Fresh Air Inside Your Home – Not All “Air Cleaning” Is The Same

Your home’s comfort is dependent on much more than just the temperature of the air flowing through your home. Your quality and freshness of the air inside the spaces you live most with your friends and family can be just as important.

There are so many options on the market – from consumer grade “air purifiers” that sit in the corner of your room to UV light powered systems to whole home fresh air exchange and purification. Let’s talk about the pros and cons of the most common systems.

– Opening Your Windows
The most basic of tactics – allowing for air flow through your home by opening windows can certainly help to exchange from fresh air into your home. This method, however, can the potential to openly and freely allow allergens into your home. This tactic also only works for air circulation on mild days – otherwise, you’re allowing much hotter or much colder air into your home – which means your comfort systems will work overtime to make up the difference again. On the plus side, this method only costs a little elbow grease to get those windows open.

– At Home “Air Purifier” Towers and Fans
Sometimes also sold as “ionic air fans” or “ionic purifiers” – most of these units don’t include any sort of filtration system whatsoever. That means any dust, pet dander, and air contaminants that enter the back of your fan exit straight out of the front of the unit and are recirculated in your home. These units can help with moving air and are good for white noise (much like any ceiling fan or oscillating fan unit) – but they don’t really address any air freshness or contaminant removal efforts.

– Professionally Installed “Fresh Air Ventilation” or “Fresh Air Exchange” Systems
Designed as a long-life, low maintenance method for air movement, these exchange systems intake air from outside your home while expelling stale air from inside your home. The end result is more appropriate levels of humidity and more “fresh air” inside your home – and can work with HVAC equipment in heating or cooling modes. Meant for installation in easy access points like basements or garages, most unique feature a simple filter that a homeowner can clean themselves instead of requiring constant replacement. Fresh Air Exchange systems can help to reduce your energy costs, but offer more assistance with “fresh air” problems than they do with air purification.

– Whole Home Air Filtration Systems
Integrated into your air handler and/or HVAC system as a whole, entire home air filtration systems often combine multiple types of air filtration. This usually includes 1) a carbon-based filter system for the sake of filtering outdoor air source order, 2) HEPA air filters for removal of airborne particles, and 3) UV lights to assist in the near complete eradication of common microbial contaminants in your air. These systems can be especially useful in making the air in your home more breathable for families that have pets or if you have members of your household with major allergy concerns. A Whole Home Air Filtration can be more expensive to initially implement – but these hybrid systems are the gold standard for fresh, clean air inside your home.

Whether you’re interested because you want that feeling of “fresh air” in your home, or if you have family members who have allergy problems — there are lots of options available to you. If you’re serious about getting clean, fresh air flowing through your home – it would be best to contact an expert like the team here at Superior Heating and Air to help answer any questions and guide you to the best system for your needs. Call us today or reach out to us online to schedule a consultation.