Homes today are built better and have more insulation, which is great as it improves the efficiency of your home.
While this saves you money on utility bills, it also means your house is shut up tight during the winter months and this can cause problems if you don’t have an air cleaner.
Without one, airborne contaminants are floating around and constantly being recirculated through your home.
This is why it’s so important to have whole home air cleaners installed in your Portland house.
Who’s affected by the contaminants in the air?
Everyone can be affected though certain people are more susceptible to getting sick from poor air quality, such as those with allergies, asthma or other breathing problems.
In addition, small children and older people seem to be more affected by air contaminants as they sometimes have compromised immune systems. The good news is that this problem can easily be solved by installing an air cleaner.
Options for whole home air filtration from Lennox
We’ll be highlighting the 2 whole house air cleaners that Midway Heating installs most often because they are the most effective against common household allergens, such as pet dander, pollen, dust mites, mold, fungi, viruses and bacteria.
Both air cleaners have the following benefits
- Energy efficient-no additional energy costs
- Can be installed with any brand of HVAC system
- Offers whole home air filtration
- No ozone emissions (a known lung irritate)
- Protects HVAC equipment by keep it free from dust/dirt buildup
- 5-year limited warranty on covered components
Healthy Climate Carbon Clean 16 Media Air Cleaner
Better known by its shorter name, Carbon Clean 16, this is the top of the line air cleaner from Lennox. It combines MERV 16 filtration with a coconut-activated carbon coated fiber matrix to protect your family from more than 95% of allergy-aggravating particles ranging in size down to 0.3 microns.
This is the same level of filtration found in hospitals for inpatient and general surgery areas.
The Carbon Clean 16 operates somewhat like plants and trees that absorb carbon dioxide and release oxygen back into the atmosphere as the MERV 16 media filter also removes harmful ozone from indoor air and converts it to clean oxygen.
As part of the purification process, the carbon inside the filter neutralizes the odors and pollutants as the air passes through the filter so it removes odors as well as airborne particles.
What’s MERV?
MERV stands for Minimum Efficiency Reporting Value and the MERV rating of a filter describes the size of the holes in the filter that allow air to pass through. The higher the rating, the small the holes in the filter and the better the protection offered by the filter. With a MERV 16 filter, the HC Carbon Clean offers the highest level of protection against air contaminants.
What’s a micron?
1 micron is equal to 1/25,000 of an inch in diameter. Yes, that’s REALLY small and this filter stops most particles down to 0.3 microns.
Other features of the Carbon Clean 16
- Reduce ground-level ozone by up to 50%
- Removes over 90% of bio-aerosols/microorganisms down to 0.01 micron
- No cleaning required
- Filter cartridges slide in/out easily
- Cartridges last 1 year (approximately)
Healthy Climate 11 Media Air Cleaner
To make things easier, we’ll refer to this air cleaner as the HC11. It’s a step down from the top model though it still offers a high rate of protection. The HC11 has a MERV 10 media filter that stops up to 85% of dust, dirt, mold spores and other particles down to 3 microns from passing through it and recirculating in your home.
For most people, that is more than enough protection to keep family members from having breathing problems or getting sick from airborne particles.
Works with any HVAC system
We think it bears repeating that both of these air cleaners can work with your current HVAC system (no matter what brand) and won’t add to your energy costs as there’s no additional power source needed. While some electrostatic air cleaners can increase your indoor ozone levels, both of these models have no ozone emissions.
Visit our Indoor Air Quality page to learn more or contact us to discuss installing a whole house air filter system that will keep you and your family breathing clean air all year around.
