If you live in a newer home in Portland, it was in all likelihood made with energy efficiency as a priority. This means more insulation and windows and doors with enhanced seals. While these advances are great for keeping your energy bills in check, they’re not so good for your indoor air quality.
Your heating and cooling system needs to operate with a filter. But if you have a flat filter, you won’t be experiencing ample filtration. This style only gives the lowest level of protection by stopping dust from getting into your heating and cooling system.
While you can get 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 troubles.
That’s where a whole-house air purifier comes in. These systems are attached within ductwork to provide mighty filtration across your house. Depending on the kind you select, you’ll be able to get rid of allergens, odors and even some viruses under certain airflow conditions.
Here are our favorite styles 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 the best filtration. These filters were first created to guard scientists as they developed the atomic bomb. Today, they’re a must-have in hospitals and other medical settings.
The Healthy Climate HEPA Filtration System includes a three-step filtration procedure. A prefilter catches significant irritants before the HEPA filter captures the remainder of tiny irritants. Then, a charcoal filter takes care of odors and chemical vapors.
The PureAir™ S Air Purification System is compatible with all HVAC brands and smoothly works with your smart home. It combats 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 remove 99.9%* of pollutants, including mold spores, pollen, dust and pet dander. It’s also potent 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 destroys approximately 50% of residential odors and chemical vapors within 24 hours.
The PureAir S includes sensing features that make it simple to maintain. When linked 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 installed 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 determines how capable filters are at trapping contaminants. The better the number, the greater 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, because 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 great for homes who want improved protection from viruses and bacteria. This filter removes 99% of larger particles like 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 catches 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 offer this powerful filtration without driving up the price of turning on your HVAC system.
These three media air cleaners work with any brand of HVAC system. Regardless, it’s important to be aware that some of the thicker ones, such as MERV 16 and 13, may limit your system’s airflow. This can increase your utility bills.
3. UV Air Purifiers
The sun’s UV rays are the reason why you get a blistering sunburn. But this type of light has a beneficial application when installed within your ductwork. It’s also strong enough to decrease germs, mold and fungi under certain airflow conditions.
In actuality, the Healthy Climate UV Germicidal Light can lower the amount of airborne microorganisms by 50% in as fast as 45 minutes.5 This light destroys cell structure, which halts these microorganisms from flourishing and moving throughout your home.
And this UV air purifier can also help keep your home comfort system clean and operating properly. It eliminates of germs, mold and fungi hiding in ductwork and your system itself. This UV light air purifier achieves all these things without producing lung-inflaming ozone.6
Breathe Easier with the Assistance of Our Air Purification Specialists
Your household’s comfort and health is our top priority at Three Rivers Heating & Cooling. We know there are many possibilities out there. That’s why we make it easy to partner with our indoor air quality professionals. We specialize in recommending solutions tailored to your needs and budget, and we’d love to learn more about your residence and your air quality problems. Call us at 503-213-4433 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.
