Indoor Air Quality

"Most people are aware that outdoor air pollution can damage their health but may not know that indoor air pollution can also have significant effects. EPA studies of human exposure to air pollutants indicate that indoor air levels of many pollutants may be 2-5 times, and occasion more than 100 times, higher than outdoor levels. These levels of indoor air pollutants are of particular concern because it is estimated that most people spend as much as 90% of their time indoors." (EPA's Air Quality Home Page). Unlike outdoor air, indoor air is recycled again and again. This causes it to trap and build up pollutants. Common pollutants include dust, mold, spores, pollen, pet dander and smoke.

Sick Building Syndrome
"Over the past several decades, our exposure to indoor air pollutants is believed to have increased due to a variety of factors, including the construction of more tightly sealed buildings, reduced ventilation rates to save energy, the use of synthetic building materials and furnishings, and the use of chemically formulated personal care products, pesticides, and household cleaners." (EPA's Air Quality Home Page)
The high incidence of indoor air pollution has brought a new phrase into the English language: Sick Building Syndrome. Symptoms include headaches, dizziness, sinus congestion, itchy or watery eyes scratchy throats nausea lethargy, and an inability to concentrate. Sick building syndrome can lead to respiratory infections and can aggravate symptoms associated with allergies and asthma.

The effects of indoor air pollution can be costly in the work place. Symptoms, such as those listed above, may negatively impact the work performance of employees and may lead to increased absenteeism. It has been estimated that contaminated air results in medical costs of about $1 billion dollars a year and costs employers approximately $60 billion a year in employee sick leave and lost production.
The most energy efficient buildings are especially susceptible to sick building syndrome. These facilities are tight: they do not allow indoor air to escape or outdoor air to seep in. Most pollutants are so small (about half the size of a sharp pencil point) that standard throw- away air filers trap only 15% of the pollutant particles circulating in the air. As on an airplane, the same air is circulated over and over again and so are the pollutants that air contains. In fact, the particles you see in a beam of afternoon sunlight streaming through window only represent about 1% of the of airborne contaminants, most of which you can't see. Fortunately, indoor air quality can be greatly improved by the use of proper filtration systems, which trap and remove the pollutants that build up in the air, and by the regular maintenance of your building's heating and cooling systems.

Heat & Energy Recovery Ventilators
While today's energy-efficient homes do a great job of keeping heated or cooled air in, they also seal in stale, re-circulated air. A ventilating system solves the problem of stale air by bringing fresh air into tightly constructed homes without wasting precious energy. Heat Recovery Ventilators recover heat energy during the heating season; Energy Recovery Ventilators recover both heating and cooling energy year-round.

Every home contains a certain amount of unhealthy gases from a variety of sources - building materials, the earth under your home, your heating and cooling system, and even people, who breathe out carbon dioxide. The easiest way to get fresh air into your home, of course, is to fling open a window. The problem is that you lose expensive heated or cooled air in the process.

A ventilator allows your home to "breathe" by bringing healthy, fresh air inside in a controlled way. Before it removes stale air from your home, it also recovers much of the heat or cooling energy through the use of a heat exchanger. Then, it transfers that heat or cooling directly to the fresh outdoor air it draws in. Best of all, the ventilator does this without ever mixing the two air streams. The incoming air stays fresh. And you maintain your heating or cooling system's energy efficiency.
Bryant ventilators are controlled by a convenient wall-mounted control unit, and have three comfort modes. The re-circulation mode recycles indoor air continuously and exchanges air only when humidity exceeds the desired level. This setting allows homeowners with baseboard heat to enjoy the advantages of a forced-air heating system. In the continuous mode, the unit replaces indoor air with fresh outdoor air 24 hours a day. The intermittent mode provides the greatest economy, with the unit turning on only when humidity levels exceed the desired level.
Making a ventilator part of your home comfort system is like being able to open a window in every room even on the hottest or coldest days ... without the drafts, the humidity or the high energy costs. It's literally a breath of fresh air.

Air Cleaners
If you thought air pollution was just an outdoor concern, think again. The particles you see in a beam of afternoon sunlight streaming through the window only represent about 1% of the millions of airborne contaminants in your indoor air. Most standard fiber glass-mesh furnace filters only trap about 15% of these particles, leaving the other 85% to pollute your air, your furnishings, even your lungs.
A Bryant mechanical air cleaner has a heavy-duty media filter that can trap up to 28 times as many particles as a standard fiber glass filter, including animal dander and plant spores.

A Bryant electronic air cleaner can capture up to 95% of all airborne particles - smoke, grease, bacteria and even many viruses. An electronic model works as a sort of magnet for undesirable pollutants. An aluminum mesh filter catches most of the large particles. The smaller particles pass through an ionizing section, where they receive an electrical charge so they are attracted like magnets to grounded metal plates. The collected particles are cleaned off the plates every few months with a garden hose or by popping the filter in the dishwasher. While the process may sound complicated, electronic air cleaners only use about as much electricity as a 30-watt light bulb.

Air cleaners can improve your health, keep your entire home cleaner, protect your valuable investments and save you the time and aggravation of constant dusting.

Whole House Humidifiers
Controlling humidity cannot only affect how comfortable you feel, it can actually save you money on your monthly energy bills.

Our bodies "feel" heat as a combination of temperature and humidity. In other words, the more humid the air, the warmer it feels. So if you add humidity to dry, heated air in the winter with a Bryant humidifier, you can set your thermostat lower and still be comfortable - while you save money on your utility bills.

A humidifier can also help prevent dry, cracked skin, make it easier to breathe, protect your woodwork and reduce static electricity. It can even make you less susceptible to sore throats and winter colds.

Bryant humidifiers operate on the basis of a simple concept. Air heated by your furnace or heat pump passes through a ceramic-coated pad in your humidifier, called an evaporator pad. The air absorbs moisture from the water-soaked pad and becomes water vapor that humidifies the heated air that is circulated throughout your home. Most humidifiers feature an adjustable humidistat so you can control the exact amount of moisture in the air. The proper amount of moisture depends on the outdoor temperature and other factors; your owner's manual has recommendations for the best settings for your conditions.

Carbon Monoxide - The Silent Killer
If your home uses a gas fueled furnace or gas powered appliances, they must be properly maintained to prevent the release of carbon monoxide. Carbon monoxide is the leading cause of accidental poisoning in the United States. It is colorless, odorless, and tasteless and is virtually impossible for the human senses to detect. In fact, because carbon monoxide is so hard to detect and is so deadly, it has earned the nick-name "The Silent Killer". Most accidental carbon monoxide poisonings occur from house fires, malfunctioning home-heating systems and hot-water heaters. The most common symptoms include headache, nausea, vomiting, dizziness and fatigue.

To reduce the risk of carbon monoxide poisoning inside your home or place of business, have your furnace serviced annually by a licensed technician. An annual check-up should include a thorough inspection of the heating unit for cracks, holes, and leaks, which can release carbon monoxide into the air. Custom Aire performs annual heating check-ups for homes and businesses in Grand Forks and surrounding counties.

While proper maintenance of your gas powered furnace and appliances is your best safeguard against carbon monoxide poisoning inside your home or place of business, you may wish to invest, as well, in a carbon monoxide detector. If you use a detector, be aware that carbon monoxide weighs less than oxygen and can be present in the upper part of a room (close to the ceiling) long before a detector placed on the floor will detect it. A good detector will run between $30 and $80.