns.4 It’s able to deliver this strong filtration without running up the price of turning on your home comfort system.
These three media air cleaners are compatible with any brand of HVAC system. But despite that, it’s important to be aware that some of the thicker 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 blame when you get a painful sunburn. But this type of light has a beneficial application when installed within your ductwork. It’s also tough enough to eliminate 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 little as 45 minutes.5 This light wrecks cell structure, which halts these microorganisms from multiplying and spreading throughout your home.
And this UV air purifier can also help keep your heating and cooling system clean and working efficiently. It wipes out of germs, mold and fungi that are hidden inside ductwork and your system itself. This UV light air purifier achieves all this work without producing lung-aggravating ozone.6
Breathe Easier with the Assistance of Our Air Purification Professionals
Your household’s comfort and health is important to us at Air-Right Energy Design. We know there are many possibilities out there. That’s why we make it easy to work with our indoor air quality professionals. We specialize in making solutions tailored to your needs and budget, and we’d love to hear more about your residence and your air quality challenges. Reach us at 703-260-1148 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.
