How Do Air Purifiers Work?

One large part of ensuring the health and habitability of your San Antonio, TX home is protecting your indoor air quality (IAQ). Although your HVAC air filter offers a helping hand, it can’t extract all allergens, contaminants, and pathogens. In fact, many of the most common and significant pollutants — including volatile organic compounds (VOCs), dust mites, and airborne bacteria, fungi, and viruses — pass right through it. The good news is that you can maintain consistently clean indoor air by installing a whole-home air purifier. Read on to find out what whole-house air purifiers are, how they work, and why you might need one. What Are Whole-House Air Purifiers? Whole-house air purifiers are integrated HVAC accessories. These units are installed in HVAC ducting or attached directly to it. When heaters and air conditioners are on, conditioned air passes through integrated air purifiers just before distribution. These units extract the micro-fine particulates that HVAC air filters don’t capture and retain. The Basic Anatomy of a Whole-House Air Purifier Whole-house air purification equipment takes a multi-pronged approach to improving IAQ. Often referred to as air cleaners, air purifiers have thick, dense filters with ultra-fine mesh. Some have electronic filters that use...

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How to Tell if Your Heating System Needs Replacement or Just Repair

For homeowners in San Antonio, TX, purchasing a new heating system is a big decision. Since we don’t get too many frigid nights here in the winter, it means making a major investment that could take years to pay off. For that reason, it isn’t uncommon for homeowners to try and maximize the useful life of their home’s current heating system whenever possible. However, spending money to repair your heating system isn’t always the best option. Sometimes, investing in a new heating system is the right choice, even if you’re not keen on doing it. Here is how you can tell whether you should repair your existing heating system or replace it. Consider Your Heating System’s Expected Lifespan The first thing you should consider when you’re deciding between repairing and replacing your heating system is to determine the age of the existing system. Different types of heating systems have different expected lifespans. If your heating system is nearing its expected end of life, a repair is almost always the wrong thing to do. It means you’ll spend a significant sum and still need a new heating system anyway. On average, you can expect an electric furnace to last for between...

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Is It Possible to Actually Cool a Home With a Swamp Cooler?

Whether you already have a swamp cooler in your San Antonio, TX home or you’re thinking about putting one in, it’s important to understand how they work. While air conditioners, heat pumps, and ductless mini-splits dramatically lower indoor temperatures, swamp coolers only provide a limited amount of cooling. Read on to find out more about the drawbacks and limitations of these units. Humidity Is a Major Factor in a Swamp Cooler’s Cooling Abilities Also known as an evaporative cooler, a swamp cooler uses heat energy from the indoor air to evaporate water. Functioning much like the cooling system that your body uses when temperatures rise, swamp coolers offer a low-cost alternative to conventional air conditioning in moderate climates. When you sweat, heat energy from your skin causes your sweat to evaporate, thereby leaving you feeling a bit cooler. In a like manner, an evaporative cooler uses indoor heat to evaporate indoor moisture. Many swamp coolers work well in temperatures as high as 95 degrees Fahrenheit, but they aren’t much use when the weather becomes significantly hotter. This is especially true during times of high humidity. If there’s already excess moisture in the air when you turn your swamp cooler on,...

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Why an Air Filtration System Is Well-Worth the Investment

Like many homeowners, you may think that regularly changing your HVAC air filter is enough to keep your indoor air quality (IAQ) consistently high. Unfortunately, this component is largely intended to protect the health of your heating and cooling equipment. If you want clean indoor air, better rest, fewer allergy symptoms, and superior sleep, you should install an air filtration system in your San Antonio, TX home. Read on to find out why whole-house air filtration is definitely worth the investment. Whole-House Air Filtration Picks up Particulates That HVAC Air Filters Do Not Standard HVAC air filters pick up dirt, dust, dander, and other large-sized particulates. These units are designed and installed by HVAC manufacturers to prevent this debris from coating the sensitive, interior components of their equipment. Although standard HVAC air filters provide limited health benefits, there are many allergens and other contaminants that can flow right through them, including: Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) Mold Bacteria Viruses While you can certainly upgrade the filters in your HVAC system, even filters that have significantly higher maximum efficiency reporting value (MERV) ratings can leave plenty of contaminants behind. Worse still, HVAC air filters with higher MERV ratings can compromise airflow and...

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How Are Indoor Air Quality and HVAC Related?

Indoor air quality is a severely underrated aspect of your home. No matter how clear it looks, impurities may be lurking about. If the air is unclean, it can pose a serious threat to your health. Individuals with preexisting health conditions such as asthma and allergies are at an even greater risk. Fortunately, HVAC systems are a great way to solve the issue of air quality. With the right appliances, you can circulate fresh air throughout your entire home. In this post, we will learn how indoor air quality and HVAC are related. Air Conditioning First, it’s important to note that HVAC isn’t strictly a good thing when it comes to indoor air quality. Some devices such as AC units can actually have negative effects. An AC constantly sucks air in and out of the device, stirring up particles that already exist in your home. If you have a pet, strands of hair could float into the air. Dust will be moved around as well. Although it’s not as severe as the debris from a portable fan, be aware that air conditioning can stir up fine particles in your home. Air Purification Fortunately, an air purifier is an easy solution...

