IAQ and Air Cleaners

States with a high amount of wood burning have a higher cancer risk according to the EPA.   The toxins from incomplete burning of wood can actually increase the incidences of cancer and of course if those toxins are outside at least some of them will end up inside too.

For more info on the EPA’s report check out this story focusing on the state of Oregon’s particulate pollution

We get questions all the time regarding the use of UV lights in residential HVAC units. Where is the best place to position one? How do they work? What is the best use of them?

For a time, Aprilaire offered our own line of UV products. Our recommendation was always to position UV lights near the peak of your A/C’s evaporative coil or “A” coil. Place it in such a way that the coil and drain pan are fully expose to the light. These are the components most likely to contribute to microbial growth as they contain the three things most needed to support it, moisture, a food source, and a dark environment. Plus, even if your home has a whole-house air cleaner, anything growing on your A-coil can enter your air stream after the air cleaner.

Conversely, UV light is not terribly effective as an air cleaner for several reasons. The first is a question of exposure. Particles tend to zip through your air ducts at around 300 feet per minute. What this means is that their actual exposure time is a fraction of what would be required to destroy organic particles. Put another way, if you were baking cookies in your oven (oatmeal raisin, of course) you might be able to tap the edge of the hot baking sheet without getting burned, but if you held your hand there, you would definitely get a serious injury. The concept is the same with UV light. Most particles require a minimum amount of exposure to be considered destroyed, and this can be from a few seconds to a few minutes. And in order to get that exposure time, a particle would have to zip in front of a UV lamp many times. Hopefully, there’s an actual air cleaner on your system to trap those particles so that they don’t get a second chance to zip through your ducts. They would get trapped the first time.

The second reason is simply that, with an air cleaner, once that air cleaner has trapped the particle, destroying it is a little redundant. If an organic particle can’t get back into the air stream, does it matter if it’s alive or dead? Generally not.

So there we go.

The summer wildfire season is upon us.  Check out this link provided by the Indoor Air Quality Association.  It offers helpful tips and advice to protect you home and belongings, as well as your health, if you’re in an area stricken by wildfires. 

A whole home air cleaner from Aprilaire is a great way to help remove smoke from the air in your home; not only from wildfires but also in the winter when you’ve got the fireplace burning or even from cooking.  Now if your in an area close to a wildfire where the smoke is heavy you should leave the area immediately there is no air cleaner that will keep you safe in that situation. 

Just read an article from Time magazine about “greening” up President Lincoln’s old cottage.  The house which is a national monument achieved a Gold certification from the U.S. Green Building Council, but still kept 98% of the existing home. 

When most people think of a green home they think of a new home, but with about 100 million existing homes a major impact can be made by making them more earth friendly. 

A major contributor to making a existing home green is indoor air quality.  Improving indoor air quality is also probably one of the easiest, and least expensive ways to make your home more healthy and earth friendly. 

A great starting point to save energy is a programmable thermostat.  An Aprilaire programmable thermostat installed costs less then a night out on the town.  Plus in a short period of time you will have saved more money on your heating and cooling bills than you dished out to put it in.

The Surgeon General released a Call to Action on Tuesday to promote healthy homes.  The move involves many different facets of making a home healthy but one of the main things the Surgeon Generals office mentioned was the need to improve indoor air quality “by installing radon and carbon monoxide detectors, eliminating smoking and exposure to secondhand smoke, and controlling allergens that contribute to asthma and mold growth.

So basically what they are saying is put a radon and carbon monoxide detector in your home, don’t smoke in your home or where smoke can get in your home, install a whole home indoor air cleaner to control particulate and control humidity with a humidifier or dehumidifier.



Hmmm….sounds eerily similar to what the Aprilaire bloggers have been posting for months.  Check out Aprilaire.com for more information about our indoor air quality solutions.  

When the America’s top doc recommends taking steps to improve your indoor air quality it’s probably time to do something about it.

Aprilaire and our network of professional contractors are the answer to your IAQ needs.

Right now everyone is watching there p’s and q’s when it comes to spending money.  It’s a tough economic time, and determining what’s important to spend money on and what’s not is something every family and company is doing right now. 

One thing most aren’t cutting back on are things like healthy food and regularly scheduled doctor’s visits.  Why?  Well, those things are too important to you and your family's health.  Instead of buying those fan tail shrimp to put in your stir fry you might be eating chicken instead, but you’re still going to make sure your family is getting plenty of nutritious meals.   The great Ralph Waldo Emerson once wrote “The first wealth is health.”  And like the nutritious food you put into your stomach every day the air you put into your lungs each day is just as important. 

