Air pollution has been a widely known issue for many years, probably anyone who owns a car is at least familiar with pollution from vehicle exhaust. Today’s more modern lifestyles have us only leaving our homes to drive that car to an office remaining there till we drive back home to spend the rest of evening and night inside. Some studies say we now spend up to 90% of our time indoors. What most don’t realize is that indoor air can be 5 – 100 times more polluted than air outside.
Your indoor air quality is further at risk from today’s higher energy efficiency standards and modern building advancements that seal and trap pollution inside your home then spread it to each room though heating and cooling ducting. Indoor air pollution is ranked in the top five of EPA identified environmental health risk further stating the best way to address your risk is to control or eliminate source of pollution. With so many sources in your home you can’t just stop living in it…
How can you control or eliminate indoor air pollution?
The first action needed is regular preventive maintenance. Maintaining your heating and cooling system not only improves performance but keeps it clean removing dust and dirt build up as well as removing algae growth from components that come in contact with condensation produced when cooling. By becoming a ProCare™ Maintenance Plan Member our technicians will ensure your system remains clean.
Learn more about ProCare™ Maintenance Plan.
The first and primary component of any indoor air quality system is whole home air filtration and/or purification. Skipping this step is directly compared to waxing your car but not washing it first!
Don’t believe the advertising myth that a 1” wide filter is an air quality solution, they’re really only there to protect the heating and cooling system components primarily the blower and evaporator coil. You must have whole home filtration and/or purification.
What does a whole home air filter do? Capture and retain contaminants circulating in your home’s air to keep them from recirculating through your home. We offer filtration options that capture and retain particles as small as .1 micron, 100 times more effective than a 1” wide filter and 8 times better than the best HEPA room filters. So how big is a micron? An average human hair diameter is 100 microns, diameter of a dust mite is 10 microns!
What does a whole home air purifier do? Remove, destroy or kill contaminates depending on contaminant type circulating in your home’s air before they can be recirculated throughout your home. We offer purification options that destroy or kill up to 99.98% of airborne allergens and particles including: mold, pollen, dust, pet dander, bacteria, fungi, tobacco smoke, smog, viruses. Specifically our CleanEffects™ purification system will even kill influenza viruses and anthrax.
Whether you suffer allergies, asthma or other respiratory illnesses ACR Heating & Air offers several whole home air filtration and purification options to meet your specific need, system type and budget.
Learn more about our whole home filtration and purification options.
The second important component is an UV Germicidal System.
What does an UV germicidal system do? Germicidal UV kills airborne bacteria and viruses, removes odors and harmful VOC’s circulating in your home’s air. Certain models use a second lamp to kill bacteria on interior surfaces of your heating and cooling system. Our UV PhotoMAX™ Signature Series UV system is especially great at removing odors quickly.
Learn more about our UV systems.
The third component is a whole home humidifier.
By adding humidity during winter months especially in homes with gas heating has many benefits:
- Reduce likelihood of getting colds, flu and other upper respiratory ailments, as viruses, colds and flu thrive in low humidity environments
- Reduce aggravation of allergies and asthma
- Reduce damage to home’s woodwork, hardwood floors
- Reduce damage to electronics from static electric shocks
- Less energy cost since you’ll feel warmer and not turn up the thermostat
- Reduce bloody noses, dry mouth, dry itchy eyes, sore throats, cracked itchy skin and static shocks when touching a door knob
Learn more about whole home humidifier options we offer.
The fourth component is a whole home dehumidifier.
Removing humidity during summer months has many benefits:
- Feel more comfortable inside
- Reduce insects in your home including dust mites as they prefer more humid areas as a breeding ground
- Reduce woodwork, hardwood floors and furniture warp
- Reduce musty smells
- Reduce mold and mildew growth
- Reduce energy cost of your cooling system