Good IAQ is Not That Simple
Many companies will focus on equipment and how well it operates. While this is important, it’s not the whole solution. Proper indoor air quality, regardless of the kind of equipment you’re running, can make or break the comfort level in your home.
Many companies (as well as ourselves, until recently) will try to offer IAQ (Indoor Air Quality) products that will “clean the air in your home” by adding in a simple device that will enhance and purify the air in your home. However, recent studies have shown that these solutions have either have “no realistic effect” or in worst case scenarios, may make you sick. An example if this is what’s called a PCO-type air purifier. We’re not going to name names here because we don’t want to be sued, but a study has shown that the emissions from these types of purifiers can be carcinogenic. Link to an article HERE.
Another common vehicle for purification is ionization. The theory being this is it will emit positively and negatively charged particles (ions) into the air. These particles then attach themselves to airborne particles, causing them to clump together making them heavy so they fall out of the air. These ions will also attach themselves to viruses and neutralize them so they can’t replicate. While studies have shown that this is true, they have also shown that ionization introduces other pollutants into the home, such as ozone and formaldehyde! Sources HERE and HERE.
As a general rule, we take indoor air quality very seriously and always strive to find the best, most sensible solutions for our customers when it comes to indoor air quality. We have always believed that the best way to have good, clean air in the home is through ventilation of fresh air from the outside. With that said, as we stated before, we DID offer some of these IAQ solutions as an option to improve air quality, at least until we found that it was not in our customers best interest. AS a result we will no longer be offering these products. Instead, we will double-down on our efforts to bring old-school IAQ methods back into the spotlight, while utilizing new, innovative control and monitoring options to make your home as healthy as it can possibly be!
Real Indoor Air Quality – What are Contaminants
Firstly, lets address what indoor pollution is and how much of a factor does to play in our day-to-day lives.
According to the EPA, indoor air is usually 2-5X more polluted than outside air, and up to 100X is some cases. When we talk about common pollutants, we’re talking about two (really three) different kinds, they are:
PM10- As shown on the infographic to the left, were talking about larger particles like dust, pollen, pet dander, mold spores, etc. These larger particles are the primary causes of upper respiratory conditions such as asthma, COPD, bronchitis, etc. These particles are generally too large to enter the bloodstream and stay in the lungs, airway, nose, etc.
PM2.5- These are fine particles, or aerosols. Much of this category is the same as PM10, just finer. This would also include smoke, brake dust, and more. These particles are small enough to enter the bloodstream through your lungs. This can lead to inflammation due to oxidative stress, heart disease, as well as a host of other cardiovascular health defects.
The third variety is for ultra-fine particles or PM1 & PM3 (PM0.3 & PM0.1). Much like PM2.5 these can also enter through the bloodstream through the lungs, but due to their small size, can also enter the body through the skin! Once in the bloodstream, they can reach farther into the body and even enter different organs, causing disease and cancer. The main components of this level are heavy metals, VOC’s (cleaning agents), wildfire smoke/wood burning, cooking, candles, etc. Some suggest that 83% of indoor air pollution is in this ultra-fine category.
Now that we’ve sufficiently scared the pants off of everybody reading (and if you’ve gone this far, kudos), let’s talk about ways to mitigate these pollutants.
How Can We Fix it?
- Source control – This is entirely up to you, the homeowner and you don’t need a super-expensive HVAC technician to come to your house for this part. This is based on your lifestyle. Examples of good source control is:
- Remove shoes when entering the house – outside air is good, but heaven knows what you’ve walked in!
- Use better cleaning agents – Check the active ingredients and propellants in that can of Lysol you love, if you don’t want to be breathing that in, find an alternative.
- Cleaning – Vacuuming, dusting, decluttering; these are all things that can reduce the pollutants in your home.
- Please for all that you hold sacred, stop burning candles!
- Seal your HVAC system – this part is actually for your HVAC guy but if your system has air leaks, or pulls a draft in the home, your air conditioner or heat pump can be a source of pollutants as much as any other source.
We’re not going to tell you how to live, these are merely suggestions. With that said, the battle for good air quality and your good health starts with you!
- Filtration – If we’ve been to your house, chances are you’ve heard us say “the best thing you can do to take care of your HVAC system is to change your filter”. This is 1000% true, but only half the battle. Theres a chance you’ve also heard us say “I can’t stand 1″ filters” and we will double down on that now. 1″ filters typically fit very loosely into their cabinet/rack and can allow a surprising amount of particles to completely bypass the filter and get through the system and out into the home. Other reasons why we disapprove of 1″ filters is for your HVAC system. They don’t have enough surface area to allow the fan to pull the air through them efficiently and will often cause them to fail prematurely.
