4 Methods You Can Enhance Indoor Air High quality Utilizing Your HVAC System

Humidity and allergy symptoms and mildew, oh my! 

In case you’ve loaded down your home with Himalayan salt lamps, tissue containers, and field followers, however you haven’t had luck combating off humidity, allergy symptoms, and mildew, don’t fear – you continue to have choices.

Different indoor air high quality guides accessible on the web give attention to opening home windows and doorways to let recent air in. When you ought to undoubtedly attempt to get recent air, this isn’t all the time seasonally potential. However when the air inside your house may be extra polluted than the air exterior, what are you able to do?

Even when it’s bleak exterior (because it typically may be in Central Ohio), you’ll be able to nonetheless enhance air circulation inside your house. And the excellent news: you could have already got what you want.

Your HVAC system impacts extra than simply the temperature of your house. We are able to additionally use your HVAC system to deal with points with indoor air high quality. 

At Hearth & Ice, we work with hundreds within the Columbus, Ohio space every year to enhance their properties’ air high quality. These options could contain adjusting a part of their current HVAC system or putting in extra tools.

On the finish of the day, although, it’s as much as you to determine which choices are finest for you. My job is simply that can assist you study all your choices.

On this article, we discover a variety of how you’ll be able to enhance air high quality inside your house. For a few of these, you received’t want any extra supplies or instruments. Others will help handle particular wants and air high quality issues extra in-depth.

The way to Enhance Indoor Air High quality in Your Residence

Methods you’ll be able to enhance indoor air high quality (IAQ) in your house utilizing your HVAC system embody:

• Enhance air circulation
• Test your HVAC filters
• Schedule common upkeep to your HVAC system
• Put money into HVAC indoor air high quality merchandise 

Within the coming sections, we’ll talk about every of those options. We’ll begin with the simplest, quickest fixes and work as much as choices that may handle extra severe IAQ points.

1. Enhance Air Circulation

Growing air circulation inside your house can handle a number of indoor air high quality (IAQ) points, together with:

• Dusty or polluted air
• Stuffy, humid air
• Uneven temperatures 

Most newer thermostats both have a swap labeled “auto” and “on” or a button with a fan icon that permits you to toggle between settings. Both approach, this controls your blower motor and fan. 

Your blower motor is accountable for circulating conditioned air all through your house year-round. While you set your fan to run on “auto,” your blower can solely flow into air when your air conditioner, warmth pump, furnace, or air handler is working.

Nonetheless, should you set your fan to “on,” your blower can run even when your HVAC system isn’t heating or cooling your house. Which means that the air in your house can flow into extra often. This will help even out temperatures all through your house (even in muggy upstairs rooms).

Elevated air circulation additionally implies that your HVAC filtration system filters the air in your house extra often, which may be nice for many who endure from allergy symptoms and bronchial asthma.

Whereas we usually suggest continually working your blower, this will not all the time be comfy. When your system isn’t working, your blower can solely flow into room-temperature air. This will make you are feeling somewhat chilly when it comes out of your vents.

However nonetheless, if fixed air circulation isn’t comfy for you, we suggest letting your blower run as a lot as you’ll be able to to deal with a few of these points.

2. Test Your HVAC Filters

Your HVAC system’s filter can negatively have an effect on indoor air high quality in two methods if not dealt with correctly:

1. By lowering airflow
2. By neglecting to catch dangerous particulates

Your HVAC filter’s job is to take away mud, particles, and allergens from the air circulating all through your house. 

As your filter collects particulates, it’s regular to your filter to get soiled. This is the reason it’s vital to commonly change your filter.

Relying on the kind of filter your system makes use of, you could want to alter your filter each month or solely as soon as a month. Your filter’s packaging can probably provide perception. However you could want to alter your filter extra commonly than the packaging recommends at instances.

It’s vital to do not forget that these suggestions are based mostly on lab outcomes. The circumstances inside your house will probably range.

In case you discover weak airflow coming out of your vents, it could be time to alter your filter.

It’s vital to take heed to your HVAC system. The longer a filter stays in your system, the dirtier it would turn out to be. In case you go too lengthy between altering your filter, it could turn out to be clogged. And clogged filters can critically harm your system.

Altering your filters can even enhance air circulation all through your house. 

However elevated air circulation generally is a unhealthy factor in case your filter isn’t ready to take away dangerous particulates from the air.

Whereas virtually all filters can take away bigger particles from the air, some fail at catching smaller particles like pet dander and pollen. This will particularly be troublesome for these with allergy symptoms.

However this isn’t one thing that you must adapt to – there are a selection of several types of filters accessible as we speak.

One-inch filters have been the usual for the reason that Nineteen Fifties. However many one-inch filters solely catch bigger particulates.

At Hearth & Ice, we embody four-inch media filters with every furnace we set up. Some four-inch filters are able to catching particles as small as 0.3 microns. 

Examples of particles {that a} four-inch filter can catch: 

• Micro organism
• Pet dander
• Pollen
• Mould spores
• Soot

If your loved ones struggles with allergy symptoms or bronchial asthma, switching to a unique kind of filter may assist.

Switching to a unique filter can even assist if in case you have points with lingering pet or cooking odors.

