Most people are aware of how detrimental outdoor air pollution like car emissions can be, but they don’t realize that the air inside the usual living space often is more polluted—reliant on actual situations, it can be up to five times more. Things have become so bad, the EPA has indoor air pollution tiered as a top five environmental danger. Mold, pollen, pet dander, radon and even formaldehyde are commonly found in homes. Since Americans spend around 90% of their time indoors, good indoor air quality is a necessity for decent health, regardless if it’s in our homes or our workplaces. To help manage this pollution and improve our indoor air quality, we can take multiple measures. But first, we are required to absorb some terms commonly used to discuss indoor air quality.
HEPA
HEPA is a term a lot of people have heard or seen, but did you realize it stands for “high-efficiency particulate air” or “high-efficiency particulate arrestance”? HEPA filtration systems are designed—and certified—to trap at least 99.97% of .3-micron particles (smaller than the diameter of a human hair) from the air that moves through the system. This drastically increases your home’s indoor air quality when dust, pollen, mites and other contaminants are trapped.
MERV
Minimum efficiency reporting value or MERV refers to the effectiveness of an air filter. With metrics ranging from 1–16, you should look for a max rating that reveals the filter will filter more contaminants and allergens from your air without confining the airflow of your home comfort system. Ask us which MERV-rated filter will work best for your home.
At Service Max Heating & Air Conditioning, we can help you understand the importance of indoor air quality and help you work on breathing the best air possible. After all, the normal adult breathes about 11,000 liters of air each day. Give us a call at 360-255-5857 if you have any questions or concerns about your home comfort system or if you want to schedule an appointment with us.