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Benefits of a Heating Maintenance Plan

When the cold weather rolls around, your heating unit is of vital importance to the well-being of you and your family. It’s one of those truly necessary appliances that you don’t think about as long as it’s operational. However, if it should stop working properly, you’d miss it immediately. You depend on it, and you probably paid a great deal for it. Consequently, you ought to consider arranging a maintenance plan for it. This will protect both your comfort and your investment. Prevention The reason you go to the doctor on a regular basis is to safeguard your health. Think of your heating maintenance plan from in San Antonio, TX, as a health checkup for your heating equipment. We’ll inspect all the mechanical parts for wear and proper function, examine the electrical wiring, clean the system, change the filters and calibrate the thermostat. If we do find something amiss, we can catch it early before it becomes a major problem. Proper maintenance is how you prevent your heating unit from completely failing to operate, especially at the worst moment. Discounts and Savings When you purchase a maintenance plan from us, you’ll receive discounts on labor, parts and equipment replacement. Here’s...

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Is AC the Same as HVAC?

Whenever you are looking for a contractor to help you with your heating or cooling system, there are a few terms you should understand. There is a common misconception about two of these terms: HVAC and AC. Are these terms referring to different kinds of companies or specializations, or are they interchangeable terms? Interchangeable Acronyms The terms are used interchangeably, but they both stand for different things. AC stands for air conditioning, while HVAC stands for heating, ventilation and air conditioning. Since air conditioning just means regulating the temperature of the air, whether it be heating or cooling, the terms can be used to mean the same thing. AC Contractor Services Whether a company advertises as an HVAC contractor or an AC contractor, it will generally offer the same services. The most common include AC system installation, maintenance, and repair, as well as heating and indoor air quality. Heating Whether you are installing a new heating system or you just need repairs on an old one, an HVAC contractor may be necessary. In addition, regular maintenance of your system can help to keep it working more efficiently and make it last longer. Ventilation Proper ventilation is necessary to keep your...

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The Top Benefits of Product Warranties

Updated On: 11/7/23 A warranty can guarantee that a manufacturer will repair its product if it malfunctions within a stipulated time period. The duration depends on the product. Common warranties offered to buyers include coverage of 12 months, two years, and even the lifetime of the product. Even with the quality tests that manufacturers make on their products, there is still a chance that a mishap may happen. This is when a warranty comes in handy. At of San Antonio, we believe that warranties for HVAC systems have numerous benefits. Build Customer Trust in the Product Warranties give customers a sense of quality assurance that a product will work within a given timeframe. For instance, a system with a two-year warranty shows that the manufacturer is confident enough in their product to guarantee it for that length of time. This generates consumer trust. However, a product without a warranty doesn’t have that guarantee, so if a repair is needed, the consumer will be entirely responsible for the cost. Minimal Repair Costs Since HVAC warranties require that the manufacturer covers some, if not all, the cost of the repairs, there won’t be any need for you to spend hundreds of dollars...

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5 Questions to Choose the Right HVAC Contractor

You know you need to get your HVAC serviced, but how do you choose the right person for the job? Whether you’re scheduling an annual tune-up or in need of a repair, finding the right professional can be a challenge. If you don’t know how to pick the best company from the bunch, consider these five questions. Asking each one of these questions as you research your options will make it easier to figure out a company’s qualifications, services, and expertise. 1. Are They Licensed? The last thing you want is to hire an HVAC company that doesn’t have a license to operate. There are many small businesses that may do good work, but they do not have the official documentation required by the state. You can look up HVAC contractor license requirements in your state online, then compare the qualifications to potential professionals on their site or through a phone call. Additional certifications can help you be confident that the technicians working on your HVAC are qualified and up to date on industry knowledge. At , we employ skilled professionals who have both NATE and NCI certification. 2. Are They Insured? HVAC insurance protects both your home and the...

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Importance of Indoor Air Quality

When it starts to get cold outside, it’s time to keep the windows and doors of your home closed. At in San Antonio, TX, we understand that poor ventilation can cause air quality issues in your building. That’s why we’re ready to provide solutions. Having a clean furnace is important, so we offer comprehensive installation, repair, and maintenance services to ensure the air that comes out of your ducts is clean. We can also clean out your duct system and remove dirt and debris. As part of our commitment to our customers, we can offer advice on different options for air filters and purifiers. Steps Individuals Can Take There are many different ways that you could improve the air quality in your building during the cold winter months. Our professional services could reduce the particulates that you breathe so that you can have peace of mind. Our high level of experience allows us to personalize all of the services we offer. One of our professional technicians could: Install humidifiers or dehumidifiers Add additional air filters Seal leaks Install UV lights Adding living plants to your building could also help clean the air that you’re breathing. If you’ve discovered mold in...

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