Atlantic Refrigeration and Air Conditioning, Inc. Blog: Archive for the ‘Indoor Air Quality’ Category

Reasons to Install a Humidifier

Monday, November 17th, 2014

The quality of the air in your home can have a tremendous effect on your health, your skin, and even your mood. Generally, experts recommend a certain level of moisture in the air in order to maintain the most ideal conditions possible. Too much humidity can cause damage to the structure of your home, but too little moisture in the air can be just as hazardous. In many cases, an indoor air quality expert recommends a whole-home humidifier for homes that are too dry for comfort.

A humidifier can be a standalone unit, or experts can install a whole-house humidifier which works with your HVAC system to maintain healthy levels anywhere you are. Here at Atlantic Refrigeration, we want to let you know of a few good reasons to install a whole-home dehumidifier as soon as possible if you’re experiencing any of the problems associated with dry air.

  • Protect the Walls of Your Home: Dry air can do serious damage to the walls, floors, and ceilings of your home. Chipped paint, peeling furniture, cracked artwork and ruined musical instruments are also possibilities. A humidifier adds enough moisture to the air to preserve your home and protect it from any potentially harmful effects.
  • Prevent Illness: Dryness can also make you feel ill as your sinuses cannot drain properly without any moisture present. Humidity can help you to heal faster, and some humidifiers even contain purifiers to clear up the air even further. Humidity also can reduce nosebleeds and helps to soothe dry, cracked skin.
  • Promote Energy Efficiency: When the air feels dry, you can turn up the heat all you want, but your skin may still feel cooler than you’d like. You need some humidity in the air to keep you feeling warmer, no matter what the actual temperature is in the house. A humidifier can help you to turn the thermostat lower as you’ll already feel all the heating you need on your skin.

If you’ve decided you may need a humidifier in Millsboro, call Atlantic Refrigeration today. We can help you choose the whole-home system that’s right for you.

Continue Reading

Tags: ,
Posted in Indoor Air Quality | Comments Off on Reasons to Install a Humidifier

The Benefits of Using an Energy Recovery Ventilator

Monday, November 10th, 2014

Today’s heating and cooling systems can be extremely efficient, using modern technology to produce the same level of home comfort you’re accustomed to at a significantly lower monthly cost than those created 10 or 20 years ago. It’s not difficult to see the improvements over the years. Just compare the annual fuel utilization efficiency (AFUE) of today’s heating systems (which must meet minimum efficiency requirements of 80%) to those built just a couple of decades ago (many of which were closer to 50%).

Today’s heating and air conditioning systems can save a lot of money, but only if the conditions in your home are just right. That’s why we keep our homes sealed up tightly when we run our heaters or air conditioners: to keep the heat generated by the heating system from escaping outdoors and to keep heat out in the summer.

Unfortunately, all of this weatherproofing and sealing means little ventilation in the home. This makes the indoor air feel stale and uncomfortable. The lack of ventilation may also allow moisture to build up in the home and can keep you running your HVAC system for longer, costing you more in energy spending every month. These are the reasons many homeowners choose to install energy recovery ventilators. These systems pull fresh air from the outside to move into your indoor air handler or directly into your home and to exhaust humid, stale air from the home back to the outdoors. Here are some of the reasons you may choose to install an energy recovery ventilator.

  • Enhanced Indoor Air Quality: One of the main reasons people choose energy recovery ventilators is the improvement in air quality. An ERV provides you with fresh, filtered air from improved ventilation.
  • Moisture Control: An ERV transfers moisture from the indoor air t the air exhausting outdoors. This means more tolerable humidity levels for increased comfort, which could also help prevent the development of mold and mildew.
  • Reduce Energy Costs: Finally, you can save on energy costs with professional energy recovery ventilation installation. This type of system is one of the only ways to ventilate your home without sacrificing the energy efficiency of your HVAC system.

Want to learn more about professional installation of energy recovery ventilators in Dover? Call Atlantic Refrigeration to speak with an indoor air quality expert today!

Continue Reading

Tags:
Posted in Indoor Air Quality | Comments Off on The Benefits of Using an Energy Recovery Ventilator

Why Install a Commercial Dehumidifier for Your Business?

