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Something in the Air
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Something in the Air
Don't Lose Your Charm
Perennials Add Pizzazz
A Solid Foundation
CotY Winning Projects 
PAST ISSUES
Keys to keeping the air inside your home cool, clean and healthy  
by Carrie Whitney  
March 2005

Spring flowers may be beautiful, but for many they bring sneezes and headaches. Although you cannot control the weather outside, there is a lot you can do to make the air inside your home clean, cool and comfortable. Putting a little extra thought into your cooling system this spring can pay off big by keeping allergens at bay and possibly saving you money.

When spring cleaning, don’t forget to include your heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) equipment. Have a cooling system tune-up to ensure that it is operating at peak efficiency, and clear away any landscaping, brush or debris from the outdoor condenser coils. Your ductwork also should be checked for leaks, and you should also start each cooling (and heating) season with a new air filter.

1-inch air filter
Should be changed at least quarterly, or monthly if you have pets, allergies or any respiratory condition. Only catches some of the larger dust particles in the air.

5-inch air filter
Provides cleaner air and greater efficiency by removing smaller dust particles circulating through your home’s system.
Has much more surface area and only needs to changed once each year, unless you have any of the conditions mentioned previously, in which case you may want to change it twice a year.

HEPA filter
A high-efficiency particulate air filter is designed to capture 99.97 percent of microscopic air contaminants and can be connected to your system to provide the highest level of residential air purification. It even has a Vapor-Lock carbon filter to absorb gasses and odors.
Photos courtesy of Shumate

Filter
When choosing an air filter, there are several important numbers to consider. Start by looking for a high-efficiency filter. Cardboard-edged disposable filters, which cost about $1 each, stop only about 15 percent of particles, according to John Waldorf, general manager of Estes Heating & Air Conditioning.

Better filters are thicker and pleated, creating more surface area to trap dust and other things you don’t want floating around your house. According to Mikhail Britt, retail division manager for Shumate Air Conditioning & Heating, filters with a 1-inch pleat are about $14; those with a 5-inch pleat run $30 to $40. The advantage to the 5-inch pleated filter, which is what Shumate usually installs, is that it needs to be changed only one or two times a year.

High Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) filters—the type used in hospitals—are required by the U.S. government to remove 99.97 percent of any particles that are .3 microns or larger. You can also check the Minimum Efficiency Report Value (MERV) of a filter; a MERV of 8 or higher is recommended. (Disposable cardboard filters do not rate on the MERV scale.) Britt says a HEPA filter can cost $2,000 to buy and install in a home and several hundred dollars a year to maintain, but it is the most effective type of filter available.

In addition to pleated “mechanical” filters, electronic filters can be good too, says Bruce Longino, director of engineering services for Carrier Complete Systems. Electronic filters have electrically charged plates that attract dust particles. Electronic filters never need to be replaced, but they do have to be cleaned every couple of weeks to be effective, Britt says. They can cost as much as $1,500, including installation.


Whole-House Dehumidifier
Can reduce excessive moisture in your home by preventing potential problems like mold and mildew. A whole-house system, which can be installed in your existing system, is superior to portable room dehumidifiers both in efficiency and convenience.
Photo courtesy of Shumate



UV Germicidal Lamp
Germs and bacteria in the air are destroyed as they are carried past the lamp by your blower motor.

Photos courtesy ofShumate (top) & Peachtree Service Experts (bottom)

Dehumidify
Keeping air cool in the warmer months might seem important, but another aspect of air quality to consider is conditioning, which includes treating for humidity and cleanliness as well.

“One of the biggest and the hottest topics [in the HVAC industry] is humidity,” Waldorf says. Actually, the air conditioner itself is supposed to be a dehumidifier, but often the equipment is not used properly or is the wrong size and does not control humidity. And uncontrolled humidity can easily lead to mold.

 Running the air conditioner continuously using the “on” setting can help to control allergens. Humidity can be controlled similarly, but if your air conditioning unit is too large for your house, the house could cool too quickly to dehumidify it. Aim for 35 to 50 percent humidity; at those levels, mold and bacteria become dormant.

Basically, mold needs four things to grow: mold spores, organic material (including wood), a suitable temperature (the same temperature that is suitable for humans) and moisture. The only one of these you can control at home is the moisture level. If it seems like mold is a bigger issue now than in the past, it is. According to Harris Sheinman, local chapter president of the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE), today’s homes are built more tightly than ever. That’s a good thing; it makes them more energy efficient. However, it also means that less air flows through the house naturally.

A whole-house dehumidifier will make the air feel more comfortable at a higher temperature, allowing you to run the air conditioner less. You also can use a UV germicidal lamp to kill bacteria, mold, mildew and airborne allergens. The lamp gives off UVC ultraviolet rays to destroy the particles its light touches.


Home Furnace,Two-Condensing Unit
Be sure the condenser coil—the part of your system sitting outside by the house— is free from leaves, grass and other obstructions. The coil needs plenty of air to do its job properly. If you’ve planted shrubs to hide these units, be sure to trim away the branches to a minimum of 18 inches from the coil.
The evaporator coil located inside your home sits adjacent to- or on top of your furnace. These two units share a common blower motor and fan. The fan, motor and coil should be inspected annually.

Photos courtesy of Shumate



Attic Furnace and Basement Furnace
Whether in the basement or attic, your air conditioning system has a large overflow catch pan underneath the unit. This pan is intended to catch water in the event the system malfunctions.
The attic pan has a drain line that directs the water to a conspicuous location, like in front of a kitchen window or back door, to alert you to the problem with your system. This drain line should be kept free of insulation or other debris. The attic pan may also have a cut-off float switch.
The basement pan has a cut-off float switch as well. This switch will turn your system off before the pan overflows into the attic or basement. Be sure this switch is positioned properly and nothing restricts the movement of the float arm.

Circulate
To get the air flowing and keep humidity at an acceptable level (or one that is unacceptable to mold), several products offer solutions. One of those is a furnace with a variable speed fan. This type of fan has a humidity sensor that causes the fan to slow down any time the humidity level reaches about 60 percent. When the fan runs more slowly, it also runs longer, allowing enough time to remove moisture from the air.

“Today is a great era of time where there are many options for ‘high-tech’ systems,” says Tyson Swann, owner of Premier Indoor Comfort Systems. “There are options such as geothermal, mini-duct high-velocity and zoning systems that help with energy efficiency, as well as solving many different indoor comfort needs. Our industry has made leaps and bounds when it comes to helping with indoor air quality.

 

Save money
When choosing an overall system, Longino says spending the money on a high-efficiency system will pay for itself immediately. The monthly utility bill savings would more than cover the higher mortgage payment when remodeling or building a new home. While the minimum Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio (SEER) required by law is 10, Longino recommends selecting a system with a minimum 13 SEER. Installation costs can vary, a 10-SEER system can be as low as $3,000, and the highly sophisticated units can be as much as $20,000. But routine maintenance is very affordable. A one-time inspection for an air conditioning or heating system is about $70.

When choosing products or systems, be sure to read the fine print. Avoid filters that are “HEPA-like.” Either they are HEPA or they are not. Also, some filter packaging states that the filters are 99 percent effective, but you need to know what size particle they are effective against. (Do they stop 99 percent of baseballs or particles that are .3 microns?) Finally, if you decide to purchase a UV lamp, buy only the ones with UVC rays that have been proven to kill organisms.

It might seem like a lot of engineer-speak, but deciphering HEPAs, MERVs and SEERs today can make for some very pleasant air all spring and summer, and fewer unwanted houseguests like mold, pollen and dust.