indoor air quality

What’s the Best Indoor Humidity Level During the Summer?

August 5, 2020 by Thomas Hoffmann Leave a Comment

Aside from controlling the temperature of the indoor air, it is also important to check the level of relative humidity in your home.

Controlling the temperature of the indoor air seems like an obvious thing to do when you live in a climate that has big weather variations or extreme temperatures. In most places, homeowners find that an air conditioning unit or a heating system are crucial for their comfort, as summer and winter often get harsh.

What a lot of people don’t know is that, besides controlling the temperature of the indoor air, you should also check the level of relative humidity in your home. Relative humidity influences your comfort level significantly as it can make heat insufferable or the cold more uncomfortable. During summer, though, humidity can really make a big difference in how you will feel.

So, what is the optimal level of relative humidity in the indoor air during summer?

st. louis man changing thermostat setting

The Ideal Indoor Humidity Level

Relative humidity levels in the air represents the percentage of water present in the air, where the total would be water saturation. That means that the air can’t hold it anymore and the water becomes mist, rain, fog, etc. So, when you measure the air humidity in your home, you will get a percentage.

Too Humid or too Dry?

The air humidity will directly influence how the temperature in your home feels, and how comfortable you are. However, there’s more to it than just that. It can also have a significant impact on your health and affect your house’s structure.

Too much humidity will lead to the formation of mold and make the heat feel sticky and insufferable. Moreover, it can damage your HVAC system and your house, infiltrating in the walls and floors.

Too little humidity, on the other hand, can also have negative effects on your health. It can aggravate allergy and cold symptoms, make your cough worse, trigger skin rashes and eczema, and so on. It will also be bad for your house, drying out the floors and walls, damaging the materials, and making them more susceptible to cracking.

If you want to better understand how to adjust the air humidity as the season change, then you should remember that warm air holds more moisture, while cold air retains less. If you don’t control the air humidity in your home, summers would be too moist while winters will feel excessively dry.

That is why a properly working air conditioning unit is very important for your health and comfort. Modern models can be fitted with air humidifiers or dehumidifiers, allowing you to adjust the air humidity precisely to your level of comfort.

Optimal Air Humidity Levels

According to the American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE), the optimal levels of humidity range between 45 and 55%. This interval is ideal for your health, your home’s well-being and your level of comfort.

During the summer, when the air tends to hold in more moisture, you can keep the indoor humidity levels to 30-55%. Make sure your air conditioning unit works properly, interrupt the use of indoor humidifiers, and always have a professional perform regular maintenance and check your ventilation system.

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Should You Use a HEPA Air Filter in Your Home?

July 1, 2020 by Thomas Hoffmann Leave a Comment

There are many benefits to using a HEPA air filter. Here is what you should understand before purchasing an air purifier for your St. Louis home.

At some point in your life, you’ve probably considered purchasing an air purifier. Whether you’re a smoker, live near a busy street, or simply want to optimize your surroundings, buying one of these machines is likely a smart idea. Here are some of the benefits and essential information you should understand before purchasing an air purifier.

The Benefits

The first thing you need to know before deciding is what the benefits of these filters are. The following are the three most important of them.

Healthy Lungs – At the top of the list is healthy lungs. The truth is that no matter where you live in St. Louis, you could be at risk of particulates and other constituents getting into your body. The result can be reduced function and a multitude of other complications that you’d never expect.
Reduced Allergies – People with allergies often have trouble around dust, pollen, and other irritants. If you are one of them, a filter can help you reduce your allergic episodes. This development can be crucial for those with significant issues.
Healthy Skin – Lastly, filters can help clean your air of dust mites, which have been proven to irritate the skin.

One additional thing to note is that filters are especially useful for those who live with others that smoke, as these households have significantly more harmful particulates than a typical living space.

Learn more: 4 HVAC Tips for Better Indoor Air Quality

What Does “HEPA” Mean?

