The EPA and New Indoor Air Protocol

New guidance will help ensure that home energy upgrades protect the health of Americans while saving energy and money.

The EPA has developed a new voluntary guidance document, Healthy Indoor Environment Protocols for Home Energy Upgrades, that provides a set of best practices for improving indoor air quality in conjunction with energy upgrade work in homes.

The guidance was developed in collaboration with the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) Recovery Through Retrofit Initiative and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) initiative to develop Guidelines for Home Energy Professionals.

The EPA protocols and DOE guidelines are intended for voluntary adoption by weatherization assistance programs, federally funded housing programs, private sector home performance contractors(see your Virginia Beach heating and cooling contractor), and others working on residential energy upgrade or remodeling efforts. Together, the complementary documents provide a robust and practical set of resources for home energy upgrade contractors, trainers, and program administrators; help improve the quality of the work performed in this expanding industry; promote occupant health and safety; and will assure consumers that high quality work is performed.

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Why EPA developed Healthy Indoor Environment Protocols for Home Energy Upgrades

Millions of American homes will be upgraded or remodeled in the coming years to improve their energy efficiency, make them more comfortable and affordable, or add features their owners want. The benefits of Virginia Beach home upgrades are tremendous — improving quality of life for occupants, protecting the environment, and sustaining American jobs. Integrated healthy home and energy efficiency upgrade activities can simultaneously lower utility costs and improve indoor air quality. Leading energy efficiency upgrade programs have demonstrated the feasibility of integrating many indoor air quality and safety improvements. However, home energy upgrade activities might negatively affect indoor air quality if the appropriate home assessment is not made before work begins or if work is performed improperly. The EPA developed Healthy Indoor Environment Protocols for Home Energy Upgrades to provide practical guidance on improving or maintaining indoor air quality and indoor environments during home energy upgrades or remodeling.

The protocols apply to existing single-family and multi-family low-rise residential buildings. They provide guidance for conducting home assessments and undertaking the responses necessary to maintain or improve indoor air quality and safety. The protocols also can help improve the quality of home weatherization projects and other energy efficiency efforts, thus reducing failures and call-backs.

Aricle Source: http://www.epa.gov/iaq/homes/retrofits.html

If you are looking for a professional Virginia Beach ac repair contractor, then please call us today at 757-498-1323 or complete our online request form

What Does MERV Have To Do With My Filter?

The MERV rating indicates the percentage of particles the air filter will remove from the air passing through it. In general, a MERV rating of 6 indicates that the filter will capture up to half of the particles in the air; a filter with a rating of 8 will trap 70 to 85 percent of air-born particles it encounters; and a rating of 11 or higher means that the air passing through the filter is up to 95 percent cleaner when it comes out of the filter than it was when it went into it [source: Lowe's].

A properly sized, installed and functioning heating and air system circulates the air in your Virginia Beach home every hour. Have your Virginia Beach heating and air conditioning contractor perform an inspection to make sure yours is operating at this level. In the process of circulating the air, the system pulls that air through the filter. Just how much the filter cleans the air depends on the MERV rating of the filter. Your indoor air quality is greatly impacted by your air filter.

MERV stands for Minimum Efficiency Reporting Value. MERV ratings indicate the size of particles that a filter can remove from the air passing through it. MERVs range from 1 to 16, with a higher number indicating a higher cleaning efficiency because it can filter smaller particles out of the air. The cheap, 1-inch (2.54-centimeter) thick, disposable filters made of jumbled fiberglass or natural fiber strands typically have a MERV rating of 1 but can go up to 4. Pleated filters made of nonwoven, disposable fabric have smaller pores, and the pleats increase the surface area of the filter so it can hold more particles than a flat surface can. These filters have MERV ratings of 3 and higher depending on the density of the fabric and the number of pleats [source: INDA]. Some are charged with static electricity to attract and hold air-born allergens.

The particle catching efficiency actually goes up as the filter gets dirty; buildup on the fibers shrinks the openings the air passes through and allows the filter to capture more particles. This is good only up to a point. The particle-removing efficiency of the filter is inversely related to the energy efficiency of your heating and air system. A by-product of cleaning the air is a restriction of the air-flow through the system.

Think about times you’ve worn a dust mask while you worked on a project. It’s harder to breathe through the mask than it is if you aren’t wearing one. If you upgrade to the HEPA (high-efficiency particulate air) mask that filters out particles as small as 0.3 microns with up to 97 percent efficiency, it gets even harder to pull in enough air to keep you going [source: Howarth and Reid]. The same is true of your heating and air system. The denser the filter, the harder the system has to work to pull in air. A clogged filter may cause your system to run continuously, driving up your heating or cooling bills. That’s why it’s important to check your filters at least monthly and change them when they get dirty.