Monday, September 15th, 2014

It’s important that your business space is comfortable, and this entails more than just the temperature. If the quality of your indoor air is lacking, it can affect you, your customers and your business. One of the ways indoor air quality can be compromised is with excess humidity. One of the best ways to help your air conditioner, your business and your customers is to improve your commercial indoor air quality in Ocean City, MD with a commercial dehumidifier. As with any upgrade to your system, it’s important to hire trained professionals for the work, and Atlantic Refrigeration has the trained and certified commercial technicians who can help improve your indoor air.

Reasons to Install a Commercial Dehumidifier

As we mentioned above, installing a dehumidifier to your commercial AC can help improve the indoor air quality in your business space, but there are several other reasons to consider installing a commercial dehumidifier:

  • Better health – mold, mildew, fungus and dust mites thrive at relative humidity levels above 60 percent. These types of micro-organisms can contribute to asthma attacks, allergy problems and other respiratory conditions, as well as damage to your products. The recommended humidity level for indoors is between 30 percent and 50 percent, levels a commercial dehumidifier can easily achieve.
  • Improved comfort – sometimes the dehumidifying function of your air conditioning system can’t keep up with demand. A commercial dehumidifier removes the excess moisture from the air before it can become part of your indoor air taking the extra load off your AC and allowing it to cool your business space as needed.
  • Energy savings – with a commercial dehumidifier, you don’t have to run the air conditioner more than necessary to cool things off; this helps save energy.

Don’t let your business space become uncomfortable due to excess humidity.

Call the professionals at Atlantic Refrigeration today and schedule an appointment with one of our experts to improve your commercial indoor air quality in Ocean City, MD.

Continue Reading

Tags: ,
Posted in Commercial Services, Indoor Air Quality | Comments Off on Why Install a Commercial Dehumidifier for Your Business?

Why Install a Dehumidifier?

Monday, September 8th, 2014

Your air conditioner is designed to remove both heat and humidity, but during periods of excessive humidity, it can be challenging for your AC to keep up. Humidity holds heat, so any time there is excess humidity in the air, it forces your air conditioner to work harder in order to cool your home. A great way to help your air conditioner and increase the comfort in your home is by adding a whole-home dehumidifier to your Seaford, DE property. With professional installation from Atlantic Refrigeration, you can dehumidify your home easily.

Signs You Have Too Much Humidity

You can feel humidity most of the time, but sometimes it can be difficult to spot excess humidity when the AC is running. Here are some common signs:

  • Sticky feeling on the skin
  • Stickiness on surfaces – counter tops, tables, etc.
  • Condensation on walls
  • Fogging windows
  • Cold, clammy feeling in your home

How Does a Whole-Home Dehumidifier Help?

When you install a dehumidifier into your existing HVAC system, the air in your home is dehumidified before it becomes part of your system’s air flow. The dehumidifier is part of your system, so it operates with the cycles of your air conditioner as well as independently. The process is seamless and easy.

What are the Benefits of a Dehumidifier?

Installing a dehumidifier has several benefits worth considering:

  • Better comfort – removing the excess moisture from your indoor air leaves the air dry and cool, and as a result, more comfortable.
  • Better health – excess humidity can exacerbate chronic respiratory problems like asthma, and allergens like dust mites, mold and mildew thrive in moist environments. Eliminating the excess moisture in your home can reduce or eliminate these problems.
  • Less stress on your system – as we mentioned above, when there is excess humidity, your air conditioner has to work harder. By reducing the amount of moisture in the air with a dehumidifier, you remove the extra stress on your AC.

A whole-home dehumidifier for your Seaford, DE home can help improve comfort, indoor air quality and the health of you, your family and your air conditioner.

If you are interested in what a dehumidifier can do for you and your home, call Atlantic Refrigeration today and schedule an appointment.

Continue Reading

Tags: ,
Posted in Indoor Air Quality | Comments Off on Why Install a Dehumidifier?

MERV: What It Stands for and Why It’s Important

Wednesday, August 13th, 2014

Indoor air quality is a big part of your comfort, but it’s also a big part of your overall health. The average time a person spends inside his/her house is over 85%, and, if that air isn’t healthy, neither are you. One way to help improve your indoor air is to add an air filtration system from Atlantic Refrigeration to your Berlin, MD property. However, there are a variety of filtration systems from which to choose, and each has its own capability for capturing particles. The best way to understand how effective a given filtration system will be is to look at its MERV rating.

