If you live in a newer house in Hudsonville, it was probably made with energy efficiency in mind. This means more insulation and windows and doors with better seals. While these enhancements are fantastic for keeping your utility costs under control, they’re not so excellent for your indoor air quality.

Your HVAC system needs to operate with a filter. But if you have a flat filter, you won’t be getting adequate filtration. This style only delivers the bare minimum of protection by keeping dust out of your HVAC system.

While you can install a pleated filter or one with a higher MERV rating, it still might not be adequate filtration, particularly if someone in your residence has allergies or other respiratory problems.

That’s where a whole-house air purifier can be a great solution. These systems are attached within ductwork to provide strong filtration across your residence. Depending on the kind you choose, you’ll be able to get rid of allergens, odors and even some viruses under certain airflow conditions.

Here are our top 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, gives the best filtration. These filters were first made to defend scientists as they created the atomic bomb. Today, they’re essential in hospitals and other medical operations.

The Healthy Climate HEPA Filtration System features a three-step filtration process. A prefilter draws bigger pollutants before the HEPA filter traps remaining miniscule pollutants. Then, a charcoal filter eradicates odors and chemical vapors.

The PureAir™ S Air Purification System connects to all HVAC brands and seamlessly works with your smart home. It reduces the three major kinds of indoor air pollutants:

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

This air purifier can eliminate 99.9%* of pollutants, like mold spores, pollen, dust and pet dander. It’s also capable of removing or eradicating 90%¹ of flu and cold viruses under certain airflow conditions. And, according to 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 uncomplicated to service. 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 come in in a variety of MERV ratings to work with your needs. This rating calculates how good filters are at removing contaminants. The higher the number, the greater the filtration.

The Healthy Climate Carbon Clean 16® Media Air Cleaner is great for homes 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 gets rid of more than 95%³ of aggravating particles from your home’s air.

The Healthy Climate 13 Media Air Cleaner is great for families who are looking for better protection from viruses and bacteria. This filter captures 99% of larger particles including dust, pollen and lint. And up to 54% of finer particles down to 0.3 microns.⁴

The Healthy Climate 11 Media Air Cleaner is a a great air purifier for allergies and in houses with pets. It removes 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 strong filtration without increasing the price of operating your heating and cooling system.

These three media air cleaners can be used with any brand of HVAC system. But despite that, it’s critical to be aware that some of the denser ones, such as MERV 16 and 13, may limit your system’s airflow. This can hike up your heating and cooling expenses.

3. UV Air Purifiers

The sun’s UV rays are to blame when you get a blistering sunburn. But this wavelength of light has a useful application when concealed inside your ductwork. It’s also powerful enough to reduce germs, mold and fungi under certain airflow conditions.

In reality, the Healthy Climate UV Germicidal Light can reduce the concentration of airborne microorganisms by 50% in as short as 45 minutes.⁵ This light destroys cell structure, which prohibits these microorganisms from flourishing and moving across your home.

And this UV air purifier can also help keep your home comfort system clean and working 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 does all these things without making lung-irritating ozone.⁶

Breathe Better with the Support of Our Air Purification Professionals

Your loved ones’ comfort and health is important to us at West Michigan Heating & Air Conditioning Services. We realize there are a lot of solutions out there. That’s why we make it uncomplicated to work with our indoor air quality professionals. We specialize in developing solutions tailored to your needs and budget, and we’d love to hear more about your residence and your air quality challenges. Call us at (616) 319-1436 today to begin.

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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.