“HEPA” stands for high-efficiency particulate air. What that means in practice is that these filters give your air a deeper clean than many others. This effect is crucial because many filters claim to clean your air but actually do very little for the quality of your surroundings.

Your Two Options For Purification

The following two methods are your best options for purifying your home.

Standalone – You can buy these devices at your local home improvement store or through an online retailer. What is nice about them is that they are relatively cheap, though you might have to invest in a few of them if you want full house coverage.
HVAC – Your second option is installing a HEPA filter into your existing HVAC system. While this option might be more expensive, it likely will lead to superior air quality in your home. If you choose to go with this option, you probably should not try to do it alone. Instead, call up a local specialist and ask for a consultation.

Should you get a HEPA filter for your home?

The answer to this question comes down to the condition of your surroundings and your willingness to invest in the machinery. If the air in your space is clean and you’d rather not spend extra money on it, then you may decide to pass. On the other hand, those with suboptimal air quality should heavily consider making a change. No matter which way you go, you now have the information you need to make an informed decision.

24/7 SERVICE. FIVE STAR REVIEWS. 30 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE.

CALL (314) 471-7625

What Is an Electronic Air Cleaner and Do You Need One?

December 20, 2019 by Thomas Hoffmann Leave a Comment

Clean indoor air is very important for our overall health. You don’t have to have asthma or allergies to be affected by air pollutants.

If your indoor air feels like it doesn’t let you breathe well or it always “smells” of something, you might have certain contaminants polluting it. For people with allergies, asthma or other respiratory issues, poor quality indoor air can worsen symptoms and dramatically lower the quality of life. To avoid the health risks and breathe more easily, you might want to invest in an electronic air cleaner.

What Is an Electronic Air Cleaner?

An air cleaner does exactly what its name implies: it cleans the air from pollutants and most particles that can affect your breathing. The technology usually relies on filters and ionized plates to collect the particles from the air and keep them away from you.

The electronic air cleaner, or air purifier, can be attached to your HVAC system. It is best if you leave the installation to the professionals, as it is very important to prevent errors and malfunctions. The air purifier uses electronically charged filters that attract particles and make them lump together and attach to the filters.

Many electronic air cleaners don’t need replacement filters, their maintenance involving removing and washing their filters.

What Type of Particles Does the Air Purifier Stop?

There are two types of particles that affect the quality of your indoor air: organic and chemical. Dust, animal dander, mold, dust mites will be stopped by the air cleaner, making your allergies and breathing problems a rare occurrence. Chemical pollutants such as pesticides, gas, paints, and adhesives or strong cleaning products can also irritate your respiratory system, leading to health problems. An electronic air cleaner will keep them out of the air, releasing clean indoor air.

What Are the Benefits of Installing an Electronic Air Cleaner?

It is clear that clean indoor air is very important for our overall health. You don’t have to have asthma or allergies to be affected by air pollutants. Asthma can be triggered by poor quality air and it only gets worse with time. Allergies can also be triggered by repeated exposure to the allergen, not in all people, but why take the risk?

The air that goes through the air purifier will be cleaner and healthier. Some electronic air cleaners have the downside of releasing small quantities of ozone, which can be slightly irritant to some people, but there are also ozone-free air cleaners on the market. So be sure to look for one that fits your needs.

If you want to really improve the quality of your home environment, call an HVAC expert and get an electronic air cleaner. You will notice the difference right away in how you feel and how much less often you have to clean the dust and carpets, for example. The initial investment is completely worth it once you notice how you feel.

Call Thomas Hoffmann Air Conditioning and Heating

At Thomas Hoffmann Air Conditioning and Heating, it is truly our privilege to partner with you to provide quality service each time you call. Our goal is quite simple, to exceed your expectations through our responsiveness, integrity, and expertise.

Call us at (314) 471-7625 for more information. We can help you choose the best air purifying system and will provide proper maintenance for the system to ensure it works properly throughout the year.

