If you have a newly constructed home in Mission Viejo, it was likely made with energy efficiency in mind. This means greater amounts of insulation and windows and doors with improved seals. While these enhancements are good for keeping your utility bills in check, they’re not so fantastic 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 enough filtration. This kind only provides the lowest level of protection by stopping dust from getting into your home comfort system.
While you can install 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 problems.
That’s where a whole-house air purifier can be a great solution. These systems are placed within ductwork to provide effective filtration around your home. Depending on the model you select, you’ll be able to filter 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, provides top-of-the-line filtration. These filters were first developed to protect scientists as they made the atomic bomb. Today, they’re a staple in hospitals and other medical settings.
The Healthy Climate HEPA Filtration System has a three-step filtration procedure. A prefilter catches bigger particles before the HEPA filter catches the rest of smaller pollutants. Then, a charcoal filter eradicates odors and chemical vapors.
The PureAir™ S Air Purification System works with all HVAC brands and seamlessly connects with your smart home. It combats the three leading kinds of indoor air pollutants:
- Airborne particles
- Chemical odors and vapors
- Germs and bacteria, under certain airflow conditions
This air purifier can remove 99.9%* of pollutants, such as 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, as the result of laboratory and field studies, it removes and destroys approximately 50% of household 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 work with your needs. This rating measures how capable filters are at trapping contaminants. The greater the number, the better the filtration.
The Healthy Climate Carbon Clean 16® Media Air Cleaner is recommended for families with allergy suffers and pets. This is a HEPA filter air purifier, because it has a MERV 16 rating for hospital-grade 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 recommended for families who desire stronger protection from viruses and bacteria. This filter catches 99% of larger particles such as 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 homes with pets. It removes 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 offer this strong filtration without driving up the bill for using your home comfort system.
These three media air cleaners can be used with any brand of HVAC system. However, it’s critical to be aware that some of the thicker ones, including MERV 16 and 13, may decrease your system’s airflow. This can hike up your heating and cooling expenses.
3. UV Air Purifiers
The sun’s UV rays are the fault of why you get a painful sunburn. But this kind of light has a beneficial application when installed inside your ductwork. It’s also tough enough to reduce germs, mold and fungi under certain airflow conditions.
In reality, the Healthy Climate UV Germicidal Light can lower the amount of airborne microorganisms by 50% in as little as 45 minutes.5 This light destroys cell structure, which prohibits these microorganisms from flourishing and spreading across your home.
And this UV air purifier can also help keep your home comfort system clean and running efficiently. It eliminates of germs, mold and fungi hiding in ductwork and your system itself. This UV light air purifier does all these things without creating lung-irritating ozone.6
Breathe Better with the Support of Our Air Purification Pros
Your household’s comfort and health is important to us at 1st Choice Heating & Air Conditioning. We are aware there are a lot of possibilities out there. That’s why we make it uncomplicated to work with our indoor air quality specialists. We specialize in recommending solutions tailored to your needs and budget, and we’d love to find out more about your home and your air quality issues. Give us a call at 949-204-0859 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.