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How to Improve Indoor Air Quality At Home

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Your indoor air quality can have a significant impact on your comfort—and even on your health! Let Action Furnace walk you through why air quality matters and how you can take steps to improve it in your home, including adding a whole-home humidifier and more.

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Posted by Ryan | January 10, 2024

A lot of us don’t think about our indoor air quality (IAQ) very often. However, poor indoor air quality can significantly impact your comfort—and even your health—so it’s worth taking steps to keep the air in your home as fresh and clear as possible

Action Furnace provides state-of-the-art indoor air quality solutions for Albertans, so we know all about why IAQ matters and what options you have for improving it in your home. Below, we explain IAQ in more detail and show you what you can do to make yours better.

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Why Indoor Air Quality Matters

Indoor air quality can directly impact the way the air in your home tastes and feels. When your home has high IAQ, the air you breathe probably seems fresh and clear. You might experience less congestion and even have more energy during your daily routines.

But poor IAQ can have noticeable negative effects. We’ve listed some of those below—if you’re experiencing any of the following, it might be time to look for an indoor air quality solution.

Woman experiencing signs of poor indoor air quality at home in Alberta

Signs of Poor IAQ

  • Stale tasting air
  • Congestion
  • Odd tastes and smells
  • Visible particles floating in the air (more noticeable as they pass through light)

Potential Health Effects of Poor IAQ

  • Dryness and irritation of your eyes, throat, and skin.
  • Fatigue.
  • Headaches.
  • Nausea.
  • Allergies.
  • Dizziness.
  • Coughing & sneezing.
  • Breathing problems.

If you’re experiencing these symptoms, please visit your doctor. They’ll be able to give you expert advice on whether your symptoms are the result of an air quality issue, after which our team can help.

What Causes Poor Air Quality?

Indoor air pollution lowers IAQ, but this is a broad definition that can include a few different kinds of contaminants. These typically fall into one of a few different categories:

Particulares (Dust, Smoke, Etc.)

Dust is pretty common in most homes. However, excessive amounts of dust can cause respiratory conditions, and may even lead to a higher risk of developing serious illnesses—including some cancers.

Odours & VOCs

Odours are often a signifier of VOCs (volatile organic compounds) floating in your air. VOCs are chemicals released into the air from a variety of different sources, including:

  • Paints
  • Varnish
  • Cleaning chemicals
  • Cosmetic products
  • Fuel (often from gas-powered appliances or vehicles parked in connected garages)

Mould

Even though Alberta has a pretty dry climate, this doesn’t mean mould can’t grow in your ducts and registers. Mould can—and often does—grow if your home has an abundance of moisture in the air (i.e. higher humidity).

Mould can also be caused by plumbing issues or problems with blockages in your ductwork. This prevents moisture from being circulated adequately out of your home.

Tools You Can Use to Improve Your IAQ

Action Furnace offers several air quality products designed to integrate seamlessly with your HVAC system. These include:

Whole-home humidifier in Alberta HVAC system

Humidifiers

Humidifiers control the amount of moisture in your home’s air—helping you avoid dry or clammy skin while mitigating the risks of mould growth.

Our Generalaire 5070A humidifier allows you to enjoy the benefits of having a humidifier throughout your entire home. Once it’s connected to your furnace, hot air passes through its VaporPad technology, adding moisture to your air.

With its KineticFlo water distribution system, the humidifier can effectively reach 2,500 square feet! All you have to do is replace the humidifier pad every 1 to 2 years.

Learn more about humidifiers here.

UV-C Light Systems

UV-C systems use the power of UV light to help eradicate the existence of biological contaminants that could exist in your air.

Action Furnace offers a single-lamp system that we’ll place in your home’s HVAC system where it can destroy potentially dangerous microorganisms like:

  • Mould
  • Spores
  • Bacteria
  • Viruses

Learn more about how UV light can enhance your indoor air quality here.

Hand touching high-quality HEPA filter for use in home HVAC system to improve air quality

Air Filters & Purifiers

Air cleaners remove particulate matter from your home’s air as it passes through your HVAC ductwork.

We offer the Ecomfort Electronic Air Cleaner (AE10), the Goodman DMH900 Whole-House HEPA Air Cleaner, and the APCO-X for all of your air cleaning needs.

  • The Ecomfort Electronic Air Cleaner (AE10) is a hybrid electronic air cleaner that is designed to fit into any standard furnace while adding the benefit of being 95% efficient at removing particles as little as 3 microns.
  • The Goodman DMH900 Whole-House HEPA Air Cleaner is a HEPA air filter that comes with an added carbon pre-filter and germicidal UV lights. By using these 2 technologies together, the Goodman DMH900 is able to filter particles as small as 0.3 microns at 99.97% efficiency!
  • The APCO-X is a UV air purification system that harnesses the power of UV light in conjunction with a carbon filter to help reduce biological contaminants floating in your air. It works by using UV light to kill microorganisms, and also uses the EverCarbon filter to help eliminate dust and volatile organic compounds like smoke, paint fumes, air fresheners, and more!

Learn more in our Ultimate Guide to Air Filtration Systems.

Get Professional Help Improving Your Home’s IAQ

Air quality is easy to improve once you take it seriously—but you’ll still need professionals to recommend and install the correct system for your home. To get help enhancing your home’s air quality, be sure to contact our team at Action Furnace. Our experienced comfort technicians will be more than happy to help you select an appropriate system to solve your air quality issues and give your household’s quality of life a boost.

Frequently Asked Questions about Indoor Air Quality

How much do Action Furnace’s indoor air quality solutions cost?

Our prices vary depending on the system you’re purchasing, but some options start as low as $510.

Why buy an integrated indoor air quality solution instead of a standalone humidifier?

Standalone humidifiers only add moisture to the air that’s immediately around them—they can’t improve the air quality all over your home, and they can also be hard to control since they’re not modulated by your home’s thermostat. Finally, it’s important to note that humidifiers are only one kind of indoor air quality solution—they’ll help with dryness, but can’t do anything to remove contaminants from your air. Investing in IAQ solutions that integrate with your HVAC system provides more comprehensive and accurate benefits.

Should I combine indoor air quality solutions?

Yes! In fact, we recommend a combination of air purifier, high-quality filter, and whole-home humidifier for the best and most noticeable improvements to air quality in your home.

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Written by Ryan Tutak

Ryan is considered one of Calgary's most knowledgeable residential HVAC specialists. Working in the industry for over 12 years, he's helped thousands of homeowners with their heating and cooling systems. Outside of running Calgary's most reputable HVAC business, you can find him on the Golf course practicing his short game or traveling with his family. His main goal is to create a positive collaborative culture, one in which his employees are excited to come in and are motivated to work hard. He spends the majority of his day working directly with Home Comfort Advisors, Service and Maintenance Technicians, and Customer Service Representatives ensuring they are fully prepared to lead the Home Service Industry in Customer Service.

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