If you own a newly built house in Cottonwood & Prescott, it was probably made with energy efficiency in mind. This means more insulation and windows and doors with better seals. While these improvements are excellent for keeping your utility expenses economical, they’re not so fantastic for your indoor air quality.

Your home comfort system needs to work with a filter. But if you have a flat filter, you won’t be getting ample filtration. This model only delivers the smallest amount of protection by stopping dust from getting into your HVAC system.

While you can get a pleated filter or one with a better MERV rating, it still might not be enough filtration, even more so if someone in your house has allergies or other respiratory troubles.

That’s where a whole-house air purifier comes in. These systems are installed within ductwork to provide effective filtration throughout your home. Depending on the model you select, you’ll be able to filter allergens, odors and even some viruses under certain airflow conditions.

Here are our best 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, provides the best filtration. These filters were first made to protect scientists as they worked on the atomic bomb. Today, they’re necessary in hospitals and other medical settings.

The Healthy Climate HEPA Filtration System has a three-step filtration method. A prefilter draws bigger pollutants before the HEPA filter captures remaining smaller particles. Then, a charcoal filter wipes out 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 major types of indoor air irritants:

  • 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 capable of removing 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 residential odors and chemical vapors within 24 hours.

The PureAir S comes with sensing features that make it easy to service. When paired with an iComfort® S30 smart thermostat, you’ll get a notification 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 available in a variety of MERV ratings to match your needs. This rating calculates how effective filters are at trapping contaminants. The higher the number, the finer the filtration.

The Healthy Climate Carbon Clean 16® Media Air Cleaner is ideal 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 removes more than 95%3 of irritating particles from your house’s air.

The Healthy Climate 13 Media Air Cleaner is suggested for homes who want improved protection from viruses and bacteria. This filter captures 99% of larger particles such as 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 homes with pets. It eliminates more than 87% of bigger particles down to 3 microns and more than 28% of smaller ones down to 0.3 microns.4 It’s able to provide this powerful filtration without increasing the price of using your heating and cooling system.

These three media air cleaners work with any brand of HVAC system. However, it’s critical to be aware that some of the more substantial ones, including MERV 16 and 13, may restrict your system’s airflow. This can hike up your energy bills.

3. UV Air Purifiers

The sun’s UV rays are the fault of why you get a painful sunburn. But this wavelength of light has a useful application when placed inside 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 reduce the number of airborne microorganisms by 50% in as little as 45 minutes.5 This light destroys cell structure, which halts these microorganisms from flourishing and spreading throughout your home.

And this UV air purifier can also help keep your home comfort system clean and working properly. It eliminates of germs, mold and fungi lurking inside ductwork and your system itself. This UV light air purifier accomplishes all these tasks without developing lung-inflaming ozone.6

Breathe Easier with the Help of Our Air Purification Specialists

Your family’s comfort and health matters to us at Connolly Electric & Mechanical. We are aware there are many solutions out there. That’s why we make it uncomplicated to partner with our indoor air quality professionals. 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 928-251-4327 today to start the process.


1Based on laboratory and field studies.

2
PureAir™ S requires the iComfort® S30 and a communicating indoor unit.


3
Leading 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.


4
Based on lab tests conducted on filters with conditions included in ASHRAE standard 52.2 for E1 and E3 size ranges.


5
Based on constant circulation of air in the home, 3,000-square-foot home with a 5-ton air handler.


6
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, “Ozone Generators that are Sold as Air Cleaners: An Assessment of Effective and Health Consequences,” August 2006.