Indoor Air Quality

With everything going on in the world, we understand that keeping your home or business “healthy” is important.

There are several indoor air pollutants that can affect your way of life. They include:

• Asbestos
• Biological Pollutants (such as bacteria, viruses, animal dander, dust, mites, pollen)
• Carbon Monoxide (CO)
• Formaldehyde/Pressed Wood Products
• Lead (Pb)
• Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2)
• Pesticides
• Radon (Rn)
• Indoor Particulate Matter
• Secondhand Smoke/ Environmental Tobacco Smoke Stoves and Heaters
• Fireplaces and Chimneys
• Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs)

So how can you reduce these pollutants and have a healthy indoor air quality?

Here are a few of the ways that we suggest you do this. With the help of a licensed HVAC contractor and some easy TLC items around the home or business, you can assure the best possible air quality.

Ensure Air Flow

Current research suggests that COVID-19 can live in the air for about 3 hours. By increasing the rate of air flow in your indoor spaces, you can reduce the amount of expose to viruses and other biologic contaminants in the air. A few of the several ways air flow can be increased include cleaning of ductwork, removing ventilation blockages or leaving the fan running in your system at all times.

Filter Changes & Filter Upgrades

The fraction of particles removed from air passing through a filter is termed “filter efficiency” and is provided by the Minimum Efficiency Reporting Value (MERV) under standard conditions. Increased filter efficiency generally results in an increased pressure drop through the filter, so you will want to talk to an experience HVAC technician before changing the types of filters you use. They can ensure that HVAC systems can handle filter upgrades without negative impacts to pressure differentials and/or air flow rates prior to changing filters

Ultraviolet (UV) Light Systems

UV lights have been know to kill viruses, bacteria and mold for over 100 years. Hospitals, restaurant and grocery stores frequently employ the use of UV light systems to help sterilize the air in their HVAC systems. They are shown to kill 97% of antibiotic-resistant bacteria strains. Ultraviolet germicidal irradiation lights are installed in HVAC systems and the light is run 24/7. Air Sanitizing Lights generally put off a low dose of Peroxide into the air.

Air Cleaning Systems

Air purifiers sanitize the air in your building. They work to reduce allergens, toxins, dust, dirt, smoke and molds. An air purifier pulls in air with a fan. As the air moves through the filter, particles are trapped and clean air is pushed back into the usable space. This is another reason why we recommend running the fan in your system all times to constantly filter the air in the space you’re conditioning. Ionizers help attract particles, using negative ions to bond dust and allergens to remove them from the air.

Humidity Control

There are several options available to tackle excess humidity in your home or business.

• Desiccant Systems and Enthalpy Wheels – These take air from the home or business and send it will go through a spinning wheel to condition the air.
• DX Systems – The DX system cools your building or house
• Heat Pipes – This would be used to put Heat back into the space for what is called “reheat”. This would typically be used to reduce the humidity levels in a commercial space.
• Dual Path Systems – This is a system that has multiple cooling coils.