Indoor Air Quality

Some of us just don’t get a break from allergies. Just as summer allergies to grass pollen abate, fall rolls around and we find ourselves sniffling, coughing, sneezing and wheezing at a new round of pollen, possibly from trees or fall-blooming flowers. While we can’t do much about containing allergens such as pollen while we’re outdoors, there are some things you can do while you’re indoors, and that involves enlisting the help of your HVAC system.

Read on for help on controlling your fall allergies with your HVAC system.

Change the air filter.

The air filter will not capture airborne particulates nearly as well if you don’t change it often. HVAC systems need good air flow not only to condition the air, but also to properly remove particulates in the filtering system.

Use a good quality air filter.

A cheap fiberglass filter is not dense enough to capture the smaller particles of pollen that may be recirculating in your home and setting off your allergic reactions. A dense, pleated filter, rated 8-12 on the MERV (minimum efficiency reporting value) scale, is your best defense.

Look into an air cleaner.

There are a number of different types of air cleaners, and the type you choose will depend on the kind of allergen that you want to control. If pollen is your problem allergen, you might want to look into an electrostatic filter for your HVAC system. These filters are permanent, and therefore more expensive than disposable filters, but they last a long time. They work by attracting particles with an electrostatic charge. They do require periodic cleaning.

If your allergies are extremely severe, you may want to acquire an air cleaner with a true HEPA (high efficiency particulate) air filter. A HEPA filter will not work in your HVAC system unless the system is modified to accommodate this ultra-dense type of filtration. Air flow would be slowed down so that the HVAC system wouldn’t cool or heat properly.

Maintaining a healthy amount of airflow and good indoor air quality can sometimes be difficult when cold weather hits, because homeowners have a tendency to close their homes off to the outside world to stay warm. To help ensure that this doesn’t present a problem, here’s a quick winter-ventilation guide based on a few helpful tips:

Consider a Balanced Ventilation System

A balanced ventilation system is a fantastic way to maintain proper airflow and good indoor air quality. It functions by exchanging the fresh air outside your home with the stagnant air that’s inside at the same rate. Your best bet is to hire a qualified technician for its installation.

Install a Supply Ventilation System

A supply ventilation system, also installed by an HVAC technician, pulls in fresh air from outdoors and then allows the stale air inside to seep out through leaks found in your home. However, be aware that this process also pulls in moisture, which can be a detriment.

Use Bathroom and Kitchen Fans

The fans in your bathrooms and kitchen do a great job expelling bad air to improve the indoor air quality. Fans in the bathroom will help reduce moisture that causes mold and mildew, while the fan in the kitchen will remove fumes and bad odors.

Change the Direction of Ceiling Fans

Whenever the season changes, it’s a good idea to flip the switch on the side of your ceiling fan to change the direction of the blades. Doing this will pull the cold air up and push the warm air down, which will improve airflow and help maintain a reasonable amount of heat.

Try Opening Your Windows Just a Bit

It’s obvious that you don’t want to leave your windows open when it’s cold outside, but except on especially frigid days, cracking your window open an inch or so will help refresh your home with the outside air without freezing your household.

You’ve probably been told that keeping a clean filter in your HVAC system helps avert restricted airflow, but you may not know if you need to change your air filter every month throughout the winter. The Department of Energy’s Energy Star program recommends evaluating the filter monthly and replacing it if there’s any accumulation of debris, or every three months at a minimum. This frequency for filter changes is certainly worthwhile, because it offers a number of benefits, like:

Longer Component Lifespan

When you keep a clean filter in your HVAC system, it can helps prevent any unnecessary strain on the various system components. As your equipment gets older, that added strain can cause a premature failure, so preventing it can let you put off a costly new equipment purchase longer.

Lower Utility Bills

Another costly consequence of ignoring filter changes is that it forces the HVAC system to work harder to compensate for the resulting airflow restrictions. This causes a decline in the equipment’s efficiency, and an increase in its energy consumption and your utility bills. If you maintain a clean filter, you can slash your heating and cooling energy usage and potentially cut five to fifteen percent off your monthly operating costs.

Assured Air Quality

If you have an air cleaner unit on your HVAC system to boost air quality in your home, making routine filter inspections and changes are even more vital. These types of filters typically have higher minimum efficiency reporting values (MERV), so they can quickly cause a serious airflow restriction if they get clogged.

Fewer Breakdowns Requiring Repairs

When the air filter isn’t replaced often enough and gets coated with debris, those particles can get into your HVAC system and collect on its sensitive components, which increases the likelihood of equipment breakdowns. Just by changing the filter routinely throughout the winter, you can help avoid any inconvenience or discomfort, and the cost of making preventable repairs.

