Lennox talks a lot about being no ozone. It sounds pretty good. But, they don't explain how they do this. http://www.lennox.com/pdfs/brochures/Lennox%20No%20Ozone%20Solutions.pdf Aprilaire claims that the have no ozone because they have no moving parts. http://www.aprilaire.com/index.php?znfAction=ProductDetails&category=7&item=2200 Consumer reports which used to recommend Aprilaire highly. Has withdrawn this because of 'small amounts of ozone'. http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/appliances/heating-cooling-and-air/air-cleaners/air-purifiers-sub/electrostatic-precipitators/closeup-electrostatic-precipitator-advice.htm I have a Aprilaire 5000 that I bought 3 1/2 years ago because it was recommended by Consumer Reports. It was very expensive at the time, but may have gone down in price. I need to evaluate my options and see if we need to change. Some questions I'm asking are: Do the UV lights that I have generate ozone? Probably yes, although I see Lennox has a no ozone UV light system. Do I really want to spend more money on another product that may turn out not to work or make things worse? Can I just turn off the Aprilaire 5000 ionizer and use the pleated media air cleaner that comes with it? Are our asthma and allergy issues due to the 'small amounts of ozone' these products generate? Here is a link that might be useful: Vote for your favorite website

andry: You might want to read this article on filtration. Be careful about your choices. There is a lot of confusion on air cleaning and the usefulness of it.....in some cases a waste of money. Use this link: http://www.epa.gov/iaq/pdfs/residential_air_cleaners.pdf and this one: http://www.epa.gov/iaq/pubs/airclean.html This post was edited by audiomixer on Fri, Feb 8, 13 at 0:42

Allergies are hard to address if you don't know what your daughter is allergic to. Could be pet hair, pet dander, dust, pollen, smoke, mold, chemical cleaners, off gassing (VOCs) or other causes. UV lights can kill bacteria, mold and fungi which either pass by the light or which the light shines on. In fact I've seen a test on a cooling coil, black with mold and one month later was clean and void of all mold. In fact it only takes 20 minutes per month for a UV light to kill & eliminate bacteria, mold & fungi on coiling coils & drain pans. A two bulb unit placed directly above the "A" coil is recommended, a single bulb unit will cast shadows and be less effective. In addition, a 5" pleated filter with a high MERV rating (Minimum Efficency Rating Value) to address dust, hair, dander & pollen should do the trick. Always consult your contractor to see if this is possible, due to the increased restriction of airflow. VOC's can come from carpet glues, adhesives, paint, partical board and other such items. Eliminating carpets which trap and hold pollutants is another step. Incorporating wood, tile or laminate floors which are easier to keep clean is a good alternative to carpeting. If your daughter has been tested to know what she could be allergic to, the direct cause could be addressed more economically. Hope it helps, Dan Martyn

Cuffs, great and helpful info. Based on what you said,I would guess the improvement in your air situation is due more to the media filter than the UV light, because the mold/mildew you had previously was not coming crom AC system (since the house did not have one before). The UV light is designed (from what i've learned in last few days) to prevent or kill mold growth on the AC condenser coils. Looked at some adevertisements for filters and an 11 MERV filter will catch mold spores and pollen, among other things. Your filter is probably much higher than 11. An article in Consumer Reports sometime in the last 1-2 years says (simplifying a bit) a high-end 1 inch pleated filter is almost as efficient (at removing stuff from the air) as electrostatic or those 5-inch media systems. Sounds like the Air Bear is good and most practical approach. It is a bit better than a high-end pleated filtr, but is not terribly expensive to install. If I had alergies, would replace/clean that filter frequently. I will wait to see some impartial scientific data on UV lights in residential systems. Apparantly, the ones they use in hospitals and other commenrcial buildings have different specifications and have other purposes like killing bacteria. The "studies" or info put out now seem, in my opinion to be self-serving on unconvincing at the least. Thanks for all the help