So don’t skimp on indoor air quality.  If you’re having a contractor come out to clean and check your equipment have him quote an Aprilaire air cleaner, programmable thermostat and depending on where you live a humidifier or dehumidifier (or in many places both).

Tell your contractor you’re interested in improving the quality of your homes air.  Any good contractor will be able to educate you on what you can do to improve your IAQ.  You can always give our dedicated customer service team a call at 1-800-334-6011 they too can help you decide on what the best IAQ products are for you. 

Aprilaire IAQ products provide clean healthy air to millions of homes across the country.  Is yours one of them?  If you don’t think indoor air quality is an important part of a healthy lifestyle just Google Indoor Air Quality or Indoor Air Pollution there are vast amounts of good credible information out there. 

Are you tired of rising energy costs? Heating and cooling costs are the #1 expense in most American homes. Do you feel uncomfortable in your home? Most homeowners turn up the thermostat when they feel cold. The EPA states you can save up to 4% on your heating bill for every degree you lower your thermostat. Most people typically don’t want to invest additional money into their heating and cooling system but the fact is Aprilaire Indoor Air Quality products can actually help you save money on your energy bills: An Aprilaire Zone comfort control system can help you reduce your energy costs while maintaining a comfortable indoor environment. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, zoning combined with a programmable thermostat strategy can save you up to 30% on your energy bills. Want to learn more?  Visit us at here.

A common term used when talking about indoor air quality is “Elimination and Ventilation”.  I don’t know who coined the term but it is a good way to think about improving indoor air quality.  Older homes get natural ventilation because they were built “looser” meaning there was opportunity for fresh outdoor air to make it in the house even when the house was closed up.  Mechanical ventilation is something that has become more and more popular with the improvements to home building practices.  Nowadays homes are built much “tighter” and although keeping the cold winter air or hot summer air out is an excellent way to save energy it also creates a situation where indoor air quality suffers.  By not bringing in fresh air all the bad stuff like volatile organic compounds, fireplace smoke, tobacco smoke, particulates put in the air from cooking, carbon dioxide, bioaerosol, biological contaminants, dust…..the list goes on and on, build up in your home.

The best way to combat the buildup of bad things in your air is to ventilate with fresh air and eliminate the particulate with an effective whole home air cleaner that removes the stuff from the air.

As I’ve blogged about before a programmable thermostat is an easy inexpensive way to save money and energy on your heating and cooling costs….IF you program it.  So if you don’t have a programmable thermostat, get one!  If you have one, program it!

Once you’ve done that go to www.2degreepledge.org and take the 2 Degree Pledge.  According to the website “The 2 Degree Pledge is a simple call-to-action aimed to focus consumer attention on ways to save energy by properly using and maintaining their cooling and heating systems, and if it is time to replace old, inefficient equipment, how to make sure it is installed correctly.”  Nowhere did I find on the website a suggestion to actually turn down your thermostat 2 degrees, but imagine if everyone in the country did, it would save millions of dollars in energy costs not to mention give mother nature an awesome reprieve.  The thing I really like about the 2 Degree Pledge and the ideas they offer to save energy is they aren’t asking you to sacrifice comfort for energy savings.  Also, if you take the pledge the campaign will send you a free informational brochure called A Greener Planet Begins at Home.  

Aprilaire offers programmable thermostats along with everything else you need to make your home greener including whole home air cleaners, humidifiers and dehumidifiers. 

The rule of 1,000 is what air researchers use to describe how much more potent indoor air pollution is then outdoor air pollution.  Basically, anything released into the air indoors is 1,000 times more likely to be breathed in than that same thing being released outdoors.  Bottom line indoor air pollution can be very, very potent and potent pollution is never a good thing for your health.  

I learned about the rule of 1,000 from an article in the New York Times…the article says that burning a candle is combustion and just like smoking a cigarette indoors it will have similar health effects too. 

Your covering up odors with air fresheners you say…one of the doctors quoted in the article says “it’s just adding chemicals on top of chemicals.”  

The best way to control indoor air is to filter it with a whole home air filter, and Aprilaire offers the best air cleaners on the market.  From the Aprilaire 4000 series with a standard MERV 13 filter to the Aprilaire Model 5000 EAC which has been proven by third party testing to be the most efficient and effective air cleaner on the market, you are protected.  Unlike the standard low efficiency high resistance to air flow(which means wasted energy) 1” inch filter you buy at the hardware store you only have to replace your filter once a year, and you have the piece of mind knowing that Aprilaire provides the worlds best IAQ products.

With new homes being more energy efficient the importance of proper conditioning of your homes air becomes more important.  The reason is newer energy efficient homes are tighter, meaning that less fresh air gets in (and stale air out) of your home.  That is why Minnesota, for instance, made it code to have a mechanical ventilation system installed in all new homes.  