Article Source:  http://home.howstuffworks.com/home-improvement/heating-and-cooling/air-filters-clean1.htm

If you are looking for a professional Virginia Beach heating contractor, then please call us today at 757-498-1323 or complete our online request form

Flu-like Symptoms? Carbon Monoxide May Be the Culprit

Carbon monoxide is an odorless, colorless and toxic gas. Because it is impossible to see, taste or smell the toxic fumes, CO can kill you before you are aware it is in your Virginia Beach home. At lower levels of exposure, CO causes mild effects that are often mistaken for the flu. These symptoms include headaches, dizziness, disorientation, nausea and fatigue. The effects of CO exposure can vary greatly from person to person depending on age, overall health and the concentration and length of exposure.

Sources of Carbon Monoxide

Unvented kerosene and gas space heaters; leaking chimneys and furnaces; back-drafting from furnaces, gas water heaters, wood stoves, and fireplaces; gas stoves; generators and other gasoline powered equipment; automobile exhaust from attached garages; and tobacco smoke. Incomplete oxidation during combustion in gas ranges and unvented gas or kerosene heaters may cause high concentrations of CO in indoor air. Worn or poorly adjusted and maintained combustion devices (e.g., boilers, furnaces) can be significant sources, or if the flue is improperly sized, blocked, disconnected, or is leaking. Auto, truck, or bus exhaust from attached garages, nearby roads, or parking areas can also be a source.

Health Effects Associated with Carbon Monoxide

Levels in Homes

Average levels in Virginia Beach homes without gas stoves vary from 0.5 to 5 parts per million (ppm). Levels near properly adjusted gas stoves are often 5 to 15 ppm and those near poorly adjusted stoves may be 30 ppm or higher.

Steps to Reduce Exposure to Carbon Monoxide

It is most important to be sure combustion equipment is maintained and properly adjusted. Vehicular use should be carefully managed adjacent to buildings and in vocational programs. Additional ventilation can be used as a temporary measure when high levels of CO are expected for short periods of time.

• Keep gas appliances properly adjusted.
• Consider purchasing a vented space heater when replacing an unvented one.
• Use proper fuel in kerosene space heaters.
• Install and use an exhaust fan vented to outdoors over gas stoves.
• Open flues when fireplaces are in use.
• Choose properly sized wood stoves that are certified to meet EPA emission standards. Make certain that doors on all wood stoves fit tightly.
• Have a trained professional Virginia Beach HVAC specialist inspect, clean, and tune-up central heating system (furnaces, flues, and chimneys) annually. Repair any leaks promptly.
• Do not idle the car inside garage.

Measurement Methods

Some relatively high-cost infrared radiation adsorption and electrochemical instruments do exist. Moderately priced real-time measuring devices are also available. A passive monitor is currently under development.

Aricle Source: http://www.epa.gov/iaq/co.html

If you are looking for a professional Virginia Beach heating contractor, then please call us today at 757-498-1323 or complete our online request form

Give a Little Virginia Beach This Holiday Season

December is here, and many of us are busy determining what holiday gifts can be easily purchased and conveniently wrapped up and decorated with some ribbon.

This season, try to avoid making hasty purchasing decisions and buying a large quantity of merchandise that has been mass produced overseas. Instead, take the time to look at what products and services are available in your the Virginia Beach community and show concern for the well-being of your hardworking business neighbors.

Following are some ideas for Out of the Box Giving:

Does your intended have a favorite Virginia Beach eatery? This holiday season focus on locally-owned restaurants. Owners of these establishments rely on the success of their business to provide for their families. Gift your intended a certificate or two to the restaurant or take her or him there for a holiday meal. Don’t forget the servers; tip generously.

Follow the meal with an evening of entertainment. Find a Virginia Beach community theater in your town, or a venue that regularly hosts local music or talent. This is a great way to support up and coming artists. Support your local community theater by purchasing a pair of season passes.

Instead of forking over a ton of cash for cheap plastic lights and other decorations, consider a more impactful use for your money. Attend a Virginia Beach craft fair to purchase ornaments and other decorations. This will give your gifts a more personal touch. Holiday craft fairs are often run by religious organizations or nonprofits who provide local charitable services.

Tip a hardworking service provider, such as a package delivery man or garbage man, or leave a house cleaner or baby sitter a large tip. Do you have gardeners, doormen, personal trainers, or others who regularly serve you? You may want to consider tipping them as well.

Most people get their hair cut frequently. Does your intended have a favorite Virginia Beach beautician, barber, or hair stylist? Ask them for gift certificates. Also, consider tipping your barber or stylist extra for the holidays.

Has your intended expressed an interest in car detail or repair? Would he or she like vehicle modifications? Any locally owned shop would be happy to supply certificates for these services. And don’t forget about oil changes. Most people need them every few months. Also, consider a book of coupons for a Virginia Beach car wash. Everyone’s car gets dirty from time to time.

