Pet Dander and How It Affects Indoor Air Quality

All homes are filled with a wide range of allergens, such as pollen, dust mites and mold spores. If you own almost any type of pet, then your home’s air also likely contains a high concentration of pet dander. Similar to dandruff shed by some people, dander is basically just dead skin cells. Specifically, it refers to the skin cells shed by any animal with hair, fur or feathers, including humans, dogs, cats, birds, guinea pigs and other pets. Some animals, such as hypoallergenic dog breeds, shed less dander, but all animals produce at least some. Pet dander is especially an issue for allergy sufferers or people with respiratory issues, but it can really affect anyone and lead to coughing, sneezing, runny or itchy eyes and a variety of other symptoms. Many pets also give off other allergens that can further worsen indoor air quality. For instance, both cat and dog saliva contains various allergens that stick to their fur whenever they clean themselves, and these allergens then get into the air whenever the animals shed their fur. Cat and dog urine contains numerous allergens as well. All of these different allergens mean that indoor air quality is typically far...

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Discover 6 Ways to Save Energy in Your HVAC System

HVAC systems are one of the biggest consumers of energy in the modern household. While it can take a lot of electricity and gas to keep your air at a comfortable temperature, there are ways to reduce energy consumption. Follow these tips to lower your power bills and make your HVAC system more efficient. 1. Adjust Your Temperature Settings The best thing you can do is simply avoid keeping your home toasty warm in the winter and freezing cold in the summer. Just adjusting your thermostat by a few degrees can result in drastic savings without any noticeable discomfort. The United States Department of Energy recommends homeowners keep their HVAC at 78 degrees in the summer and 68 degrees in the winter for maximum efficiency. However, if that sounds too unpleasant, every little change helps. Each degree of temperature change per 8 hours gives you savings of approximately 1%. 2. Use Your Ceiling Fans Correctly If you have ceiling fans, you’re in luck. A ceiling fan can make your home feel a lot more comfortable without using as much energy as your HVAC system. In warm months, a refreshing breeze from the fan can help you stay cool even if...

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5 Simple Ways to Improve the Air Quality in Your Home

The air quality in your residence has a direct impact on your health. In fact, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ranks indoor air pollution among the top five environmental health risks. Poor indoor air quality can cause various health problems, including respiratory infections, headaches, and fatigue. If you’re looking for ways to improve the air quality in your home, here are five simple things you can do: 1. Change Your HVAC Filter Regularly A good HVAC filter is one of the most important elements you need to have in your home or office. It plays a crucial role in helping maintain healthy indoor air quality by trapping large airborne particles such as dust, dirt, pet hair, and other allergens. However, the HVAC filter must be changed regularly — ideally, every 1–3 months — to function at its best. This ensures that it is fresh and can capture maximum amounts of these particles. When selecting your filter, make sure you go with a quality product that is rated for smaller particle capture so you can rest assured it’s providing you with clean air. Ultimately, changing out your filter routinely saves time and money by increasing efficiency while keeping everyone in the...

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Uncovering the 4 Major Threats to Indoor Air Quality

Indoor air pollution is a growing concern as people spend a significant amount of time indoors. Poor indoor air quality can cause health problems such as headaches, allergies, and respiratory issues. Understanding these pollutants and the sources that contribute to their presence can improve indoor air quality. Here are four main causes of indoor air pollution. 1. Asbestos Asbestos is a major indoor air pollutant and a hazardous material commonly used in construction and insulation until the 1980s. Asbestos fibers are microscopic and are not visible to the naked eye. The fibers can become airborne and can be inhaled when asbestos-containing materials are disturbed or damaged. Asbestos fibers are not easily cleared from the lungs, and over time, they can cause significant damage to the respiratory system, leading to serious health problems. Asbestos exposure can lead to the development of lung diseases such as mesothelioma and lung cancer. Asbestos fibers can also cause other health problems, such as asbestosis, a chronic lung condition that causes shortness of breath and coughing. While the use of asbestos has been heavily regulated since the 1980s, many older buildings may still have asbestos-containing materials in them. If you live in an older home or...

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How Cooking Impacts Your Home’s Indoor Air Quality

There are some everyday actions that hurt a home’s indoor air quality but are overlooked by homeowners because of how essential they are. One such action is cooking. Your eating habits inform the types of pollutants that get into your indoor air. Cooking anything from a piece of toast to chocolate chip cookies leads to differing levels of particulate matter and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) entering your air. Knowing what these pollutants are can help you take steps to improve your indoor air. How Different Cooking Sources Contribute to Indoor Air Pollution Cooking any amount or type of food will cause pollutants to enter your indoor air. However, the effects shouldn’t be harmful if your home is properly filtered. If your home is outfitted with gas ovens and cooktops, you will perform combustion of fossil fuels every time you cook. Any type of cooking that involves combustion is more harmful than non-combustion cooking methods like microwaves and electric ovens. When you use an electric oven and cooktop, your home shouldn’t become too polluted. However, a small concentration of harmful particles can still enter your indoor air. When you engage in methods of cooking like frying tortillas and stir-frying, particulate matter...