But achieving good indoor air quality isn’t just about bringing in fresh air; you need to further condition your air by filtering it and controlling the amount of moisture in it.  Just as you condition your air by heating and cooling it, indoor air quality is about conditioning it to produce a comfortable, healthy, protected home that is also energy efficient.

You can learn more about indoor air quality by visiting Aprilaire.com or just Google "Indoor Air Quality."

The Asthma Allergy Foundation of America (AAFA) recently released its list of 2009 Allergy Capitals with Louisville, KY topping the list.  The designation means Louisville is going to be the worst/most difficult place to live in 2009 for people who suffer from allergies.  They use scientific data to create the rankings and base the rankings on 3 different criteria including:

•    Pollen scores (airborne grass/tree/weed pollen and mold spores)
•    Number of allergy medications used per patient
•    Number of allergy specialists per patient

AAFA doesn’t recommend moving but instead recommends having a comprehensive plan to help fight the effects of allergies and asthma.  Any good allergy/asthma control plan needs to address indoor air quality.  With Aprilaire whole home air filtration, along with humidity control the negative effects of allergies and asthma can be overcome.

As a side note also making the list is Madison, WI, at number 4, the location of Aprilaire headquarters.  For your daily allergy forecast check out Pollen.com 

The American Lung Association just published a report on the worst cities for ozone and particulate pollution.  Not surprisingly Los Angeles was at the top of the list although California has reduced pollution levels drastically compared to levels in 2000.  But it's definitely not just LA where people are breathing unhealthy air.

The report is full interesting information, but what I found interesting is that 6 in 10 Americans live in an area where they are at risk of being negatively effected by air pollution levels.  Other than, as a Yahoo article says, moving to Fargo, ND, Lincoln, NE or Honolulu, HI areas with some of the lowest pollution levels, all you can do is understand and avoid the risks associated with air pollution.  

The EPA states “In the last several years, a growing body of scientific evidence has indicated that the air within homes and other buildings can be more seriously polluted than the outdoor air in even the largest and most industrialized cities”.after reading the report by the ALA the EPA’s statement is an astounding, no scary statement.

Protect your home and your health from air pollution by using the best air cleaners on the market Aprilaire Air Cleaners.

Now that the weather is warming up in most of the county it’s about time to switch over to cooling mode on your thermostats.  Some thermostats will automatically switch your setback programming to cooling mode, but some will need to be reprogrammed with your air conditioning setback temperatures.  Being that Earth Day was on Wednesday there’s no better time then now to program your thermostat to save energy (and money).  During cooling season for optimum comfort and energy savings you should set you thermostat to 78 degrees when you are home and higher when you’re away.  Here are Energy Star's recommended setback settings.

I came across a great blog today by The Hoots Group located in Atlanta, Georgia.  Matt Hoots, the founder of the green building company, does an excellent job of covering a whole host of green issues, including of course, indoor air quality. 

I had the pleasure of meeting Matt last year at the EcoLumina house, a project on which he was selected as the builder.  The beautiful EcoLumina house is an environmentally friendly home that utilizes the latest technologies and is meant to be a source of inspiration for home owners and home builders alike.  I was there because Matt was installing Aprilaire air cleaners and dehumidifiers as part of the geothermal HVAC system.

Matt is a wealth of information when it comes to green building and his blog is a must read for anyone looking to get good information about going green.  With all the greenwashing out there it is difficult for the average consumer to sift through all the information.  Matt puts a difficult subject into easily understandable layman’s terms.  Check it out!  (If you’re in Atlanta, The Hoots Group showroom is also a place worth checking out)

Aprilaire offers a full line of indoor air quality products that help you go green.  You can’t go green without addressing indoor air quality!  Matt Hoots will vouch for that…

The Asthma & Allergy Friendly Certification Program put together one of the most comprehensive lists of things you can do to "Allergy Proof" your house I have seen.  They did a very good job of exploring all aspects of what can be done to improve indoor air quality of your home.  

If you are one of the 20 million people in the United States who suffer from Asthma or Allergies I would highly recommend taking the time to read the report.  It talks about things that trigger asthma and allergy symptoms, but the report also has a home guide which is a list of actions you can take to make your home a healthier place.  

One thing they mention is to add a whole home air cleaner to your HVAC system, which is one of the easiest things you can do to improve your indoor air quality.  Another important aspect of managing your asthma and allergy symptoms is controlling humidity in your home.  A whole home humidifier and/or a whole home dehumidifier (depending on where you live) are by far the most effective means to controlling your humidity.

Check out this video on why portable air cleaners, and for that matter portable humidifiers and dehumidifiers, are not the answer to effective indoor air quality management.

