Did you know that the air inside your home can be two to five times more polluted than the air outside your home, according to the Environmental Protection Agency? It is no surprise, then, that more people suffer from allergies than ever before.
Homes built in the last 15 to 20 years are built to save energy, and are built tight in order to keep air-conditioned air from escaping. The air trapped in these tight homes is laden with particulates (pollen, animal dander, mold spores, dust mite feces), microbials (bacteria, mold, viruses, fungi, spores, germs), and gases (carbon monoxide, formaldehyde, other volatile organic compounds) that are harmful. Off-gassing from volatile organic compounds (VOCs), engineered plywood, paints and stains, and cleaning solutions is worse in homes less than two years old, according to a recent study.
Air conditioning manufacturers are experiencing a rash of indoor coil failures installed in new homes, that studies show are caused by indoor air contaminants. The copper and aluminum are being corroded away, and our families are lying in bed at night breathing this highly-polluted air.
Because there is not one product that will clean the air of this broad range of pollutants, we take a multi-pronged approach at Canady’s:
- Large particulates, the stuff you see floating around in the air, can be filtered out with a high efficiency 4-inch-wide air cleaner. We recommend an Aprilaire 2200 series air purifier.
- Microbials such as viruses and bacteria can be killed with an air scrubber by a process called Photo Cytolytic Ionization.
- High levels of gases can be exhausted by an Energy Recovery Ventilator (ERV), which introduces outdoor air into the home and recovers up to 80% of heating and cooling energy. We install Honeywell ERVs!
- High humidity can be brought under control with variable speed air conditioning or a central home dehumidifier.
How your HVAC system is designed, as well as how the air flows in and around your home must be taken into account when designing a system to clean the air in your home. A $10 air filter from the local big box store is not an effective air cleaning solution!
If you have any concerns about the air quality in your home, contact Canady’s. We provide indoor air quality solutions that will keep you and your family safe and healthy!