4 HVAC Tips for Better Indoor Air Quality

May 17, 2019 by Thomas Hoffmann Leave a Comment

Keep these tips in mind to greatly improve air quality in your St. Louis home.

Have you ever heard about “building syndrome?” It basically refers to the symptoms associated with poor indoor air quality in office buildings and is generally shown to be caused by faulty HVAC systems. An HVAC system can affect our health in numerous ways, but most of them appear when the unit is installed incorrectly or needs repairs.

If you have breathing problems that seem to coincide with the use of the air conditioning, or that start appearing when you get indoors, you might want to check the HVAC system. The most common symptoms are sneezing, coughing, stuffy nose, rashes, runny eyes, and joint pain. People with allergies, asthma or going through a cold or flu are the most affected by poor air quality.

So, what can you do to improve the quality of the indoor air and your health?

1. Replace the Air Filters Often

The manufacturer of the HVAC system will recommend a certain interval to change or clean the air filters. Never exceed that time. In fact, you may even decide to do it more often than recommended, especially if you have extra pollutants, like pets or a dusty environment. Neglecting the maintenance of the HVAC system is extremely dangerous for your health and everyone who needs to live and work in that air.

2. Maintain the Temperature at a Constant Level

Cooling the indoor air too much, compared to the air outside, or varying the temperature too much does not ensure a comfortable, healthy environment. A well-functioning HVAC system should keep a constant temperature and humidity in every room, and not force your body to constantly have to adapt to differences in temperature.

3.Control the Air Humidity

Sometimes, the symptoms you are having because of the indoor air are not caused by pollutants or temperature fluctuations, but by uncontrolled levels of air humidity. Air that is too dry will give you dry, itchy skin, and dry eyes. It will also worsen your cough or stuffy nose, give you allergy-like symptoms and affect your sleep and productivity. Mostly, the air gets too dry during the winter months, when heat is constantly being pumped into the building.

On the other hand, if the moisture levels are too high, you might get mold, which is very dangerous for your health and hard to get rid of.

Try to keep a constant level of air humidity, between 40% and 60%. Measure it at all times with a hygrometer to make sure you are keeping it within the desired parameters. Modern HVAC units can do that for you automatically, but you can also add auxiliary appliances to your HVAC system or get autonomous ones.

4. Purify the Air

All HVAC systems filter the air that gets sucked and goes through the system. However, the regular HVAC filters only keep big particles away, like some of the dust, hairs, etc. If you want to improve the air quality, you may consider getting an air purifier. It uses a HEPA filter that will stop small particles from circulating back in the indoor air. This way, you get rid of mites, viruses, micro-organisms, etc.

Keep these tips in mind to greatly improve air quality in your St. Louis home.

St. Louis Indoor Air Quality

At Thomas Hoffmann Air Conditioning & Heating LLC we have over 30 years of experience in the HVAC industry. Thomas Hoffmann, formerly of Hoffmann Brothers, has 30+ years engineering St. Louis HVAC systems. This experience gives us an advantage over our competition.

Call us today at (314) 471-7625. We will help you improve the air quality in your home. We will give you options that best meet your needs and budget.

6 Low-Cost Ways to Increase Air Quality in Your Home

January 28, 2019 by Thomas Hoffmann Leave a Comment

Applying these six low-cost methods can increase the quality of your air.

Do you ever get the feeling that your air quality at home isn’t up to standard? While this suspicion is difficult to confirm, there is a good chance that you’re correct. The reason is that humans have an excellent sense of when conditions aren’t quite right. If you feel that way about your surroundings, then it may be time to make some changes that will benefit your air quality. We detail some of the best of them in the sections below.

Keep it Clean

One of the primary pollutants that compromises in-home air quality is dust. As you might imagine, the best way to avoid it is by cleaning it up. You can do so by purchasing a vacuum with a HEPA filter for the floors, then using cleaning products for the rest of your surfaces. One thing to watch out for is that many of these products contain potentially harmful chemicals, so be careful with which ones you choose.

