If you own a newly built residence in Albuquerque, it was likely constructed with energy efficiency in mind. This means increased insulation and windows and doors with improved seals. While these improvements are great for keeping your heating and cooling expenses affordable, they’re not so great for your indoor air quality.
Your HVAC system needs to work with a filter. But if you rely on a flat filter, you won’t be getting adequate filtration. This kind only provides the smallest amount of protection by keeping dust out of your home comfort system.
While you can get a pleated filter or one with a better MERV rating, it still might not be enough filtration, even more so if someone in your house has allergies or other respiratory issues.
That’s where a whole-house air purifier can be a great solution. These systems are attached within ductwork to provide strong filtration across your house. Depending on the kind you choose, you’ll be able to get rid of allergens, odors and even some viruses under certain airflow conditions.
Here are our best 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, gives top-of-the-line filtration. These filters were first created to shield scientists as they created the atomic bomb. Today, they’re necessary in hospitals and other medical applications.
The Healthy Climate HEPA Filtration System includes a three-step filtration procedure. A prefilter draws larger irritants before the HEPA filter captures remaining smaller irritants. Then, a charcoal filter takes care of odors and chemical vapors.
The PureAir™ S Air Purification System works with all HVAC brands and easily links to with your smart home. It fights the three leading varieties of indoor air irritants:
- Airborne particles
- Chemical odors and vapors
- Germs and bacteria, under certain airflow conditions
This air purifier can eliminate 99.9%* of pollutants, including mold spores, pollen, dust and pet dander. It’s also effective at decreasing or eliminating 90%1 of flu and cold viruses under certain airflow conditions. And, based on laboratory and field studies, it reduces and eradicates approximately 50% of household odors and chemical vapors within 24 hours.
The PureAir S includes sensing features that make it uncomplicated to keep up. When paired 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 installed 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 determines how capable filters are at capturing contaminants. The better the number, the better the filtration.
The Healthy Climate Carbon Clean 16® Media Air Cleaner is ideal for residences with allergy suffers and pets. This is a HEPA filter air purifier, since it has a MERV 16 rating for hospital-strength filtration. And it eliminates more than 95%3 of irritating particles from your home’s air.
The Healthy Climate 13 Media Air Cleaner is great for families 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 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 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 provide this effective filtration without running up the bill for using your home comfort system.
These three media air cleaners are compatible with any brand of HVAC system. But despite that, it’s important to realize that some of the thicker ones, including MERV 16 and 13, may restrict your system’s airflow. This can inflate your heating and cooling costs.
3. UV Air Purifiers
The sun’s UV rays are to blame when you get a stinging sunburn. But this type of light has a helpful application when installed inside your ductwork. It’s also tough enough to decrease germs, mold and fungi under certain airflow conditions.
In actuality, the Healthy Climate UV Germicidal Light can reduce the number of airborne microorganisms by 50% in as little as 45 minutes.5 This light destroys cell structure, which halts these microorganisms from growing and moving around your house.
And this UV air purifier can also help keep your HVAC system clean and working properly. It takes care of germs, mold and fungi that are hidden in ductwork and your system itself. This UV light air purifier accomplishes all these things without producing lung-irritating ozone.6
Breathe Better with the Help of Our Air Purification Professionals
Your loved ones’ comfort and health is our top priority at I-Deal HVAC. We realize there are lots of solutions out there. That’s why we make it easy to work with our indoor air quality specialists. We specialize in developing solutions tailored to your needs and budget, and we’d love to hear more about your home and your air quality issues. Reach us at 505-445-1250 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.