What Does MERV Stand For?

MERV is an acronym for minimum efficiency reporting value, and it is a scale designed by the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) that rates the effectiveness of an air filter.

What Is the MERV Scale?

The scale runs from 1 to 20, with 1 being the least effective and 20 being the most effective. Residential filters typically land in the 5-12 range. Different particles are captured at different ratings:

  • 1-4: pollen, dust mites, cockroach debris, sanding dust, spray paint dust, textile fibers, carpet fibers
  • 5-8: mold, spores, cat and dog dander, hair spray, fabric protector, dusting aids
  • 9-12: legionella, humidifier dust, lead dust, auto emission particulates, nebulizer droplets
  • 13-16: bacteria, droplet nuclei (from sneezing), cooking oil, most smoke and insecticide dust, most paint pigments
  • 17-20: virus, carbon dust, sea salt, smoke

Why Is MERV Important?

MERV is important in understanding the capability of a given filter. For example, if you have allergy sufferers and want to reduce the amount of allergens in your home, the MERV rating you’d need would be at least a 5. One item to note about MERV: if you are looking to install a filter with a MERV over 12, consult with a professional first. Filters with very high MERV ratings can restrict air flow, which is not good for your air conditioning system.

If you are concerned about your indoor air quality and are interested in possibly installing an air filtration system to your Berlin, MD air conditioner, make sure you work with experts to ensure you purchase a system that fits with your needs. Call Atlantic Refrigeration today and schedule an appointment.

Continue Reading

Tags: ,
Posted in Indoor Air Quality | Comments Off on MERV: What It Stands for and Why It’s Important

Problems Caused by Low Indoor Air Quality

Monday, July 14th, 2014

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), low indoor air quality is currently one of the major health threats in the country. Because modern buildings have heavy heat sealing on them to conserve energy, very little fresh air can circulate indoors and clear out the stale air. The air that continues to circulate through a building’s HVAC system begins to collect dust, dirt, pollen, dander, dust mites, and other contaminants that have no way to escape except to return to the air that people inside the building breathe.

Your home can suffer from this problem, but you have options available to increase your indoor air quality. To find out some of the methods that will protect the your family’s health, contact our Dover, DE indoor air quality professionals at Atlantic Refrigeration.

The problems of a reduction in indoor air quality

  • Health issues: This is the primary concern of contamination in a home’s air. The EPA links low indoor air quality to a number of health problems, such as bronchitis and increases in asthma and allergy-related symptoms. Insomnia, skin- and eye-irritation, coughing, wheezing, congestion, lethargy, and headaches are also connected to drops in indoor air quality. People who already suffer from asthma and allergies are particularly susceptible to poor air in a home.
  • HVAC system inefficiency and malfunctions: The dust and dirt that collects inside the ventilation system of a home (the main reservoir of pollution) will create resistance against airflow from the heater and air conditioner. This will lead to an increase in utility bills as the system struggles to reach its expected level of heating or cooling. The contamination in the ductwork can also cause damage to the interior components and clog the air filter, leading to poor performance and unnecessary repairs.
  • Dusty and dirty home: The average amount of dust that a six room house circulates through its HVAC system each year is 40 lbs.! It won’t stay in the ventilation system either: that dust and dirt will settle all over a home, making it difficult to keep furnishings and floors clean. A house that seems to never stay dust-free for long, no matter how often you dust, is warning you that the air quality is poor and something needs to be done.

What you can do to raise your air quality

There are many ways to combat poor indoor air quality, and professionals like those at Atlantic Refrigeration can help you. Air filtration systems and electronic air purifiers can prevent particles from entering the air and the ventilation system. Energy recover ventilators and heat recovery ventilators allow fresh outdoor air into your home without losing energy and jeopardizing comfort. Duct testing and sealing can prevent excess contamination from entering the ductwork and subsequently into your home.

If you want to breather easier call our Dover, DE indoor air quality specialists today and get started with cleaning the air in your home.

Continue Reading

Tags: ,
Posted in Indoor Air Quality | Comments Off on Problems Caused by Low Indoor Air Quality