Control Humidity

The interesting thing about humidity is that is isn’t all bad or all good. Instead, having too much or too little of it are both bad for your air quality. The result is that your best bet is reaching a healthy equilibrium. Fortunately, humidifiers and dehumidifiers are both reliable products, so you can purchase the one that your home needs.

Don’t Smoke Inside

One of the worst things you can do for air quality in your home is smoke. Doing so adds particulates and many other harmful compounds into the air, and they will cause your health to suffer. If you or a guest in your home decide to smoke, your best bet is doing so outside.

Use an Exhaust Fan or Crack the Windows

Cooking is another everyday activity that decreases the quality of your air. The reason is that many stoves and ovens use burning gas to heat your food. The result of doing so can release harmful chemicals into your home. Using an exhaust fan or opening a nearby window decreasing your exposure significantly.

Clean Your HVAC Filter

As we mentioned above, dust is a crucial factor in your home’s air quality. While cleaning will do a lot to neutralize it, there are other sources of dust in your home. The most important of them is your HVAC filter, which can clog up quickly. You can protect yourself by cleaning it regularly.

Get More Plants

Not only are plants beautiful pieces of home decor, but they are also little air cleaning machines. The result is a house that looks better and protects your health.

Applying these six low-cost methods can increase the quality of your air. Unfortunately, there are sometimes other problems that require professional help, and they almost always come from your HVAC system. If you suspect this is the case in your home, give Thomas Hoffmann Air Conditioning and Heating a call at (314) 471-7625.

How an HVAC Technician Can Help Your Allergies!

February 15, 2018 by Thomas Hoffmann Leave a Comment

One of the best things you can do to help your allergies is maintain good indoor air quality in your home.

From fatigue, to asthma, to a weakened immune system and illness, those with allergies know how much being exposed to allergens can disrupt your life. In fact, if you wake up every morning feeling more tired than you went to bed, cough in the night, or have congestion, you could have allergies that you may not be aware of.

If you have allergies, reaching out to your St. Louis HVAC technician should be one of your first moves. Even for those in your home who don’t have allergies, poor indoor air quality could be having a huge impact on their health.

How an HVAC Technician can Help

Here are a few ways your St. Louis HVAC technician can help:

Advanced Systems – Did you know that because of dust, mold, and pollen, pollution levels are usually higher indoors than outside? For those with asthma, allergies, or a weakened immune system, especially young children or the elderly, maintaining your indoor air quality is of the utmost importance to overall health.Your trained HVAC technician can help you design the best HVAC system for your health needs. Those in humid climates may want to have a dehumidifying system installed to prevent mold, while those with pets will want the best air and furnace filters on the market. Your HVAC technician can even install a state of the art air purification system in your air ducts.
Regular Maintenance – Your HVAC system needs to be maintained on a regular basis, especially if you have allergies. At least once a year, you’re going to want to have your entire system maintained and your air quality checked. You also need to change your filters every 1-3 months, depending on how many people and pets live in your home. Dirty filters actually force your HVAC system to work harder, costing you extra money every month in your heating and electric bills. Regular maintenance, like vacuuming your vents and registers, will not only make a world of difference to your allergies, it will also ensure that your HVAC is working smoothly, saving you money and reducing your carbon footprint.
Mold Checks – Certain kinds of mold are toxic to humans, even if you don’t suffer from allergies. Mold is a common, but sometimes deadly problem that you’ll want to stay on top of if you have allergies. After the rainy season, you should always have your HVAC ducts tested for mold. In rooms that collect humidity, like the bathroom, leave doors open and fans on to release the humidity that mold loves. Mold growth is usually indicative of a moisture problem, so a mold inspection can also help you pinpoint larger problems in your home, like water damage.

Allergies can have a huge negative impact on your physical and mental health, so if you are suffering, don’t ignore them. One of the best things you can do to help your allergies is maintain good indoor air quality and your HVAC technician might just be your best friend on this front.