If you live in a newly built residence in Wisconsin Rapids, it was in all likelihood made with energy efficiency as a priority. This means increased insulation and windows and doors with improved seals. While these improvements are fantastic for keeping your heating and cooling expenses under control, they’re not so excellent for your indoor air quality.
Your heating and cooling system needs to work with a filter. But if you have a flat filter, you won’t be receiving adequate filtration. This type only delivers the bare minimum of protection by stopping dust from getting into your HVAC system.
While you can install a pleated filter or one with a better MERV rating, it still might not be enough filtration, especially 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 attached within ductwork to provide effective filtration around your house. Depending on the type 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, delivers 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 buildings.
The Healthy Climate HEPA Filtration System includes a three-step filtration process. A prefilter attracts larger irritants before the HEPA filter catches remaining miniscule particles. Then, a charcoal filter takes care of odors and chemical vapors.
The PureAir™ S Air Purification System is compatible with all HVAC brands and smoothly integrates with your smart home. It combats 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 eliminate 99.9%* of pollutants, such as mold spores, pollen, dust and pet dander. It’s also capable of removing or destroying 90%1 of flu and cold viruses under certain airflow conditions. And, as the result of laboratory and field studies, it reduces and eliminates approximately 50% of your home’s 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 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 come in in a variety of MERV ratings to work with your needs. This rating determines how capable filters are at trapping contaminants. The higher the number, the greater the filtration.
The Healthy Climate Carbon Clean 16® Media Air Cleaner is ideal for homes 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 gets rid of more than 95%3 of irritating particles from your residence’s air.
The Healthy Climate 13 Media Air Cleaner is suggested for homes who are seeking stronger protection from viruses and bacteria. This filter traps 99% of larger particles like 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 residences with pets. It eliminates 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 offer this powerful filtration without driving up the bill for using your heating and cooling system.
These three media air cleaners can be used with any brand of HVAC system. Regardless, it’s important to know that some of the thicker ones, including MERV 16 and 13, may restrict your system’s airflow. This can hike up your energy bills.
3. UV Air Purifiers
The sun’s UV rays are the fault of why you get a painful sunburn. But this type of light has a beneficial application when placed inside your ductwork. It’s also strong enough to decrease germs, mold and fungi under certain airflow conditions.
In fact, the Healthy Climate UV Germicidal Light can reduce the concentration of airborne microorganisms by 50% in as quickly as 45 minutes.5 This light damages cell structure, which halts these microorganisms from multiplying and infiltrating around your house.
And this UV air purifier can also help keep your HVAC system clean and running properly. It eliminates of germs, mold and fungi hiding in ductwork and your system itself. This UV light air purifier does all these things without making lung-irritating ozone.6
Breathe Easier with the Assistance of Our Air Purification Pros
Your family’s comfort and health matters to us at Rapids Sheet Metal Works Inc. We realize there are a lot of options out there. That’s why we make it easy to collaborate with our indoor air quality pros. We specialize in creating solutions tailored to your needs and budget, and we’d love to learn more about your residence and your air quality issues. Give us a call at 715-301-0256 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.