Indoor Air Quality (IAQ)

EPA studies show that even in the smoggiest cities, the air inside most modern homes is usually at least ten times more polluted than the air outside.

How can this be? There are many reasons, some discovered only recently. They include invisible assassins like radon and CO2, as well as gas-emitting chemicals like formaldehyde used in making modern carpeting, drapery, household cleaners, furniture, and building materials. There are also common airborne pollutants such as pollen, viruses, dust and dust mites, and damp areas where standing water can breed mold, mildew, and other microbes.

Much of this problem is attributed to the way modern homes are built—for purposes of energy efficiency, and to be as air-tight as possible. The consequence is that stale air, laced with odors, chemicals, irritants – even miniscule insects – often becomes trapped in modern homes, where it circulates over and over. This can lead to eye irritation, sinus congestion, sneezing, runny nose, stuffiness, colds, flu, headaches, dizziness, outbreaks of allergies and asthma, sore throats, and various other respiratory ailments.

So serious and prevalent is this issue that environmentalists have coined a new term for it—IAQ or Indoor Air Quality. Today’s homeowners need to become more aware of the importance of IAQ and what they can do about it.

At AirStar, the preferred brand we use for indoor air quality (IAQ) practices is Honeywell, because their indoor air quality products meet or exceed American Lung Association® Health House® guidelines and can help improve the air quality in your home!

If you’d like to find out what the IAQ is for your home, take this brief survey from Honeywell!

In the meantime, here are some products we offer to help:

Humidifiers
Dehumidifiers
Fresh Air Ventilation
Media Filters
IAQ Thermostat

Humidifiers
Air in your home that is too dry can be uncomfortable to breathe, and can damage wood products like flooring, pianos, picture frames, and cabinetry, not to mention inhabitant symptoms of dry skin, chapped lips, dry nasal passages and static electricity. In the winter, it's especially important to add moisture to the air, since dry winter air can drive down the relative humidity level in your home to as low as 15%, which is drier than the air in most deserts. A humidifier can help keep the humidity in your home at the proper level.

We can mount a whole-house humidification system directly to your heating and cooling system, making it easy for you to control the humidity levels in your home and make it comfortable – and safe for you and the building – year-round.

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Dehumidifiers
In any season, excess humidity in your home can make for an uncomfortable indoor environment. Dampness, stickiness, and odors are just a few of the many symptoms associated with air that has too much moisture. AirStar can install a whole house dehumidifier for you! Unlike portable units, a whole house dehumidifier is installed in your home’s central heating and cooling system, and works to eliminate excess moisture in all rooms throughout your home, while also introducing HEPA-filtered fresh air from the outside.

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Fresh Air Ventilation
Weather-tight homes can trap damp, stale air inside. One indication of poor air circulation may be moisture on the inside of your windows.  An option for fresh air is to open the windows, but often that is not a realistic choice.  It may be wintertime or a hot summer day, and you don't want to let conditioned air flow out the window.  The answer is a ventilation system that brings fresh air into the home, exchanging outside air with inside air so the heating or cooling of conditioned air is not lost. This recovers up to 80% of the heating/cooling energy from the air leaving your home, and keeps you healthy!

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Media Filters
A standard 1-inch furnace filter offers only limited capture of airborne particles and pollutants compared to the deep-pleated media filter AirStar uses. Deep-pleated filters take several square feet of filtration material and fold it over and over, to provide several times the surface area of filtration material versus a standard 1-inch filter.  The result is highly effective cleaning efficiency against even the smallest particles.

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IAQ Thermostat
With Honeywell's VisionPRO®  IAQ Total Home Comfort System, you can now control comfort and Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) throughout your entire home. VisionPRO IAQ eliminates the need for multiple controls in your living space, by managing your home's temperature, humidification, dehumidification, and ventilation - all from a single, easy-to-use touch screen control.

If you want your home to feel as comfortable as it looks, then VisionPRO®  IAQ  is the thermostat for you.  You'll enjoy the convenience, energy savings and consistent comfort for years to come!

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