This plays into the second point: If the air is moving through the filter too fast, how can the filter do it’s job and remove contaminants? Think of it this way, you’re tossing a tennis ball into a chain-linked fence. If you gently toss it, the ball will bounce off of it, or get stuck, mission accomplished. However, if you violently throw the tennis ball at the fence, chances are it will go though. Makes sense?
Proper filtration is best achieved with a larger filter with greater surface area so that the air moving through the filter is moving slow enough that the air filter can do its job. Additionally, most aftermarket air cabinets are made for a specific filter that allows the filter to seal itself within the cabinet, preventing particles from bypassing it and making its way through your home.
3. Ventilation – Since outdoor air is (generally) cleaner than indoor air. Bring it in!
However, this is very different from just opening up a couple windows and letting a cross-breeze ventilate the home like grandma used to do. That works if the temperature is right outside, the humidity is perfect, and pollen is down. We may have those factors coincide a couple days a year, maybe.
Of course, it’s not ideal to bring in unfiltered air into the home especially during allergy season (which seems like every day in Pennsylvania). We want to introduce fresh, clean air in a controlled manner and there’s a few ways to do this:
- Fresh Air Damper/Ventilator – This is a budget option. This uses a dedicated fan with your central air conditioning system to force feed fresh air from outside in your HVAC duct system. The air is treated and filtered by your HVAC systems filter and/or with an onboard filter and fed into your home with the systems fan. This works well with older homes that leak and works well with exhaust fans such as bath fans and range hoods.
- Ventilating Dehumidifier – This is a step above a fresh air damper in that it will dehumidify incoming air during those hot and humid summer months. It also help improve the overall humidity in the home (which is the next item) during times when the central air conditioning is not really needed. Think warm (~75 degrees) mornings, but the humidity is through the roof!
- Energy/Heat Recovery Ventilator – This is the Rolls Royce of IAQ, without the price tag. Pictures to the left is an ERV. It exchanges air between the stale inside air with untempered, fresh outside air without losing as much of the conditioned air YOU paid for. This device uses a heat exchanger to keep as much heat in in the winter and out in the summer so the inside air stays consistent. It also sports a desiccant to exchange humidity as well for those sweltering summer days.
4. Humidity Control – As seen on the chart to the right, humidity plays a large role in the propagation of indoor pollutants. This chart says the optimal range is between 30% and 60% humidity (however I would argue that the ideal range is 40-60%), with the ideal humidity being about 50%.
While this is ideal, it isn’t always achievable nor is it practical, namely in the winter.
Wintertime indoor humidity can get as low as 15%!! This in no way, shape or form is comfortable, nor is it healthy. However, we don’t want 50% either. Too much moisture in a standard home with regular home wrap, double pane windows, etc., will start to sweat in exterior walls and on windows. This can lead to mold growth inside walls. Advanced building practices in newer homes are making them tighter so the ideal humidity range can be achieved, but it’s not common practice, yet.
25-30% minimum in the wintertime is more realistic and far better than 15%.
As explained above, a dehumidifier coupled with a central air conditioner can help your home remain in that comfort zone on cooler nights and mornings when the AC is not needed as much.
Additionally, having a dedicated dehumidifier in the crawlspace or basement of a home can improve the conditions in those areas and will help in mitigating the humidity in the floors above.
Where do I stand?
Theres plenty to do regarding improving the quality of the air in your home. But do you know where you stand? Most people only have a standard thermostat that reads the indoor temperature and have no idea what the humidity is, or if there are VOC’s present. So far from what we’ve learned, air quality and comfort go far beyond what temperature the thermostat is set to.
Many modern thermostats, such as the S1200 from Honeywell, have basic IAQ monitors and controls that work with many (if not all) of the products above to improve the air quality in your home by integrating your central heating and air conditioning system with those solutions as a multi-faceted, well-rounded team to achieve the best level of comfort possible.
On the more advanced side of things, we have the HAVEN IAQ suite of monitoring and IAQ controls. These devices are designed to monitor your air and accurately assess the condition of the air. If something is amiss with the air, the system will activate certain IAQ products to help clean the air so that it remains clean. There is also a dedicated smartphone app that will relay live readings and alerts to your phone when actions need to be taken to prevent IAQ related issues.
Curious about your home’s air quality and would like to learn more? Contact us via phone or text at (484) 545-8015, or shoot us an email at info@precisioncomfortpa.com. We will be more than happy to provide you with more information and a free assessment/consultation regarding what IAQ solutions would be best for your home.