If you own a newly constructed residence in Lawrence, it was probably built with energy efficiency in mind. This means greater amounts of insulation and windows and doors with improved seals. While these advances are great for keeping your energy costs 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 receiving enough filtration. This type only gives the smallest amount of protection by keeping dust out of your HVAC system.

While you can get a pleated filter or one with a better MERV rating, it still might not be adequate filtration, especially if someone in your residence has allergies or other respiratory troubles.

That’s where a whole-house air purifier can be a great solution. These systems are placed within ductwork to provide mighty filtration around your residence. Depending on the type you choose, you’ll be able to get rid of 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, delivers the best filtration. These filters were first created to shield scientists as they created the atomic bomb. Today, they’re a must-have in hospitals and other medical facilities.

The Healthy Climate HEPA Filtration System features a three-step filtration process. A prefilter catches significant irritants before the HEPA filter catches the rest of tiny particles. Then, a charcoal filter takes care of odors and chemical vapors.

The PureAir™ S Air Purification System is compatible with all HVAC brands and easily integrates with your smart home. It fights the three leading types of indoor air contaminants:

• Airborne particles
• Chemical odors and vapors
• Germs and bacteria, under certain airflow conditions

This air purifier can eliminate 99.9%* of pollutants, including mold spores, pollen, dust and pet dander. It’s also potent at reducing or eradicating 90%¹ of flu and cold viruses under certain airflow conditions. And, as the result of laboratory and field studies, it reduces and eliminates approximately 50% of your home’s odors and chemical vapors within 24 hours.

The PureAir S is equipped with sensing features that make it easy to service. When paired 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 measures how capable filters are at removing contaminants. The higher the number, the better 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, 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 house’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 removes 99% of larger particles including 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 traps 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 deliver this effective filtration without driving up the cost of using your HVAC system.

These three media air cleaners work with any brand of HVAC system. But despite that, it’s critical to know that some of the more substantial ones, such as MERV 16 and 13, may decrease 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 painful sunburn. But this wavelength of light has a useful application when concealed inside your ductwork. It’s also powerful enough to eliminate germs, mold and fungi under certain airflow conditions.

In fact, the Healthy Climate UV Germicidal Light can lower the number of airborne microorganisms by 50% in as fast as 45 minutes.⁵ This light damages cell structure, which prohibits these microorganisms from multiplying and infiltrating across your house.

And this UV air purifier can also help keep your HVAC system clean and operating like it should. It takes care of germs, mold and fungi lurking in ductwork and your system itself. This UV light air purifier achieves all these things without creating lung-aggravating ozone.⁶

Breathe Healthier Air with the Help of Our Air Purification Specialists

Your household’s comfort and health is our top priority at Scott Temperature. We know there are lots of possibilities out there. That’s why we make it easy to collaborate with our indoor air quality professionals. We specialize in developing solutions that match your needs and budget, and we’d love to find out more about your residence and your air quality challenges. Reach us at 785-269-0465 now to start the process.

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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.