Air cleaners are often referred to air purifiers. Most people are familiar with the portable stand-up air purifiers. Not as many people are aware that you can have an electronic air cleaner installed in your home along with your HVAC system that easily treats the air throughout your home. These can improve your indoor air quality and can be advantageous especially in homes where people with ling illnesses live. However, having good air quality is important for every home. Breathing in low quality air for an extended length of time can result in any number of negative health consequences.  To improve the air quality in your home, contact us now to discuss the installation of an electronic air cleaner.

What to Know About Indoor Air Quality

Air quality refers to how clean the air is inside your home. This is especially relevant when using an HVAC system. To assess your air quality, ask yourself questions like how free of irritants and pollutants is your air? Does it irritate your lungs when you breathe? Do people with respiratory illnesses suffer more when they are in your home? If the answer is yes to any of those questions, your air quality may need to be improved. Common household air irritants are smoke, pet dander, mold, mildew, asbestos, lead, and ozone. Some of these can easily be removed or kept out of a home. Others, however, are harder to avoid. Owning pets, for example, is going to lead to pet dander. Even with the best cleaning practices, there will still be molecules in the air. This is where electronic air cleaners come in.

Why Does Air Quality Matter?

For those who have a respiratory sickness like asthma or COPD, and even those who don’t, what is in the air you breathe matters. We call the molecules found in the air that aggravate us irritants for a reason. Aside from breathing issues, there are many other negative effects that these particles can cause. Headaches, fatigue, heart disease, and cancer are all possible if your air contains many pollutants. There have even been studies that have found outbreaks of Legionnaire’s Disease among workers in buildings with poorly maintained HVAC units. Neglecting to schedule an annual inspection can be detrimental to individual parts and to the system as a whole. During the inspection, one of our expert technicians will assess the condition as well as the cleanliness of your HVAC units. Having this done every year helps to reduce the amount of irritants located in your air.

How Do Electronic Air Cleaners Work?

They are termed electronic not because they are powered by electricity, but because the filtering process itself is uses electromagnetism. You can think of the filter as one end of a magnet and the air molecules as the other end of the magnet. By using an electric field, contaminates get trapped and therefore removed from circulation within your home. This can work on particles like dust, mold, and dander, all common allergens. One positive aspect of an electronic air cleaner aside from their effectiveness is that they use reusable filters. Being able to cleanse and reuse your filters means you can save money over the lifetime of the unit on filters. Plus, you don’t have to remember to order or run to the store every few months to purchase a new filter.

Contact Us For More Information on Electronic Air Cleaners

If you are going to be researching electronic air cleaners, to know exactly how effective the air cleaner is, look at the MERV (Minimum Efficiency Reporting Value) rating. We recommend filters with a rating of 10 or above.  It is also important to make sure that the filter you choose does not produce ozone as a byproduct. This can be an unfortunate side effect of some electronic air filters. If you have any questions about the electronic air filters or want to have one installed in your home, contact us today!

Most homes in Ocean County have a furnace and most of them are gas furnaces. Although old gas furnaces were not known to be the most efficient appliances, newer gas furnaces boast much higher efficiency rates making them more attractive to homeowners. Additionally, the filter in your furnace helps to control the amount of airborne contaminates in your home. Oil furnaces are another common type of furnace found in our area. One advantage to an oil furnace is that they can last up to thirty years. Regardless of type, your furnace is one of the most important investments in your home. Furnaces of all types are expensive to install, repair, and replace. Thankfully, the common gas furnace is relatively inexpensive and easy to maintain. So, with these maintenance care tips and some routine care by us, you can keep those Ocean County furnace repair bills to a minimum.

You may be thinking “I don’t know anything about furnaces. What can I do?” While we certainly don’t recommend attempting repair of any kind on your furnace unless you are trained to do so, there are some simple at-home tasks you can perform to keep your furnace running efficiently. The more efficient your furnace, the less wear and tear and therefore, the less need for repairs.

Proper Air Flow is a Crucial Component of Efficiency

For forced hot air systems, the ability to distribute the treated air through the ductwork and then out the vents is the key to its function. One thing you can do to ensure your furnace has sufficient air flow is to keep the area around your furnace clear of dirt, debris, and objects.  Never store anything in the area immediately around your furnace.

Also, be sure that there is nothing blocking your vents in any room. Furniture placed in front of a vent prevents airflow and this can decrease the efficacy of your furnace. Plus, it makes the furnace work harder than intended and that usually leads to higher utility bills and more frequent calls for Ocean County furnace repair.

Similarly, it is not true that if you close off rooms and vents that are not occupied it will save you money. Each heating system installed in a home is chosen according to the dimensions and needs of that particular home. A system that is forced to push the same amount of air through less pathways and into a much smaller area can put undue stress on your furnace. The best advice we can give is to let your unit function as it was designed to.  

One final item to check routinely is the air filter in your furnace. On average, the filter should be changed every three months. If you find that when you check your air filter after three months, it is fully clogged, you should change it more frequently. The filter must allow air to pass through it freely in order to do its job and to allow the furnace to adequately do its job.  If you ever need assistance finding or replacing your air filter, give us a call. We can walk you through it.

Professional Maintenance is Important

Even with the most meticulous care by a homeowner, nothing can replace a professional inspection. Our trained technicians will check and clean all parts of your system. During this process, they will be looking for damages or signs of corrosion. Repairing minor imperfections as soon as possible helps you avoid the need for emergency furnace repair. Ideally, you should schedule an annual checkup for your furnace prior to the onset of cold weather. This will all but guarantee a winter of repair-free usage.

In the case that you do need service for your furnace, contact us right away. We can help you determine if it is appropriate to repair the problem or if it may be time to replace your unit. Typically, a gas furnaces lifetime is about fifteen to twenty years. Some signs that it may better to replace your furnace rather than fix it are:

• The furnace is over 15 years old
• The furnace is unable to maintain the temperature set by the thermostat
• There are strange noises whenever the furnace is running
• You are calling us much more frequently for repairs

If any combination of these statements is true, we can help you decide on what is the best next step. In any case that you need our assistance with your furnace, you can contact us here!