Can I control my thermostats from a computer?  That is a question that our Technical Support team gets quite a bit.  The answer is Yes!  The Aprilaire 8870 communicating thermostat will not only control the heating and cooling equipment in your home, but can also be accessed through a computer. This allows you to control all the thermostats in your home from any location in the world. Your computer only requires access to the system through your firewall. (Setup requirements will depend on your specific installation)

Imagine if you are on vacation and want to have your home at a comfortable temperature upon your return.  With the Aprilaire 8870 thermostat you can access your thermostats while waiting for your return flight in the airport. 

You can also easily check the status of your system, here is Wisconsin many people have vacation homes in what we call “The Northwoods” and it can get very, very cold in northern Wisconsin, I’ve personally been there when the temps have been as low as -40 F.  A major concern when temperatures get that low is if the heat goes out pipes can burst and cause significant damage.  With the 8870 you can get on the internet and check the status of your systems anytime you want.  The same situation could apply for a vacation home in a warm climate where if the air conditioning breaks down in a closed up home the heat and moisture can take hold and mold can start growing. 

 Click here to learn more Aprilaire’s communicating thermostats.

As I reported previously my Aunt and Uncle were having some really wicked reactions to a recent pollen "bloom" that had happened in the Tampa, FL area.  When we got to talking about I found out this wasn't an unusual occurrence for them, and actually they said they deal with the same allergy issues every year.  They take antihistamines, pain relievers and sinus medicine to combat the effects.  None of which really seem to work all that well, plus they have to deal with the unwanted side effects of dry mouth, medicine head and drowsiness among others.

Being the wonderful nephew I am I recommended they look into a whole home air cleaner.  That next day they called in a local contractor and told him they wanted to install an Aprilaire 4000 Series Air Cleaner.  The contractor was able to come over that very day and install the unit in about an hour.  He walked them through how to use the One Touch Control, which has 4 different modes so you can control your air cleaner as you like.

Well, I checked in with them earlier this week and they can't believe how much the air cleaner helped with their allergies.  My Aunt Terry said it took a couple of days, but after that their itchy eyes went away, they weren't sneezing as much and they were sleeping much better too.

For a relatively small investment they had made a change that had a huge impact on their lives.  When I spoke with my Aunt she wouldn't stop thanking me for the advice, but I'm just glad they’re feeling better.

For many of us the spring time brings much awaited warmer temps and green grass, but the spring time also tends to bring water with it too.   From melting snow to April showers spring seems to be the wettest time of year for much of the United States. 

Unfortunately for many homeowners that water can end up in our basements or crawlspaces causing not only physical damage to the house, but it can also lead to very unhealthy situations.  Moisture that seeps into your home, or under your home in the case of a crawlspace, can cause mold and mildew growth as well as that nasty smell and sticky feeling the moisture causes. 

If you have a leaky basement you should call a trusted basement remediation specialist and have them survey your situation. Often times they can make some very affordable fixes that will end your problems.  But don't just fix the leaks, fix the air quality of your basement or crawlspace as well and get yourself an Aprilaire Model 1710 portable dehumidifier. 

The Model 1710 dehumidifier is a 90 pint per day unit that is much more efficient and durable then the regular units you see at the big box stores.  It can remove moisture from the air down to 40 degrees and comes with a 5 year bumper to bumper warranty.  For those of you who have ever bought one of the portable dehumidifiers from a big box store you know that if you can get a summer or two out of it before it stops working you got lucky.

Remember if your basement or crawlspace has too much humidity and is unhealthy so is the rest of your home.

Allergy season is starting to gain momentum in some areas while others are in full swing.  A couple of weeks ago I took a much needed vacation in the Tampa, Florida area.  The weather was beautiful and I was able to see family that I hadn't seen in quite a long time.  The Tampa area had recently had a pollen "bloom" that was causing both my Aunt and Uncle some very annoying allergic reactions.  They had red, itchy and watery eyes along with headaches, sore throats and runny noses.

They mentioned that some of the trees are releasing pollen and that they deal with this every year during Florida's allergy season, which pretty much runs from early spring to late summer.  I of course mentioned to them that they should look into a whole home air cleaner that has the efficiency to catch pollen, mold, dust, fungi and all the other small junk that is so bad for our health.  While I was still visiting they called a local Aprilaire contractor and had them come out to install an Aprilaire Model 4200 air cleaner.  They were very excited to see what type of difference it would make for them.

I haven't had a chance to check in with them yet but, I will be sure to report their thoughts in a later posting. 

Also check out the PollenCast brought to you by The Weather Channel...very good info regarding allergens for your area.