If you live in a newly constructed home in Wilmington, it was probably made with energy efficiency as a priority. This means greater amounts of insulation and windows and doors with enhanced seals. While these enhancements are excellent for keeping your utility expenses affordable, they’re not so great 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 getting ample filtration. This model only delivers the lowest level of protection by blocking dust from infiltrating your heating and cooling system.
While you can install a pleated filter or one with a increased MERV rating, it still might not be adequate filtration, especially if someone in your residence has allergies or other respiratory problems.
That’s where a whole-house air purifier can be a good option. These systems are installed within ductwork to provide effective filtration throughout your home. Depending on the model you go with, you’ll be able to remove 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, provides premium filtration. These filters were first made to shield scientists as they developed the atomic bomb. Today, they’re a must-have in hospitals and other medical operations.
The Healthy Climate HEPA Filtration System features a three-step filtration method. A prefilter attracts significant pollutants before the HEPA filter catches the rest of miniscule irritants. Then, a charcoal filter eradicates odors and chemical vapors.
The PureAir™ S Air Purification System connects to all HVAC brands and easily connects with your smart home. It combats the three major kinds of indoor air irritants:
- Airborne particles
- Chemical odors and vapors
- Germs and bacteria, under certain airflow conditions
This air purifier can get rid of 99.9%* of pollutants, such as 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, as the result of 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 easy to service. When used with an iComfort® S30 smart thermostat, you’ll get a notification 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 effective filters are at capturing contaminants. The higher the number, the finer the filtration.
The Healthy Climate Carbon Clean 16® Media Air Cleaner is ideal for families 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 removes more than 95%3 of aggravating particles from your residence’s air.
The Healthy Climate 13 Media Air Cleaner is recommended for households who are looking for stronger protection from viruses and bacteria. This filter captures 99% of larger particles such as 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 residences with pets. It eliminates 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 powerful filtration without increasing the price of using your HVAC system.
These three media air cleaners are compatible with any brand of HVAC system. Regardless, it’s important to realize that some of the thicker ones, such as MERV 16 and 13, may restrict your system’s airflow. This can hike up your energy expenses.
3. UV Air Purifiers
The sun’s UV rays are the reason why you get a stinging sunburn. But this wavelength of light has a useful application when installed within your ductwork. It’s also powerful enough to reduce 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 short as 45 minutes.5 This light damages cell structure, which prohibits these microorganisms from growing and moving across your home.
And this UV air purifier can also help keep your HVAC system clean and running efficiently. It takes care of germs, mold and fungi that are hidden in ductwork and your system itself. This UV light air purifier does all these tasks without developing lung-inflaming ozone.6
Breathe Healthier Air with the Assistance of Our Air Purification Professionals
Your loved ones’ comfort and health is important to us at Brandywine Heating & Air. We know there are a lot of options out there. That’s why we make it easy to partner with our indoor air quality professionals. We specialize in creating solutions that meet your needs and budget, and we’d love to find out more about your residence and your air quality problems. Give us a call at 302-261-3596 right away to start the process.
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.