Indoor Air Quality

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Indoor Air Quality - Tulsa, Ok

Indoor air can expose you to more pollutants than outdoor air. Failing to address issues with indoor air quality can lead to health problems like allergies and asthma. A good starting point for improving your home's air quality is identifying the levels of contaminants. Here are ways to test your home's air quality.

Evaluate Your Health Symptoms

Assessing any signs and symptoms you may have and your home's age and location may help narrow down the potential indoor pollutants. Seek medical attention if you believe your health issues are connected to your living environment. Your doctor will help you identify the health problems resulting from exposure to pollutants like mold, carbon monoxide, or radon.

Install an Air Quality Monitor

Purchase a monitor that measures the specific indoor pollutants you're worried about. For instance, if you live in an older house, you could get a monitor that detects carbon monoxide and radon. If you live in an area with lots of outdoor air pollution, you could buy a model that detects particulate matter.

Install Carbon Monoxide (CO) Alarms

Carbon monoxide is colorless, odorless, and tasteless, and it can build up to dangerous levels in a poorly ventilated space. If you own appliances such as gas furnaces, gas-burning stoves, and gas dryers, installing CO alarms on all levels of your home is crucial.

Carry Out a Radon Test

Long-term radon exposure is one of the leading causes of lung cancer. Radon can seep into your home through the foundation, walls, floors, and areas around your pipes. You can use short-term radon test kits, long-term kits, or continuous tests to find out whether your home has high radon levels.

Call a Professional

You can opt for professional indoor air quality test if you fear you may have severe air-quality issues and are experiencing health problems like asthma and humidifier fever related to exposure to pollutants.

Once you identify the potential indoor air quality issues in your home, you can address them by installing an air purifier, sealing up trouble areas, improving your home's ventilation, and ensuring your HVAC system is working at peak efficiency. If you need any HVAC service or indoor air quality assessment in the Broken Arrow area, contact the experts at Air Assurance.

The Science Behind Air Purifiers

Looking to improve your indoor air quality? Then look into air purifier science for ways to deal with a variety of airborne pollutants. 

Air purifier science reveals how the air inside our homes is often worse than that outside. While stopping pollutants at the source is the best way to deal with them, you may need extra help from air-cleaning devices.

Have a look at how knowing more about air purifier science can help you make the right choice for cleaning your air. Here are some of the most popular devices for residential air cleaning. You may also find purifiers that combine the technology of some of these products in one device. 

Mechanical Filter

Many homeowners choose flimsy fiberglass air filters for their HVAC systems. These are only good for keeping larger particles of dirt out of your system. If you want to clean the air, you'll need dense pleated filters. These trap small particles, including pollen, pet dander, and dust mite particles — the cause of many allergies in the home.

Washable Filter

Washable (or permanent) filters catch particles as they pass through the system with the return air by means of an electrostatic charge. The collection plates must be cleaned according to the manufacturer's instructions.

HEPA Filter

HEPA (High Efficiency Particulate Air) filters are extra dense to catch the finest particles. While you would have to modify your HVAC system to use one, you can buy stand-alone HEPA air purifiers.

Ozone Purifiers

These purifiers clean the air by means of a negative ion that attaches to fine particles. The drawback with this device is that they produce ozone, which can be harmful to those with allergies.

Activated Charcoal

This type of air purifier helps get rid of gases such as cigarette smoke.

UVGI Lights

UVGI (Ultraviolet Germicidal Irradiation) lights are installed inside the HVAC system. They disrupt the DNA of living pollutants such as germs, mildew, and mold.

For more on air purifier science, contact Air Assurance of Broken Arrow.

Which HVAC Upgrades Are Designed with the Future in Mind?

From increasing energy efficiency to providing better temperature accuracy and greater control over home comfort, technology advances in HVAC have vastly transformed how we heat and cool our homes. Based on the innovations in the pipeline, it seems we've just scratched the surface of what HVAC technology really has to offer. Let's take a look at some of the future HVAC upgrades that will change home heating and cooling as we know it.

Thermal-Powered Air Conditioning

Chromasun, an Australian company, has recently implemented a thermally driven air conditioner. The system utilizes solar energy, with natural gas serving as a supplement. This makes it highly efficient. But that's not all. Its double-chiller design has greater cooling power than any existing AC system and can eliminate electricity costs.

Dual-Fuel Heat Pump

The system is a combination of a gas furnace and an electric heat pump. The concept is based on the argument that heat pumps usually provide maximum comfort and efficiency when combining fuel sources.

