The air quality inside your Greensboro, NC home is extremely important. If your indoor air is contaminated with things like pet dander, pollen, mold spores, dust, and volatile organic compounds (VOCs), this can cause an increase in allergy symptoms, illnesses, and respiratory ailments. While there are steps you can take to improve your indoor air quality, like cleaning more frequently and opening windows and doors, it might be time to consider investing in a whole-house air purification system. Let’s consider the benefits of this equipment and whether it’s a wise investment.
What Is a Whole-House Air Purifier?
You’re probably very familiar with the portable air purifiers that can be moved from one room of your home to another. While they can be very effective at removing particulates from your indoor air, they usually only address a small area at one time.
A whole-house air purification unit is installed in your HVAC system. This unit will filter all the air that is inside your home as it passes through your heating and cooling equipment. Depending on the type of unit that you invest in, you can often remove as much as 99.97% of particulate matter from your indoor air. This can not only improve how comfortable your home feels, but it can also protect your health.
Different Filtration Options
There are a few different options available if you’re interested in a whole-house air purification solution. For example, HEPA filters, or high-efficiency particulate air filters, remove up to 99.97% of dust, dust mites, dander, mold spores, and even pathogens from the air that you’re breathing each day. HEPA filters tend to be too restrictive for your average furnace, preventing you from using them without an air purifier.
Some filters contain activated carbon, which is a great way to improve the smell of your home. Activated carbon can address strong cooking odors and fumes, cigarette smoke, pet smells, and even chemicals.
Electrostatic filtration utilizes electrically charged plates that attract oppositely charged particles. The nice thing about these filters is that they’re effective, but they don’t have to be replaced. You simply clean off the collection plates every now and again. The plates are put right back into the unit once you’ve dried them.
Indoor Air Quality Testing
With so many different makes and models of air purifiers on the market, how do you know what to choose? It’s optimal that you have an initial indoor air quality assessment performed. This test will determine what contaminants are currently in your indoor air. We can recommend purification strategies based on that information. We also recommend that you have future testing done to ensure that improvements have been made. It’s also important that you watch out for any new contaminants, like radon gas or mold growth.
Safeguarding Your Health
If you’re weighing the pros and cons of a whole-house filtration system, consider your health and the health of those around you. You can’t put a price on something like this. Long-term exposure to things like mold can cause severe health problems. Once installed, a whole-home air purifier requires very minimal maintenance. However, its benefits are plentiful. Many people also find that they sleep better, their skin is healthier, and they feel more energetic once they’ve started using an air purifier.
Air filtration can also cut back on the number of germs in your home. If someone in your home is sick, you can remove viruses, bacteria, or pathogens from the air rather than circulate them into other rooms.
Experiencing Quiet Operation
If you’ve been using a stand-alone air purifier, you may have noticed that it produces quite a bit of noise when operating. When you invest in a whole-house unit, this can reduce noise pollution substantially. You shouldn’t notice any additional noise compared to the sound of your furnace or air conditioner running.
Radon Gas
Odorless and invisible to the human eye, radon gas is naturally released from the soil and rocks that are around the foundation of many homes. While some homes are sealed well enough that radon doesn’t make it inside, there are instances where high levels of radon gas are spotted indoors. When exposed over a long period of time, this exposure can increase your risk of lung cancer in addition to causing a variety of health problems.
Certain air purification systems can address radon gas, but it’s also important that you take steps to mitigate the problem. If it is determined that you have radon at levels of 4 pCi/L of air or more in your home, you should consider things like a radon reduction system, increased ventilation, a radon vent pipe system with a fan that removes radon gas and expels it outside, sealing cracks and gaps in your foundation, and more.
Protecting Your HVAC System
When you invest in a whole-house air purification system, this can protect the integrity and efficiency of your HVAC system. If you allow too much particulate matter to accumulate in your system and on its inner components, this can lead to the need for more frequent repairs. Your system will be working overtime to circulate air. This can also reduce the overall life span of your system, resulting in premature replacement. It’s not cheap to replace a furnace or air conditioning unit, which is why preventive measures are optimal.
A whole-house air purifier can also reduce the frequency with which you need to replace your furnace filters. A lot of particulate matter will be trapped by your purifier before it moves through your regular filter. This saves you money on your filter costs, reduces the need for repair appointments, and saves you time as well.
UV Light Filtration
In addition to physical filter media, you can also opt to have a UV light installed as part of your purification system. This light utilizes UVC technology to kill things like pathogens, bacteria, and viruses. It’s an affordable investment that can really improve and protect your health. They are completely silent but are very effective for even the largest of homes. Paired with a HEPA filter that removes the large particles, UV light filtration is something to consider investing in as well. There’s very minimal maintenance needed. We can inspect your UV filter as part of your yearly maintenance if you desire.
Professional Installation Services
If you’re interested in learning more about the benefits of investing in a whole-house air purification system for your Greensboro home, reach out to our team here at Aurora Pro Services Heating, Air, Plumbing, Electrical, & Roofing. We would be happy to answer any questions that you have as well as provide you with an estimate based on your home and air quality needs.
We offer indoor air quality testing, helping you to identify your indoor air quality issues. We also offer the installation, repair, and maintenance of all heating and cooling equipment and air duct services. Plumbing repairs, maintenance, and installation are also offered, including service for hot water heaters, water softeners, gas lines, well pumps, and much more. Contact us today to schedule an appointment.
