As the wildfire season continues to rage on in many regions across the country and smoke makes its way into our area, it’s essential to ensure that you have a functional HVAC system that can help protect your indoor air from smoke and other harmful pollutants. In Indianapolis, Williams Comfort Air is here to offer tips on how to run your HVAC and safeguard your home’s air quality during these harsh environmental conditions.
Before we dive into ways to protect your indoor air quality, let’s consider the basics of the Air Quality Index (AQI). The AQI is a system that measures current outdoor air quality standards and provides information on outdoor air pollution in your area at any given time. The AQI consists of six categories, ranging from “Good” to “Hazardous.” When smoke from wildfires enters the air, it can cause a decrease in air quality, resulting in an “unhealthy” or “hazardous” rating.
Wildfire smoke events can produce a variety of harmful pollutants, including particulate matter, carbon monoxide, and volatile organic compounds (VOCs). These pollutants can cause respiratory problems, aggravate existing health issues, and even lead to serious illnesses, like lung diseases.
As a homeowner, it’s essential to take necessary precautions to control indoor air pollution and protect your indoor air quality from the harmful wildfire smoke. Here are some tips on how to run your HVAC system to shield your home from wildfire smoke and keep your indoor air clean and healthy.
The air filter in your heating and air conditioning units is one of the simplest yet essential ways to ensure that the air in your home is clean and healthy. During wildfire season, it’s recommended to inspect and replace your HVAC filter every 30 days to ensure that it’s not clogged with harmful particles. Replacing your air filters regularly is essential because dirty filters make your HVAC system work harder, causing energy costs to increase and an increase in the chance of mechanical failure.
Using a furnace filter with a high MERV rating can significantly improve air quality and protect against these harmful particles. MERV stands for minimum efficiency reporting value and measures the efficacy of HVAC filters. A higher MERV rating means that the high-efficiency HVAC filter can capture smaller particles, including those commonly found in wildfire smoke. In fact, a MERV rating of at least 13 is recommended to effectively capture harmful pollutants.
Scheduling a maintenance appointment for your HVAC systems can be a lifesaver when it comes to indoor air quality issues caused by wildfire smoke. Wildfire smoke adds an array of pollutants to outside air, including carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, volatile organic compounds, and particulate matter. These pollutants can penetrate your home’s central air conditioning system and degrade the indoor air quality, leading to respiratory problems, allergic reactions, heart or lung diseases, and other health issues.
By scheduling a regular HVAC system maintenance appointment, homeowners can ensure that their air conditioners and heaters are clean and free of fine particles. Regular maintenance can also help prevent potential HVAC system failures that can worsen indoor air quality issues.
Cleaning your air ducts helps lower the number of harmful particles in your indoor air. With the help of Williams Comfort Air’s professional air duct cleaning services, you can ensure that every aspect of your HVAC system is thoroughly cleaned and maintained.
During HVAC cleaning, a technician will inspect the system, remove grime and debris from the ductwork, air handler, and other components. This process can improve heating and cooling system efficiency, assure that it functions correctly, and improve overall indoor air quality.
Investing in high-quality air filtration systems can improve air quality and promote better health outcomes. At Williams Comfort Air, we offer various air cleaners and air purifiers that can help eliminate contaminants like harmful gasses, particulate matter, and chemical fumes. These systems can help improve air quality by filtering harmful pollutants and toxins that enter your home’s air through open doors, windows, or other unfiltered sources, keeping them out of your furnace, air conditioner, and living areas.
Running your HVAC system fan can actually be an effective solution to help keep your indoor air clean during wildfire season. When activated, the fan on your air conditioner can pull in indoor air and filter it through the system’s air filter. This filter is designed to trap airborne particles, including smoke particles that make their way inside from the outdoor air, before they are released back into the air inside your home. By doing so, running the fan can help reduce the amount of smoke particles that infiltrate your indoor space.
In addition to improving indoor air quality during wildfire season, running your air conditioner fan can also improve overall air circulation in your home. Proper air circulation can keep your indoor environment fresh and clean, help prevent mold growth, and increase the effectiveness of your HVAC system.
It’s essential to protect your home from harmful contaminants, such as wildfire smoke. To maintain healthy indoor air during wildfire season, homeowners must ensure proper ventilation, regular air filter changes, professional air duct cleaning, and upgrade to high-quality air filtration systems, and install ultraviolet germicidal lights.
At Williams Comfort Air, we believe in providing high-quality HVAC services and solutions that keep homes in Indianapolis healthy and comfortable. Please schedule service with us, and we’ll work with you to keep your family safe and healthy during this wildfire season.