February 6, 2015

indoor air

With so much focus on energy efficiency, indoor air quality is at times overlooked.

Poor indoor air quality can lead to different types of illness and painful side effects. So how do you find that happy medium where your HVAC system and home are energy efficient, but the air quality is clean?

How to Recognize Poor Air Quality in Your Home

You can not see the micro-organisms floating around in the air that you breathe, but there are other signs that let you know when they are there:

  • Condensation build-up on the inside of your windows, in the walls, and on appliances and fixtures.
  • Mold growth under sinks or in the bathroom.
  • Heating and cooling equipment that has become overridden with scaling.
  • A sense of stuffiness when you enter your home.

Physical Symptoms of Poor Indoor Air Quality

All of these signs are pointing to a house that has become rampant with dust and mold spores that are continuously being recycled into your breathing air. Before long, you and your family may begin to feel physical symptoms including:

  • persistent and unexplained headaches
  • frequent sinus infections
  • frequent lung infections like bronchitis or even pneumonia
  • unexplained coughing or difficulty in breathing

If it seems as if someone in your home is constantly fighting a cold or flu, it may have to do with the quality of your breathing air. This is especially dangerous for children and the elderly who suffer from ailments such as asthma or allergies.

How to Improve Indoor Air Quality

Check the air filters of your HVAC system often and change them as needed. There are devices you can install onto your HVAC system that will make a big difference in the quality of your indoor air:

• Energy Recovery Ventilator (ERV): These devices can be installed directly onto the existing HVAC system. They work by exchanging air with outside air and then filtering it before it is released into the home. Not only does this provide cleaner breathing air, it helps to balance the humidity levels inside of the house without expending extra energy.
• Air Filtration and Purification System: A Lennox pure air system that is attached to your HVAC system filters out contaminants that are trying to get into your breathing air. Using a high-quality air filter and a UVA lamp, mold, bacteria, and viruses are destroyed.
• Air Treatment Systems: These are UVC lamps that are placed inside of the duct system to destroy contaminants as they pass through to your home.

Talk with Scott-Lee Heating Company at (314) 200-0788 about the benefits of installing any of these devices in your St. Louis house. They can work wonders at cleaning your breathing air and restore your home to a healthy living environment.