If you own a newly built home in Des Moines, it was likely constructed with energy efficiency in mind. This means greater amounts of insulation and windows and doors with enhanced seals. While these enhancements are fantastic for keeping your utility costs affordable, they’re not so fantastic for your indoor air quality.
Your HVAC system needs to run with a filter. But if you have a flat filter, you won’t be getting adequate filtration. This style only gives 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 adequate filtration, particularly if someone in your house 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 effective filtration around your residence. Depending on the model you select, you’ll be able to get rid of allergens, odors and even some viruses under certain airflow conditions.
Here are our top 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 top-of-the-line filtration. These filters were first made to protect scientists as they made the atomic bomb. Today, they’re necessary in hospitals and other medical buildings.
The Healthy Climate HEPA Filtration System includes a three-step filtration method. A prefilter catches significant pollutants before the HEPA filter captures the remainder of smaller 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 key 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, like mold spores, pollen, dust and pet dander. It’s also potent 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 removes and eliminates approximately 50% of your home’s odors and chemical vapors within 24 hours.
The PureAir S is equipped with sensing features that make it simple to keep up. When used 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 come in in a variety of MERV ratings to match your needs. This rating determines how effective filters are at trapping contaminants. The better the number, the greater 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, as it has a MERV 16 rating for hospital-level filtration. And it eliminates more than 95%3 of irritating particles from your home’s air.
The Healthy Climate 13 Media Air Cleaner is recommended for households who are seeking stronger protection from viruses and bacteria. This filter removes 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 a great air purifier for allergies and in homes with pets. It eliminates more than 87% of bigger particles down to 3 microns and more than 28% of smaller ones down to 0.3 microns.4 It’s able to deliver this strong filtration without increasing the bill for using your home comfort system.
These three media air cleaners can be used with any brand of HVAC system. Regardless, it’s essential to know that some of the thicker ones, like MERV 16 and 13, may decrease your system’s airflow. This can increase your utility costs.
3. UV Air Purifiers
The sun’s UV rays are the fault of why you get a stinging sunburn. But this kind of light has a helpful application when placed within your ductwork. It’s also strong enough to reduce germs, mold and fungi under certain airflow conditions.
In reality, the Healthy Climate UV Germicidal Light can decrease the number of airborne microorganisms by 50% in as little as 45 minutes.5 This light damages cell structure, which halts these microorganisms from growing and infiltrating across your home.
And this UV air purifier can also help keep your HVAC system clean and running properly. It takes care of germs, mold and fungi hiding inside ductwork and your system itself. This UV light air purifier achieves all these things without making lung-inflaming ozone.6
Breathe Healthier Air with the Help of Our Air Purification Professionals
Your family’s comfort and health is our top priority at Kohles & Bach Heating & Cooling. We realize there are lots of solutions out there. That’s why we make it uncomplicated to partner with our indoor air quality specialists. We specialize in recommending solutions that match your needs and budget, and we’d love to learn more about your home and your air quality issues. Give us a call at 515-278-2900 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.