As the heat builds in your garage during the summer, there’s no better time to consider garage ventilation to improve its air quality. It’s even more important if your garage is attached to your home, since outdoor air from here often makes its way into your home.

Garage air can be among the most contaminated you’ll encounter, especially if you park your car inside it. Not only will it contain off-gas and the fumes from all the rubber and plastic parts, the exhaust gases from driving it in and out will collect also. If you store any chemical fertilizers, weed killers, insecticides, or pool chemicals, the air will be even more polluted. Paints, glue, and adhesives also emit harmful vapors.

These emissions are classified as volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and reactions range from mild to serious. Carbon monoxide (CO) is present in all car exhaust and many of the fumes from the chemical products are known carcinogens. VOC levels increase during warmer weather, since heat speeds their evaporation.

How to Ventilate a Garage

It’s fairly simple to install a bathroom or kitchen exhaust fan into a garage wall to pull out the harmful gases. Features like timers, motion sensors, or thermostats add convenience and function. The fan should run long enough to completely pull out the polluted air, which could be up to two hours. A motion sensor operates it automatically and a thermostat will trigger the fan when temperatures in the garage are too warm.

Precautions

If your home has a gas water heater in the garage or the HVAC system’s air handler sits inside it, consult with a licensed HVAC contractor before going forward with an exhaust fan. The fan could backdraft CO into the air. The fans may be small, but they do change the air pressure in the garage, which could interfere with the HVAC operation.

UV (ultraviolet) lights have been used for decades to disinfect food, water, and air in food-processing plants, hospitals, water treatment facilities, schools, commercial buildings, and more. UV technology is also available for residential purposes to enhance indoor air quality in homes. Read on to learn how UV lights can help you breathe easier and healthier in your San Diego area home.

How UV Lights Improve Indoor Air Quality

UV light systems emit low levels of ultraviolet radiation to kill or control a host of germs, house mold, bacteria, and viruses. UV systems accomplish this by altering the cell structure of microorganisms which renders them unable to reproduce.

While outdoor air is cleansed by the sun and vegetation, the indoor air of many households is sealed up to save energy and becomes a stuffy breeding ground for harmful contaminants. A proactive approach to clean indoor air is necessary if you want healthful air to breathe in your home.

UV Light Installation & Maintenance

UV light systems consist of one to three UV light bulbs that are installed inside the air ducts. The best location for UV lights is near the evaporator coil. The evaporator produces a large amount of condensate. The moisture and darkness provide ideal conditions for the growth of mold, bacteria, and other microorganisms.

For the best results, install one UV light inside the A-frame type evaporator and two bulbs on the exterior tubing of the evaporator. As airflow streams through the tubing, it is disinfected by the lights. Additionally, UV light systems protect supply ducts from contamination, which helps prevent odors and re-contamination to the living spaces.

Installation only takes an hour or two. Since the lights are completely concealed inside the air ducts, they won’t harm people or pets. Maintenance is as simple as changing the bulbs every two or three years, which can be performed during HVAC preventive maintenance.

An estimated 20 percent of your HVAC system’s energy is lost through your ductwork. Even completely healthy ducts experience some energy loss. Fortunately, there’s a solution. A ductless system, called a mini-split, can keep your house comfortable while saving you energy.

A ductless mini-split has both an indoor and an outdoor unit. But whereas full sized split systems deliver air via a complex network of ducts and registers, a mini-split’s units are connected through a wall by a single conduit that contains the power, refrigerant line and condensate drainage, and delivers air directly to your home without air leaks or other energy losses.

Another advantage of ductless systems is that they lend themselves well to zoning. A mini-split’s outdoor unit can be connected to as many as four different indoor units, each of which can be placed in a different room and adjusted for that area’s particular comfort level, rather than heating or cooling the entire house based on the reading of a single thermostat in a single room. This also makes them a good option for multi-family homes. Each family can adjust the air in their individual living space to suit their own needs, without disturbing anyone else.

Mini-splits are also ideal for additions to your home. If you decide to have an extra room built onto your house, connecting that room to your existing ductwork can be an arduous and expensive endeavor. A ductless mini-split can take care of that room’s heating and cooling needs with less cost and less hassle.

The main disadvantage of mini-splits is that they can be costly to install, as compared with other systems. However, this cost can be made up over time with the energy savings it provides. In addition, there are often tax incentives and other rebates available for mini splits to offset installation costs, in order to encourage the use of these energy-saving systems.