If you live in a newly built home in Thedford, it was in all likelihood made with energy efficiency in mind. This means more insulation and windows and doors with improved seals. While these advances are good for keeping your heating and cooling bills economical, 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 receiving ample filtration. This kind only gives the bare minimum of protection by stopping dust from getting into your HVAC system.

While you can install a pleated filter or one with a increased MERV rating, it still might not be enough 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 placed within ductwork to provide powerful filtration across your house. 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 best options 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, delivers the best filtration. These filters were first made to guard scientists as they worked on 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 process. A prefilter catches bigger pollutants before the HEPA filter traps the rest of smaller pollutants. 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 links to your smart home. It fights the three key 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 reducing or eliminating 90%¹ of flu and cold viruses under certain airflow conditions. And, as the result of laboratory and field studies, it reduces and eradicates approximately 50% of residential odors and chemical vapors within 24 hours.

The PureAir S is equipped with sensing features that make it uncomplicated to maintain. When used with an iComfort® S30 smart thermostat, you’ll receive an alert 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 made in a variety of MERV ratings to fit your needs. This rating calculates how effective filters are at removing contaminants. The greater the number, the better the filtration.

The Healthy Climate Carbon Clean 16® Media Air Cleaner is ideal for residences with allergy suffers and pets. This is a HEPA filter air purifier, since it has a MERV 16 rating for hospital-level filtration. And it gets rid of more than 95%³ of unhealthy particles from your residence’s air.

The Healthy Climate 13 Media Air Cleaner is suggested for homes who are looking for stronger protection from viruses and bacteria. This filter catches 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 an excellent air purifier for allergies and in residences with pets. It traps 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 driving up the bill for using your heating and cooling system.

These three media air cleaners can be used with any brand of HVAC system. Regardless, it’s critical to be aware that some of the denser ones, like MERV 16 and 13, may limit your system’s airflow. This can inflate 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 concealed in your ductwork. It’s also strong enough to eliminate germs, mold and fungi under certain airflow conditions.

In fact, the Healthy Climate UV Germicidal Light can decrease the concentration 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 throughout your residence.

And this UV air purifier can also help keep your home comfort system clean and operating like it should. It takes care of germs, mold and fungi that are hidden within ductwork and your system itself. This UV light air purifier accomplishes all this work without producing lung-inflaming ozone.⁶

Breathe Better with the Support of Our Air Purification Professionals

Your family’s comfort and health is important to us at Taylor's Heating & Air Conditioning. We are aware there are many solutions out there. That’s why we make it simple to collaborate with our indoor air quality pros. We specialize in recommending solutions that meet your needs and budget, and we’d love to hear more about your house and your air quality problems. Call us at 519-296-4437 now to get started.

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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.