This heat pump uses gas heat at low temperatures and switches to electricity at temperatures higher than 35 degrees. Its initial costs are higher than those of a conventional system. However, the money you can save over several years makes it worth the extra cost — and a valuable one of many future HVAC upgrades.

Ice-Powered AC System

A California-based company called Ice Energy has designed the Ice Bear, an ice-powered air conditioner. The unit freezeswater overnight and then uses the ice to cool a building the next day. Currently, the system can only provide cooling for a maximum of six hours.

The Ice Bear doesn't have enough capacity to cool your home on its own. Nevertheless, its technology is quite impressive and will undoubtedly be an excellent system for your home when it's improved to provide cooling for significantly longer periods. Yet another impressive one of the future HVAC upgrades.

Based on these potential future HVAC upgrades, it's clear to see that continued innovation in HVAC technology will cause an unprecedented increase in energy efficiency while decreasing the need for reliance on environmentally harmful heating and cooling methods. For information on the high-tech HVAC solutions that you can use now, contact Air Assurance. We've proudly served residents in the Broken Arrow area with a variety of HVAC services since 1985.

What Are the Smartest Ways to Cut Costs on Your Heating or Cooling Bill?

The price of energy remains relatively inexpensive, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't be cutting costs on electricity and gas whenever you can. There are so many easy ways to cut costs on energy use, and once you're aware of them, you'll want to put them into practice right away. 

Best Practices for Cutting Energy Costs

1. Change the Filter.
   Changing the HVAC filter allows air to flow through the system unimpeded so that the cooling and heating work more efficiently while cutting costs on energy use. Also, keeping the return air clean cuts down on friction caused by dirt entering the unit's parts, which makes the unit run hotter. Furthermore, when the HVAC labors to heat or cool, parts may wear out faster, necessitating repairs or replacements. 

2. Install a Programmable or Smart Thermostat.
   While a programmable thermostat is more complicated than a smart thermostat, you can save money on energy with either type of technology if you set a program and stick to it. Cut back on energy use when you're away from home or sleeping. Even a change of a few degrees will contribute to cutting costs on the energy bill. 

3. Air-Seal Your Home.
   Air-sealing your home isn't that difficult, and the reward in cutting energy costs will be significant. Seal small leaks around door and window frames, baseboards, the attic hatch, and holes in exterior walls where pipes, cables, and wires come through. Use weatherstripping, insulation, and caulk.

4. Replace Inefficient Windows.
   Replace single-pane windows with the efficient, double-pane type.

5. Schedule Preventative Maintenance. 
   Have an HVAC consultant check your equipment regularly to ensure good performance. Ask your consultant to check the ductwork for holes or gaps to prevent air leaks — an important step in cutting costs of energy use. 

The Department of Energy (DOE) has found that heating and cooling accounts for 50% to 75% of energy used in the average American home. For more information on cutting energy costs in your home, contact Air Assurance of Broken Arrow.

How to Prevent an AC Breakdown

Your air conditioner works the hardest on the hottest summer days. Unfortunately, all the stress from the constant running makes the unit likely to break down when you need it the most. And don't forget that scheduling emergency repairs in the summer is difficult because of the work crunch for AC technicians. Here are some tips to help you avoid a major AC breakdown on sizzling summer days.

Close your blinds.

Windows allow the sun's heat into your home. Consequently, your air conditioner has to work harder to cool the indoor air. Use heavy curtains that effectively block sunlight.

Replace your air filters every month.

A clogged filter restricts the airflow into your air conditioner. In turn, that reduces the system's ability to cool your home.

Use fans.

Fans help you circulate stagnant air, which usually feels warmer. What's more, by circulating the air better, fans eliminate the need for your AC system to run constantly.

Vacuum registers.

Blocked registers can cause airflow restrictions that lower your air conditioner's efficiency. Vacuum them regularly to get rid of dust buildup. Move furniture and any other objects that may block the airflow through them.

Set the thermostat appropriately.

Set your programmable thermostat such that your air conditioner will sparingly come on when nobody's home and kick on just an hour before any family member returns. Such a schedule will work the system less.

Keep plants trimmed.

The outside compressor requires enough airflow to function properly. Make sure your plants are 2 to 3 feet away from the unit. If trees or any other plants are growing above your unit, trim them regularly to maintain a 5-foot clearance between them and the top of the unit.

Call a pro for routine maintenance.

When inspecting your system, an HVAC technician will spot serious problems before they become worse.

Rather than cranking up the air conditioner, use these tips to keep your home comfortable while preventing inconveniencing AC breakdowns. For the best heating and air conditioning products and services in the Broken Arrow area, contact us at Air Assurance.