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HVAC Design and Why It’s Important

Most homeowners need to realize how much work is put into designing an HVAC system to fit their home when installing it. Every home has a different size and layout and different electrical, plumbing, and HVAC needs. Because every home is so different, your HVAC system should be designed to fit your home and its heating and cooling needs. Here are some of the things that go into designing an HVAC system for your home. Your Home Is a System When designing your HVAC system, your house is considered a system made up of interrelated parts. Each part significantly impacts how your HVAC system will be laid out to best fit your heating and cooling needs. The first part of the system is the building envelope. This is made up of the temperature and pressure barriers set up within your home. This includes the floors, walls, roof, windows, doors, and insulation. Within the envelope, some things can affect HVAC operation, including appliances that can emit heat. Heat-emitting appliances can often result in hot and cold spots within your home. For example, a kitchen is usually a hot spot in your home due to the oven, especially when in use. Certain...

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How To Save Money On Your Water Bill This Winter?

How to Cut Water Bills During the Winter Anyone concerned about their finances might consider ways to cut back on expenses. Cooking at home and reviewing other discretionary expenditures could help, but some of the highest costs are those associated with living in a home. For many, paying high water bills each month can drain their savings. With winter approaching, it might be a good idea to consider some ways to reduce water bills. Watch the Faucet Usage If you’re like many people, you may turn on the faucet at the sink and let the water run before using it. Even letting the faucet run for a few additional seconds adds up over a month. Shutting off the faucet when not using the water cuts back on that waste. Upgrading the faucet could be another helpful way to save money. Low-flow faucet heads designed for better efficiency may pay for themselves by cutting those bills. Take Shorter Showers Long, hot showers can be relaxing. They could also be quite costly. Spending too much time in the shower allowing the water to run too long may waste quite a bit of water. As for bathtubs, keep levels low to save water....

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Did My Flame Sensor Go Bad?

Your heating system is fairly complex and has a lot of internal components. When just one of these components stops functioning correctly, it can hinder the overall operation of your system. Today, we’re going to take a look at what your flame sensor is and what you’ll experience when it goes bad. What Is a Flame Sensor? A flame sensor is basically a safety feature that most modern gas-powered furnaces have. This sensor controls the gas valve. When it senses that there is a flame present, it will leave the valve open. However, if it senses that there is no flame, it will turn off the valve for your gas. Your sensor is programmed to do this as excess gas inside of your furnace can end up resulting in a leak or a fire. While your flame sensor is a very imperative part of your heating system, it can be utterly annoying when it fails. Signs of a Bad Flame Sensor Over time, it’s not uncommon for a flame sensor to malfunction. There are a few common indicators that will let you know that there is an issue with your flame sensor. These include: Burners turn off a few seconds...

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Do I Need My AC Fan Speed Adjusted?

Unless your HVAC has a variable-speed blower fan, it will always circulate air throughout your home at the same rate of speed. This rate is determined by how fast the blower fan in your air handler spins. Although the fan only spins at one speed, most units still allow you to adjust the speed to be faster or slower. When you adjust the fan speed, it changes the airflow rate and will allow you to cool the home slower or more quickly. Changing the fan speed is usually not necessary and can potentially create issues with your AC system’s performance. Nonetheless, there are situations where adjusting the fan speed can help improve home comfort. Let’s now take a look at the effect that fan speed has on your AC system and the reasons why you might need to have it adjusted. Fan Speed and Airflow Rates To work efficiently, air conditioning systems need to circulate so many cubic feet of air per minute. The exact volume required is determined by the size of the AC unit. The general rule is that the blower fan needs to circulate between 350 and 400 cubic feet of air per minute for each AC...

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Understanding What an AC Capacitor Is and How to Replace It

It’s an inconvenience at best, if not an outright threat to your family: Your central air conditioner isn’t working. You try to diagnose the issue, and it seems like an electrical problem. Often when your AC unit isn’t getting the power it needs to keep your air temperature comfortable, a faulty capacitor is to blame. A capacitor in an air conditioning unit works sort of like a battery. It stores up the electrical current from the electrical supply and distributes it at a consistent level so that your AC’s motors function. A typical central air conditioner has various motor components: a blower motor, a compressor motor, and a fan motor. Depending on the model, your AC unit might have one central capacitor that supplies power to all three motors, or each motor might have its own separate capacitor. Capacitors can break down suddenly, such as when the air conditioner is hit with a sudden power surge, or they may wear down over time due to normal operational wear and tear. Signs of a capacitor near the end of its lifespan may include a humming or clicking sound coming from the AC unit. Alternatively, you may notice your air conditioner having...

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