To find out which kind of filter matches your wants finest, take a look at this text that breaks down the filters available on the market and the consequences they’ll have on your house.

3. Schedule Common Upkeep for Your HVAC System

Though upkeep primarily ensures that your system is working safely, scheduling common upkeep to your HVAC system can even assist enhance indoor air high quality.

When an HVAC technician companies your system, they don’t simply test for points together with your system. An HVAC upkeep appointment – whether or not it’s a tune-up to your furnace, air conditioner, warmth pump, or air handler – additionally consists of cleansing.

Throughout a furnace tune-up, an HVAC technician ought to clear mud or particles out of your furnace cupboard. The technician also needs to look at your blower fan. 

Whereas many new furnaces sometimes don’t require intensive cleansing, this may range relying on components in your house. Particles like pet hair and lint that results in your system can gather in your blower fan. As a result of the blower fan controls air circulation year-round, this may have an effect on your heating and cooling techniques’ efficiency.

Throughout an air conditioner or warmth pump tune-up, an HVAC technician ought to test the situation of your condenser, compressor, and evaporator coil. 

When air conditioners and warmth pumps cool your house, in addition they take away moisture from the air inside your house. Whereas each techniques have condensate drains, it’s vital to observe air conditioners and warmth pumps for mildew and micro organism buildup.

In case you discover irregular smells when your system runs, this might imply that your system is circulating air pollution like mildew spores and micro organism. If so, converse together with your HVAC associate instantly to schedule a cleansing.

4. Put money into HVAC Indoor Air High quality Merchandise 

Generally your current HVAC system wants somewhat assist to deal with indoor air high quality points. In case your well being and luxury are in danger, your HVAC associate can add IAQ merchandise to your current system.

HVAC indoor air high quality merchandise embody:

• Humidifiers 
• Dehumidifiers
• Air purifiers

Humidifiers

Humidifiers are virtually important for residing in climates like Central Ohio. Chilly winters deliver dry air.

Dry air can create a number of points for you and your house:

• Dry, itchy pores and skin
• Bloody noses 
• Static electrical energy 
• Gapped or cracked hardwood flooring
• Broken woodwork, furnishings and/or picket musical devices

Dry air can even make your furnace or warmth pump work more durable to warmth your house.

As a result of they add water vapor to the air inside your house, humidifiers assist forestall the damaging results of dry air.

Humidifiers additionally give your furnace a break. Since water vapor helps air maintain warmth higher, your furnace received’t must run as typically to take care of the temperatures in your house.

To find out whether or not a humidifier can be a great addition to your house, take a look at the video beneath or this text that breaks down the advantages, the several types of humidifiers, and the prices.

Dehumidifiers

An excessive amount of humidity can even have an effect on your consolation and your house. Dehumidifiers assist by eradicating humidity from the air.

In coastal areas, dehumidifiers may be important to not solely maintain cool but in addition defend your house and possessions. 

However no matter the place you reside, a dehumidifier will help should you take care of any of the next:

• Warped wooden floors or woodwork
• Broken furnishings or picket musical devices
• Bugs like spiders and silverfish
• Mud mites
• Muggy higher flooring
• Damp basement

Though your air conditioner or warmth pump does dehumidify your house, including a dehumidifier can provide it a break. As a result of a dehumidifier’s solely job is to take away humidity from the air, your air conditioner or warmth pump will be capable of give attention to cooling your house. 

Eradicating humidity from the air can even provide help to really feel cooler. With much less water vapor, the air received’t be capable of maintain warmth as simply. And since heat air and humidity are inclined to rise, a dehumidifier will help you reclaim upstairs rooms which are sometimes too muggy and scorching.

Dehumidifiers can even assist drive creepy crawlies from your house. Bugs and arachnids like spiders, centipedes, and silverfish thrive in areas with greater than 70% humidity. 

Chopping the humidity in your house to the 30% – 60% vary can discourage bugs, mildew, and micro organism from settling into your house.

To determine if a dehumidifier is best for you, take a look at the video beneath or this text that breaks down the advantages and prices of dehumidifiers.

Air Purifiers

Does it look like when one member of your family will get sick, your complete household does? There’s HVAC tools for that!

Air purifiers can kill viruses and micro organism earlier than they’ll unfold. One air air purifier, the Reme Halo, can kill germs from a sneeze inside three toes of the one that sneezed (gesundheit). The Reme Halo can be 99.9% efficient in opposition to COVID-19.

With its means to remove germs earlier than they’ll unfold, an air air purifier generally is a nice funding should you or a member of your loved ones is immunocompromised. 

In case you suppose an air air purifier may assist defend you and your loved ones, take a look at the video beneath or this text that additional breaks down the advantages and prices.

Protecting Your Residence Protected and Comfy 

If your house’s air high quality isn’t as much as par, converse together with your HVAC associate. A very good HVAC contractor ought to be capable of suggest and set up tools that may enhance your security and luxury at residence.

In case you reside in Central Ohio, we’d love to talk with you about the easiest way to enhance your indoor air high quality!

At Hearth & Ice, we provide quite a lot of choices to customise your HVAC system to your wants.

To get in contact with a Hearth & Ice consultant or schedule a free in-home estimate, click on beneath. We stay up for talking with you!