Are you trying to figure out how big your next flat screen should be? Is a replacement really necessary? Maybe your family would spend less time in front of the TV with a gym membership. There are plans available for all ages and discounts for families.

Does mom need a break? Hire a Virginia Beach cleaning person to come before or after a large get-together at your home. Perhaps a local carpet cleaning service would also be appropriate after a family event.

Computer or other technology problems? Move away from the big box stores and find a Virginia Beach repairman to tackle the problem. They would appreciate the extra cash.

What about lawn or property care plans? Would your significant other enjoy having a break from mowing the lawn or shoveling snow? Does your driveway need to be repaired, or your deck resurfaced? Could the exterior of your home use a little power washing?

Have you been putting off home repairs? Use your Virginia Beach handyman to finally fix that minor inconvenience you have been dealing with and improve the comfort and safety of your home for your entire family. If you want something to wrap, they generally offer gift certificates. Or, the contractor can replace a major component or appliance for your intended and you can surprise them by decorating it with a large bow.

Have you been considering adding upgrades to your home? Your Virginia Beach HVAC specialist could install a new air conditioner to help your family keep cool next summer. Or, perhaps a programmable thermostat could help bring down that electric bill a little.

This holiday season; leave the trinkets, novelties, and commercial items out of the picture. Start a new tradition of supporting your Virginia Beach neighbors, your community, and all who have positively affected your life with local goods and services.

And remember, your Virginia Beach HVAC and geothermal specialist is here this holiday season for all of your Heating and Cooling needs.

If you are looking for a professional Virginia Beach ac repair contractor, then please call us today at 757-498-1323 or complete our online request form

Virgina Beach How Does the Electronic Air Filter Work?

This article examines how the electronic air filter, which is one of the four types of air filters, works to ensure that air contaminants in a room are minimized. These kinds of room air cleaners differ with regards to the mechanisms by which they eliminate contaminants from the air. The three other kinds of air filters are the gas phase, mechanical, and hybrid air filters. In mechanical air filters, the air is forced to pass through a special type of screen and this will trap various kinds of irritant particles and allergens before the air gets into the lungs of people. In the gas phase air filter, the unwanted contaminants and odors are trapped using an absorbent, which is usually activated carbon. The electronic air filter works by creating electrostatic charges in the filter to attract and trap allergens and other irritants.

Electronic filters are often installed with air-conditioning systems to enhance indoor air filtration in the various parts of the home. The contaminants and irritants in the air are forced to go through a pre-filter that functions as a trap for most of these unwanted particles. Those particles that are able to get through the pre-filter are provided with an electric charge. This type of home air filters is provided with collector plates that attract the electrically charged particles where they stay until the air cleaner is cleaned.

The electronic air filter can be of two kinds: the charged media filter and the electrostatic precipitator. In the charged media filter, the allergens and contaminants are trapped in charged fibers. In the electrostatic precipitator, a series of charged plates serve as the collectors. The electrostatic precipitator has better collection efficiency because it produces about 20,000 volts to induce a static electric charge in the dust particles and other unwanted pollutants.

One example of this type of electrostatic air cleaners is the Honeywell F300 electronic air filter. This particular machine can eliminate as much as 99 percent of any undesirable allergens and contaminants and it is both reliable and environment-friendly. It has a three-stage filter system and it has minimal maintenance requirements. Washing of the filter cell could be done every six to 12 months. Another example is the Aprilaire Model 5000. This particular model has 72 feet of filter media that are designed for Aprilaire models only. In this particular model, the unwanted contaminants go through a control electrode, which amplifies and focuses an electric field on the contaminants. The electric field is produced by ionizing waves and the electrically charged contaminants are collected using micro-fiber media that have zero voltage because they are grounded. Some of these contaminants that get trapped in the Aprilaire system are spore-sized particles, or they could be bacteria-sized particles. A large portion of these air pollutants are respirable dust that is believed to be one of the instigators of asthma. With this particular kind of filtering equipment, even particles that are of the same size as a virus, including SARS and other influenza virus.

Virgina Beach Ionic Air Purifier

An Ionic air purifier works using a scientifically based technology. This technology is based on bonding ionic particles to the pollutants present in the air. When this kind of bonding occurs, the pollutants in the air become too heavy to stay in the air and therefore settle down on the surfaces in the room or area in which they are set up.

An ionic air purifier does not need a filter change. This eliminates the chances of reduced performances that may occur as a result of clogged filters. You are assured of clean air at all times by using this kind of machines. This consistency has resulted in their growing popularity amongst many households.

There is a type of this kind of machine that is developed using the latest technology. It incorporates the Ozone Guard air filter. It is able to convert harmful gases into purified oxygen. This makes it more beneficial because it is not only cleans the surrounding air but it adds more fresh air too.

