With allergy season warming up, springtime is the perfect time of year to implement air quality system upgrades for your home. To ensure healthier indoor air quality with fewer allergy triggers and respiratory ailments, enhanced comfort and energy savings, make sure you include one or more of these upgrades on your spring season to-do list.

Whole-house ventilation

A good air quality system encompasses whole-house ventilation, humidity management, and the removal of airborne contaminants from the home. Daily ventilation is important to inhibit the buildup of dust mites, mold, pollen, harmful emissions, odors and more inside newer tightly sealed homes and older homes with efficiency upgrades.

Energy recovery ventilation (ERV) and heat recovery ventilation (HRV) are mechanical whole-house ventilators that use air-to-air heat exchange to minimize the energy consumed for enjoying the benefits of fresh air any time, and during any weather. ERVs and HRVs transfer heat between stale out-flowing air and fresh supply air. ERVs also transfer small amounts of moisture between opposing air streams for better humidity management in any season.

Humidity management

Maintaining optimal indoor humidity levels (30 to 50 percent) is important for the following reasons:

  • Alleviates certain health and comfort issues associated with dry air
  • Helps reduce the stability and infectiousness of flu viruses
  • Prevents dry-air damage to porous household structures and possessions
  • Prevents static-electric shocks

Managing indoor humidity is best accomplished by using a whole-house humidifier (heating months) and dehumidifier (cooling months). Whole-house (de)humidifiers are to portable units as whole-house heating systems are to portable space heaters, with regard to quality and complete coverage of living spaces.

Air purification system

The most effective air purification systems use high-efficiency filtration, photocatalytic technology and gas-filter technology to attack and remove all three classes of airborne contaminants, including:

  • Particles: pollen, pet dander and insulation fibers
  • Microorganisms: mold, viruses and dust mites
  • Gases/chemicals: auto emissions, building structure/material vapor and cooking odors

For more information about upgrading your air quality system, please contact us at Comfort Systems to schedule an appointment for air quality testing or other HVAC issues you are experiencing. We have proudly served homeowners in the Wichita area since 1995.

Our goal is to help educate our customers in Wichita, Kansas about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).  For more information about air quality systems and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.

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