If you have a newer home in Siloam Springs, it was likely made with energy efficiency at the top of the list. This means increased insulation and windows and doors with better seals. While these enhancements are great for keeping your energy costs economical, they’re not so fantastic for your indoor air quality.
Your HVAC system needs to run with a filter. But if you rely on a flat filter, you won’t be experiencing enough filtration. This style only gives the bare minimum of protection by blocking dust from infiltrating your HVAC system.
While you can get a pleated filter or one with a higher MERV rating, it still might not be enough filtration, even more so 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 installed within ductwork to give powerful filtration around your residence. Depending on the kind you choose, you’ll be able to remove 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, gives top-of-the-line filtration. These filters were first made to defend scientists as they developed the atomic bomb. Today, they’re necessary in hospitals and other medical facilities.
The Healthy Climate HEPA Filtration System has a three-step filtration method. A prefilter catches bigger irritants before the HEPA filter traps remaining smaller irritants. Then, a charcoal filter eradicates odors and chemical vapors.
The PureAir™ S Air Purification System is compatible with all HVAC brands and easily links to with your smart home. It combats the three major types 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, like mold spores, pollen, dust and pet dander. It’s also effective at removing or eliminating 90%1 of flu and cold viruses under certain airflow conditions. And, based on laboratory and field studies, it removes and eradicates approximately 50% of household odors and chemical vapors within 24 hours.
The PureAir S includes sensing features that make it easy to serviced. When used with an iComfort® S30 smart thermostat, you’ll receive an alert to change 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 made in a variety of MERV ratings to fit your needs. This rating determines how good filters are at capturing contaminants. The higher the number, the finer the filtration.
The Healthy Climate Carbon Clean 16® Media Air Cleaner is great for households with allergy suffers and pets. This is a HEPA filter air purifier, because it has a MERV 16 rating for hospital-level filtration. And it eliminates more than 95%3 of aggravating particles from your residence’s air.
The Healthy Climate 13 Media Air Cleaner is suggested for households who are looking for enhanced protection from viruses and bacteria. This filter removes 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 an excellent 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 cost of turning on your home comfort system.
These three media air cleaners work with any brand of HVAC system. But despite that, it’s critical to be aware that some of the more substantial ones, including MERV 16 and 13, may limit your system’s airflow. This can hike up your energy costs.
3. UV Air Purifiers
The sun’s UV rays are to blame when you get a stinging sunburn. But this wavelength of light has a beneficial application when placed in your ductwork. It’s also tough enough to eliminate germs, mold and fungi under certain airflow conditions.
In reality, the Healthy Climate UV Germicidal Light can reduce the amount of airborne microorganisms by 50% in as quickly as 45 minutes.5 This light damages cell structure, which halts these microorganisms from growing and infiltrating across your residence.
And this UV air purifier can also help keep your home comfort system clean and running like it should. It wipes out of germs, mold and fungi that are hidden inside ductwork and your system itself. This UV light air purifier achieves all these things without producing lung-aggravating ozone.6
Breathe Better with the Support of Our Air Purification Specialists
Your household’s comfort and health matters to us at Siloam Springs Heating & AC. We are aware there are a lot of options out there. That’s why we make it uncomplicated to partner with our indoor air quality pros. We specialize in creating solutions that meet your needs and budget, and we’d love to hear more about your house and your air quality issues. Give us a call at 479-308-8176 right away to get started.
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.