By using ionic air purifiers, one is able to reduce money set aside for health. This is because you will have reduced the incidences of asthma attacks, allergic reaction and the chances of catching airborne diseases. These occurrences do cost a lot of money in terms of medication and consultation, when you have to treat them in hospitals. Time that would have been spent on other productive things is spent either in bed or nursing the sick. You and members of your households will be able to enjoy good health and even have some money to spend on other things.

The Importance of Virginia Beach Indoor Air Quality

In today’s lifestyle one of the major causes for health problems is air pollution. Air pollution may cause serious injuries to our health. Everybody is bothered about the air pollution outside, but what about indoor air quality in Virginia Beach homes and businesses. The level of pollution outside is always talked about. Even many laws, rules and regulations have come up to reduce it but the quality of air indoors where we spend most of our times is often neglected. The reason for our ill health is always considered to be our carelessness, food habits, or our physical, mental illness. But often an important reason which is not taken under consideration is quality of indoor air.

It is important because we spend most of our time inside our house, school, college or office. The air inside may consist of debris, dust particles or some kind of chemical if you are working in an industry or it is nearby. If air consisting of harmful particle is inhaled, it may cause serious health problems. The problem may not be caused then and there but staying in that environment and continuously inhaling it leads to a very dangerous long or short term problems.

People complain about nose, eye, and skin irritation due to this reason. Bad quality of indoor air may also lead to nausea, headaches etc. Continuous inhalation of polluted air may cause some serious and killing diseases like cancer; it can lead to kidney or liver problems and can cause failure of central nervous system breakdown.

The indoor air quality should be taken care of, especially when it comes to infants, asthmatic people, pregnant women and people with weak immunity systems.

But not to worry, the air quality can be taken care of and maintained as per the requirement simply by keeping in mind few things. The house owners or renters should keep in mind that proper inlets of fresh air are there in the house so that we have a good ventilation system at our place. Humidity is an important reason leading to the formation of molds and it also gives way to other bacteria which are unhealthy.

At the same time there are some organic particles essential for our body which should be present in the air. For good indoor air quality we need to place air conditioners and air filters so that we get clean and healthy air. All the air conditioners and air cleaners are not alike and hence we should not choose any system just if it is cheap. To buy the appropriate air filter for your house a proper professional should be consulted.

Top Tips For Clean Indoor Air

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has reported that Indoor air can contain up to 5 times as much pollution as outdoor air. Allergies and asthma are on the rise so cleaning indoor air in your home and work place is more important than ever as this can greatly reduce symptoms according to Dr. John Winder, an allergist for the Nationwide Asthma Screening Program of the American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology.

These are some clean indoor air top tips:

• When you dust your house with a cloth you a often spreading dust around. You vacuum based tools to dust with instead. Make sure you don’t avoid difficult to reach areas like space under beds, drapes and moldings.

• A great tip for dusting small objects is to cover the nozzle of your vacuum cleaner with a pair of tights or fine cloth. Put the vacuum on a low suction level and run the small objects over the front of the vacuum nozzle. This sucks all the dust off without the object disappearing in to the vacuum! Note: Be sure to use a scrap material to cover the vacuum nozzle as it can get ruined in the process.

• Wrap pillows and mattresses in allergen-protective covers and regularly vacuum them.

• When you wash your linens make sure the water is hot (130 degrees or above) to ensure dust mites and their eggs are killed off properly.

• Deep clean your carpets & floor surfaces once every season at least.

• To really thoroughly achieve clean indoor air get an air purifier to remove all the airborne pollutants.

• Clean indoor air is also about humidity.. maintain a cool & dry home. Keep humidity to 50% or less. You can use a humidifier to aid in this but make sure you frequently empty the unit to prevent the growth of mold in the tank.

• Try to avoid letting your pets sleep in the bedrooms.

• Keep stuffed animals and busy shelves to a minimum as these are real dust-catcher locations. If you have lots of stuffed toys vacuum them frequently.. but carefully of course!!

Follow this great advice and you will have super clean indoor air in no time.

About the Author:
Michael Grzywacz is an author who suffers from allergies and writes about indoor air purifiers and how they can help with allergies & asthma. Find out more at his dedicated website: http://www.AirPurifierStop.com

Air Conditioning and Clean Air

On a warm summer afternoon, air conditioners can, literally, be lifesavers! I know of people who don’t mind dashing across the street just to make it into an air-conditioned room quickly. Staying cool is one thing – but let us remind you that staying safe and healthy is more important. Air conditioners have a role to play in this respect, because air conditioners not only bring the room temperature down, but they also filter outside air as they enter the home. A good air conditioning unit will have a top quality, lasting and smart air filtering system that ensures that only clean air gets into the room. Read more