If you have a newly built house in Bend, it was likely made with energy efficiency at the top of the list. This means more insulation and windows and doors with better seals. While these enhancements are good for keeping your heating and cooling expenses reasonable, they’re not so good 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 getting adequate filtration. This model only gives the bare minimum of protection by keeping dust out of 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 comes in. These systems are placed within ductwork to provide strong filtration around your house. Depending on the type you select, you’ll be able to remove allergens, odors and even some viruses under certain airflow conditions.
Here are our favorite 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, gives the best 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 has a three-step filtration process. A prefilter attracts bigger irritants before the HEPA filter catches the rest of miniscule particles. Then, a charcoal filter takes care of odors and chemical vapors.
The PureAir™ S Air Purification System connects to all HVAC brands and seamlessly links to your smart home. It fights the three major varieties 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, including mold spores, pollen, dust and pet dander. It’s also effective at decreasing or destroying 90%1 of flu and cold viruses under certain airflow conditions. And, based on laboratory and field studies, it decreases 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 keep up. When linked with an iComfort® S30 smart thermostat, you’ll be notified when to replace 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 are available in a variety of MERV ratings to match your needs. This rating calculates how good filters are at trapping contaminants. The higher the number, the finer the filtration.
The Healthy Climate Carbon Clean 16® Media Air Cleaner is ideal 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 gets rid of more than 95%3 of unhealthy particles from your residence’s air.
The Healthy Climate 13 Media Air Cleaner is recommended for households who want enhanced protection from viruses and bacteria. This filter traps 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 a great air purifier for allergies and in residences 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 deliver this powerful filtration without running up the price of using your heating and cooling system.
These three media air cleaners can be used with any brand of HVAC system. However, it’s essential to know that some of the thicker ones, such as MERV 16 and 13, may decrease your system’s airflow. This can increase your energy costs.
3. UV Air Purifiers
The sun’s UV rays are the reason why you get a blistering sunburn. But this kind of light has a beneficial application when placed within your ductwork. It’s also tough enough to reduce germs, mold and fungi under certain airflow conditions.
In fact, the Healthy Climate UV Germicidal Light can reduce the number of airborne microorganisms by 50% in as little as 45 minutes.5 This light wrecks cell structure, which prohibits these microorganisms from flourishing and infiltrating around your home.
And this UV air purifier can also help keep your home comfort system clean and running properly. It eliminates of germs, mold and fungi that are hidden in ductwork and your system itself. This UV light air purifier accomplishes all these things without making lung-inflaming ozone.6
Breathe Healthier Air with the Assistance of Our Air Purification Pros
Your family’s comfort and health matters to us at Tri County Climate Control LLC. We realize there are lots of solutions out there. That’s why we make it simple to partner with our indoor air quality pros. We specialize in making solutions that fit your needs and budget, and we’d love to learn more about your home and your air quality challenges. Call us at 541-238-2797 now 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.