What You Need to Know About Indoor Air Quality

August 8, 2016
women relaxing on couch

The majority of people realize how harmful outdoor air pollution like car emissions can be, but they don’t realize that the air inside the typical home can be more polluted—reliant on actual circumstances, it can be up to five times more. Things have become so damaging, that the EPA has indoor air pollution tiered as a top-five environmental danger. Mold, pollen, pet dander, radon, and even formaldehyde are commonly found in homes. Since Americans spend an average of 90% of their time indoors, excellent indoor air quality is crucial for great health, regardless if it’s in our homes or our workplaces. To help contain this pollution and increase our indoor air quality, we can take several measures. But first, we are required to absorb some terms consistently used to discuss indoor air quality.

HEPA

HEPA is a term most people have heard or seen, but did you recognize it stands for “high-efficiency particulate air” or “high-efficiency particulate arrestance”? HEPA filtration systems are designed—and certified—to capture at least 99.97% of .3-micron particles (tinier than the diameter of a human hair) from the air that moves through the system. This significantly increases your home’s indoor air quality when dust, pollen, mites, and other contaminants are trapped.

MERV

Minimum efficiency reporting value or MERV describes the effectiveness of an air filter. With ratings ranging from 1–to 16, you should find a max rating that reveals the filter will destroy more contaminants and allergens from your air without limiting the airflow of your home comfort system. Ask us which MERV-rated filter will work best for your home.

At Winters Heating and Cooling, we can help you understand the importance of indoor air quality and help you work on breathing the best air possible. After all, the normal adult takes in about 11,000 liters of air each day. Give us a call at 317-406-5382 if you have any questions or concerns about your home comfort system or if you want to schedule an appointment with us.