In Part 1 and Part 2, we highlighted the importance of your home’s Indoor Air Quality and covered a list of common air pollution sources in homes and workplaces here in the United States. We also discussed some of the health effects caused by indoor pollution.
Here in Part 3, we at Springfield Heating & Cooling will explain the various products and services we provide area homeowners to promote superior Indoor Air Quality, which has an affect on your health, well-being, energy levels and mood.
Below are some of the products and services we offer and suggest depending on each situation.
The iWave-R
The hugely popular iWave-R is an air purification system with increasing relevance in the world because of the COVID-19 crisis. This affordable little system can be installed inside any ducted home cooling system. It targets the outgoing air as it travels over the system’s ion generator, before being sent out into your home. The iWave-R purifies the air killing viruses, bacteria, pathogens, mold, and allergens while also removing any particles, smoke and odors. In the end, your home is filled with clean air that is free of any unwanted byproducts.
The iWave-R has a unique, one-of-a-kind technology that replicates a method used by Mother Nature. Nature purifies the air using pressure and energy from stuff like waterfalls, lightning, and ocean waves, which break up molecules in the air. This cleans and purifies the air providing a healthy breathing atmosphere. The difference between the way nature and the iWave technology works, besides the size of the process, is that the iWave doesn’t give off harmful ozone gases, or any byproduct, the way nature does.
The iWave-R can go into any AC system that has air ducts and isn’t more than six tons in size. Once installed, it’s good to go as it cleans itself and never needs maintenance or replacement parts.
Humidifiers
Humidifiers raise the moisture in your air, which increases the humidity level in your home. This is especially useful when the air you’re breathing is too dry. Humidifiers are helpful in relieving common symptoms of dry air in the cold-weather. They also help reduce static electricity in your home (something common during Ohio’s wintertime) and keeps dry cracking from happening in your furniture and paint. Homeowners usually use humidifiers to help to improve indoor air quality if their air is too dry as this can cause several health problems. We should note, also, that many homeowners who get humidifiers are happy to find out they get some added savings on their monthly energy bills.
Dehumidifiers
For those of us who’ve lived here in Ohio for years, we remember how humid it can feel when our summers reach their hottest temperatures. When those hot and humid “dog days of summer” become too uncomfortable, even the best of us go dashing back inside for cool shelter. But what do we do if it becomes humid indoors and you can feel the moisture in the air and smell its dampness?
Because health officials say you should keep your relative humidity level in your home between 30 and 50 percent, when it gets higher than that, you should consider a dehumidifier. If your home’s relative humidity is above 50 percent, your home will become uncomfortable while the air in there won’t be healthy to breathe. In addition to that, when levels of humidity are too high, it can harm your AC system’s performance and make asthma and allergy symptoms worse. Meanwhile it gives mold and mildew an ideal environment to grow and even a normally healthy individual can develop health issues. Investing in a whole-home dehumidifier will keep these issues from causing damage by keeping your home’s Air Quality in optimal range by maintaining optimal, health and comfortable humidity levels all day long throughout the summer. They are smart investments that put you and your family’s health and comfort first.
Thermostats
The tech-savvy thermostats trending these days are a far cry from that old hockey-puck-looking dial on the wall we saw when we grew up at our parents, or grandparents. To compliment their cool features and futuristic designs and slick displays, you can control these thermostats at any location, at home or away, using any smartphone or smart device. They go along nicely with our Indoor Air Quality products, fully compatible.
Smart thermostats allow you to manage not only your HVAC systems, but also air purifiers, dehumidifiers, humidifiers, ventilation systems and any other IAQ products. Most of the thermostats on the market are increasingly becoming smart devices. They are made to save you energy costs and prevent any kind of wasting. Because they are smart, they give you superior control over your indoor air quality. Any time you go with a thermostat upgrade, it results in more efficiency and better temperature consistency throughout your place.
The result is a saving of money from utility bills while keeping your HVAC system running most efficiently, enhancing your air quality to improve overall health and wellness.
A few of the major brands include Honeywell, Nest and Ecobee.
Air Filters
Air filters are an excellent way to improve your indoor air quality. But take heed: Not all air filters are created equal, and they have to be replaced regularly to be effective.
If you’re looking to improve your indoor air quality, you should know those inexpensive washable fiberglass air filters hardly even improve your HVAC system’s efficiency and they do less to promote the air quality in your home. We suggest looking into an air filter with a better MERV rating. You could alternately upgrade to a thicker air filter. A four-inch filter is much better than the standard one-inch prevalent in most homes..
MERV, which stands for Minimum Efficiency Reporting Value, rates air filters using a scale of 1 to 16, with 16 denoting the highest rated, thickest filters. But before you get the thickest one, you should be advised, residential HVAC systems usually can’t use an air filter rated above 13 on the MERV scale. Check your system to see how high of a MERV rating it can take.
UV Lights
For generations, the only things homeowners could do to improve their Indoor Air Quality was related to either ventilation, humidity control or filtration devices. And for generations, these innovations were useful. However, none of them did a thing to stop biological contaminants like viruses, mold, bacteria and fungi. These were effectively the deadly “dark side” of household air pollution.
And then, one day, it was as if someone had turned on the light.
Literally…
Having one of our technicians install an Ultra Violet lamp in your HVAC system will give you an extra level of defense against these ultra-hazardous bugs and indoor air pollutants, something especially useful in the age of COVID-19. For anyone who might be particularly susceptible to allergens and other dangerous organic particles, our UV lamps are especially effective because they kill these allergens, germs and any other bugs before they go airborne into your home, moving freely about. When these pollutants move beneath these UV Lights with the airflow, they kill them and neutralize the air instantly.
Air Duct Cleaning
If you’re looking to keep your home’s air quality safe, improving airflow efficiency while removing specific odors in your home, you should think about having your air ducts cleaned by one of our friendly team members.
Air ducts are like highways inside of which all your home’s heated or cooled air is moved from your HVAC system to all the various areas in your home. Realizing this, it makes sense to try to keep this air as clean as possible.
Our professional duct cleaning service finds and removes any dirt, dust and grime that might have built up inside, which tends to cling to the walls of your air ducts. A cleaning also allows us to remove potential allergens and offensive odors that might be lingering in your home. One of the biggest reasons homeowners like this service is because they can’t see what’s inside their ductwork. As such, this stuff typically makes its way out and into the air you breathe.
AFFORDABLE INDOOR AIR QUALITY SERVICES IN WESTERVILLE!
We at Springfield Heating & Cooling care about your home comfort. However, just as important if not more so, we also care about the health of you and your loved ones. Because household air pollution has a serious effect on your health and well-being, we hope you find this information helpful and use it to make your home a healthier place to live and breathe. If you want to find out more about the products and services we detailed, our prices, or to make an appointment, please call us today at 937-350-1881 or Click Here to set up an appointment now.
Indoor Air Quality 101: Part 1
