First Choice Heating & Cooling Blog: Archive for the ‘Indoor Air Quality’ Category

How a Malfunctioning Furnace Can Affect Your Home’s Air Quality

Monday, January 3rd, 2022

woman-with-allergiesWhen you run your HVAC system, it circulates air throughout the house, first drawing it in through return air ducts and then sending it back out it the rooms through the supply ducts. During the winter, you’ll run the furnace to heat up this air, and that means the effects of the furnace are felt all around the house. So it makes sense that if the furnace isn’t working right, it can have an effect on your home’s indoor air quality … aside from making it less hot, of course.

Below we’ll look at several ways a malfunctioning furnace can have a negative effect on the air quality in your house.

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What’s the Difference Between a Heat and Energy Recovery Ventilator?

Monday, November 22nd, 2021

question-markWhen you’re looking for better indoor air quality in Flushing, MI combined with savings with your heating and cooling, an option we recommend is to install either a heat recovery ventilator (HRV) or energy recovery ventilator (ERV). Our HVAC professionals can install one of these devices into your home’s ventilation system to give you the power to circulate fresh air through the house without putting extra pressure on either the heater or the air conditioning system. An HRV or an ERV is a year-round helper when it comes to having healthier air without sacrificing money to run the heater or AC more often.

But does it matter which one you get? What’s the difference between these two devices? These are good questions, and we’ll get to them below.

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The Hot, Stuffy Home—You May Need Air Duct Sealing!

Monday, June 21st, 2021

duct-sealingYour summer season inside your home has gotten off to a rough start. Even though you have a central air conditioning system that you’ve relied on before, something isn’t working right. It’s not just that the house isn’t cooling down enough, even though the air conditioner is sending out cooled air. It’s also that the house feels stuffy and humid, and your electric bills are higher than ever before. What’s going on?

There are several possibilities, but all of these problems are signs of a particular problem the house may have: leaking air ducts. When you’ve got leaky ductwork, it will create a host of problems like the ones we’ve already listed. If you’d like to have comfort restored in your house and an HVAC system that does what it’s supposed to do, call us for air duct sealing in Brighton, MI.

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The “Wheezing” House—You May Need Duct Cleaning

Monday, November 23rd, 2020

duct-cleaning-with-vacuumWhenever we talk about duct cleaning in Fenton, MI, people start to wonder if this service is necessary. Unfortunately, there are plenty of disreputable “services” that offer duct cleaning at extremely low prices, then deliver almost nothing except a quick vacuum of the inside of some vent openings. That isn’t the type duct cleaning we do: we provide a thorough service that pressurizes the entire duct system to agitate dust and dirt from it, and then we use spot cleaning with rotary brushes to ensure we did a complete job.

And we can assure you that real duct cleaning is important for a house. The best way to describe this is for you to picture the ductwork as like the nostrils of your nose. When the passages are unobstructed, you breathe easy and don’t even have to think about it. When they’re congested, you’ll start wheezing and expend more energy. It’s not pleasant at all, and this is what happens when your ductwork is filled with dust and other debris—it starts to “wheeze” and consume more energy to work. 

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You May Be Due For Duct Cleaning If You Notice This …

Monday, December 23rd, 2019

duct-cleaning-before-afterHaving the ducts of your home cleaned isn’t a task you probably have on a regular “to-do” list the same way you have heating and air conditioning maintenance. This is because duct cleaning isn’t something homes need done every year. In general, we recommend duct cleaning on a schedule of every 3 to 5 years or as needed.

The “as needed” part is what we wish to discuss here. Ductwork can become so choked with dust, lint, and other debris that it will end up affecting the HVAC system in multiple ways. Because you can’t easily see the interior of the ductwork, you may not know you’ve got a problem at first. We’ve put together a list of indicators that you’re due for duct cleaning.

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A Late Season HVAC Fix: Air Duct Sealing

Monday, March 18th, 2019

duct-sealing-with-caulkingIt’s the official end of winter and the start of spring. Your HVAC system is going to make the change from cold weather to warmer weather, although the process can be a slow one with occasional returns of colder temperatures. You may still need to schedule heater service in Highland, MI before the warmer weather settles in.

We want to address a particular issue with your HVAC system that affects the heating system as well as the cooling system: leaks along the ducts. If your ventilation system needs sealing, we recommend you have it done as soon as possible so you have quality heating for the next few weeks, and so you’re ready to go with your air conditioning when you need it.

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Why You May Need Indoor Air Quality Services This Winter

Monday, January 7th, 2019

woman-with-allergiesWe’re an HVAC contractor for Howell, MI and the surrounding areas. And we focus on all the letters in HVAC: heating, air conditioning, and ventilation.

It’s that “V” we want to talk about today, because a big part of working on ventilation is helping homes enjoy better indoor air quality. We offer a variety of services to help improve ventilation and remove unwanted particles from circulating through a home’s air. And right now, in winter, is one of the times when you probably need indoor air quality help the most.

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Why Does Humidity Make It Feel Hotter?

Monday, July 9th, 2018

fan-on-heat-waveA warm summer day is a pleasant experience in Michigan. A warm, humid, summer day is much less pleasant. And a hot, humid day—that’s when people stay indoors and crank up their ACs.

Why does humidity make it feel like it’s much hotter than it is? We all know the feeling of a damp and muggy day, but is the humidity actually making it hotter outside?

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Why You Might Want an Energy Recovery Ventilator in Your HVAC System

Monday, May 28th, 2018

red-arrow-heat-flow-diagramOne of the jobs we do for our customers is to help their homes enjoy better air quality. Indoor comfort is about more than controlling the temperature with an air conditioner and a heater. It’s also about keeping the air fresh and humidity under control with excellent ventilation.

But how can you properly ventilate your home during extremely hot and cold days? Opening windows and doors just isn’t a good solution because it ruins all the work your AC or heater is doing and makes you uncomfortable. Do you just have to accept stale indoor air on those days?

Not at all! This is why we recommend you look into getting an energy recovery ventilator installed in your home’s HVAC system.

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Duct Cleaning Can Improve Your HVAC System

Monday, February 5th, 2018

duct-cleaning-before-afterIf you had to take a second look at the headline to this blog because you’ve never thought about having your home’s ducts cleaned, you’re not alone. The reason for this is that it’s hard to remember to keep something clean when you can’t see it! Ducts are hidden inside the walls, ceilings, and attic of a house, and it’s easy for people to forget they’re there and doing an important job circulating hot and cool air.

Dust and lint build-up inside ductwork happens over time—there’s no way to avoid it. Scheduling regular cleaning every 3 to 5 years will prevent the ventilations system from becoming too dirty.

But … why do this at all? Do clean ducts really matter if you don’t have to look at them?

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