Most buildings constructed over the past couple of decades have been designed to be as airtight as possible. This is to make climate control easier by aiding in insulating the building. Unfortunately, as a side effect of this design strategy, buildings have been cut off from much of the fresh air flow that is necessary for maintaining high indoor air quality. That is where an energy recovery ventilator comes in. Let’s take a closer look at energy recovery ventilators, and some of the advantages of installing one.
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Archive for the ‘Indoor Air Quality’ Category
How an Energy Recovery Ventilator Can Benefit You
Monday, June 1st, 20153 Air Purifier Types That Can Improve Your Indoor Air Quality
Monday, April 27th, 2015The air in your home is infested with millions upon millions of microscopic contaminants. Some of these are allergens and lung irritants, like dust, pollen, and dander. Others are infectious agents, like viruses, bacteria, and mold spores. All of them can have negative effects on your health, and you’re inhaling a dose of them with every breath you take. So what can you do about these pollutants that are destroying your indoor air quality? Install an air purifier. Read on to find out about 3 common air purifier types that can improve your indoor air quality.
Ways that a Humidifier can Improve Your Health
Friday, February 20th, 2015When people hear about humidity, it’s often discussed as a bad thing. If there is high humidity during the day, it can feel as though you’re slogging through a swamp every time you go outside.
Humidity can make you feel sweaty, sticky, and just gross in general. So, why in the world would you actually want a device that increases the humidity in your house? Well, it turns out that a little bit of humidity is actually very good for your health. Let’s take a look at how your body interacts with the humidity in the air, and how a humidifier can improve your health.
Humidity and You
Humidity, determined by the level of moisture in the air, serves a number of important roles for both plants and animals. However, there must be a balance for humidity to be beneficial to life. If humidity is too high, it makes it harder for your body to cool itself by sweating. This is why you feel like you just got out of a pool during humid days; your body is sweating more than usual to try and correct the balance.
If humidity is too low, however, it can have much more negative effects on your body. Most of the human body is liquid, and contains a number of protective membranes that need to be moist to work properly. If the air around you is too dry, the membranes in your sinuses dry out. This causes them to crack and bleed, as well as drastically reducing their ability to protect you from infection. In areas with consistently low humidity, like deserts, people tend to get sick far more often because their bodies’ defenses are weakened. Low humidity can also be caused by using forced air heating systems too much, like during the winter season.
Humidifiers
Humidifiers are devices that emit water vapor to increase the humidity in the air. They are used to correct the balance of humidity in your home, by compensating for both natural and artificially low humidity levels. If you find yourself suffering from extremely dry air, we highly recommend that you consult a professional about purchasing a humidifier. If you do use a humidifier, however, be sure to keep it clean and well-maintained. Remember that humidity that is too high can cause a whole host of other problems.
If you think you may need a humidifier in your home, call Roznovak. We provide humidifiers throughout the Taylor, TX area.
Problems from Dry Air in Your Home
Monday, February 9th, 2015You’ve probably heard someone complain about the humidity levels in the air at least once before. “Humidity” refers to the amount of moisture in the air. A measurement of humidity indicates the percentage of water vapor in the air at any given point. So, 100% is the maximum amount of water vapor that the air can hold, but most people describe themselves as being most comfortable at around 30-50%.
When the humidity levels are too high, sweat cannot evaporate from your body as easily as it normally does. This is why it feels so hot and sticky in humid areas. Besides that, high levels of humidity can result in a whole host of problems, from water damage in the home to mold growth to illness. But did you know that low humidity can be just as problematic?
If the people in your home suffer as a result of dry air in the wintertime, the friendly technicians at Roznovak recommend hiring a team of experts to install a humidifier in your home that works with your HVAC system to help moderate moisture levels. Without it, you may experience some discomfort or even damage to the home.
- Itchy, Dry Skin – Perhaps the most noticeable effect of dry air is the dry feeling it leaves on your skin, and perhaps even some itchiness and chapped lips. If you find yourself running to the store for lotions and balms to relieve discomfort frequently, it may be time for a humidifier.
- Prolonged Illness – It seems that every time a character in the movies or on TV is stuck at home with a cold or the flu, a standalone humidifier sits by their bedside. This is because dry nasal passages are not only irritating during a cold; they also affect your body because it will take longer to heal with dry membranes. But a whole-home humidifier benefits you over a standalone model because if one person in the home is sick, the rest off the family is probably soon to follow. A whole home model can help prevent illness for the rest of the family.
- Damaged Floors and Furniture – Wood furniture and floors may actually crack and wear away over time in areas of extremely low humidity. Drywall can also crack, and paint may begin to chip.
Call Roznovak today to speak with professional installers who take the time to set up and test whole home humidifiers in Roundrock with the utmost care.
Why Consider a Heat Recovery Ventilator?
Friday, December 5th, 2014One of the major difficulties with maintaining fresh air in a house today is that allowing outside air through windows and doors makes it harder to keep a home comfortable. In hot Texas summers, it is impractical to have windows and doors open and let fresh air inside because it will ruin the efficiency of the air conditioning system. Cold weather days present a similar problem for the heating system.
One way around this dilemma is to contact Roznovak and ask about installation of a heat recovery ventilator for your home. We have many decades of experience providing residential cooling and heating service in Hutto, TX, and we can help you achieve the best in comfort while allowing fresh air to circulate through the rooms of your house.
What a heat recovery ventilator does
A heat recovery ventilator (HRV) is a device installed into an HVAC system that draws in outdoor air and then sends this current against a flow of air drawn from the indoors. As the two currents mingle, they exchange heat, which pre-conditions the air from the outdoors before it reaches the AC or heater. During hot weather, the fresh warm air loses heat before reaching the air conditioner; during cold weather, the fresh cool air gains heat before reaching the heating system.
How this benefits your home
By pre-conditioning the air before it reaches the comfort system, an HRV allows currents of fresh air into a home without placing extra strain on either the heating or air conditioning system. An HRV recovers, on average, 80% of the energy that would otherwise be lost by letting in a fresh breeze. An HRV will mean much lower energy costs for your home while at the same time delivering the indoors higher quality air.
Fresh air is an important part of a healthy lifestyle. The heavy insulation on modern homes means that very little fresh air can enter and sweep away the stale air inside. This stuffy and often dirty air can lead to respiratory difficulties, insomnia, and allergic and asthmatic reactions. An HRV will see that you have the fresh air your household needs to reduce these problems without forcing you to pay a high cost for heating and cooling.
Call professionals for HRV installation
You must have professionals in residential cooling and residential heating service in Hutto, TX install a heat recovery ventilator. The device needs to receive precise sizing so that it can do its job without creating issues for the efficiency of the rest of the HVAC system. You can count on our technicians at Roznovak to take care of installing an HRV for your home that will deliver comfort, health, and energy savings. Call our indoor air quality specialists today to learn more about HRVs.
Why Choose an Air Purifier for Your Home
Monday, July 21st, 2014If you have airborne contaminants such as dust or dander flowing throughout your home, then you may want to take a stand. Poor indoor air quality is a prevalent issue throughout the country, and ensuring that your home has clean air is of the utmost importance. Unfortunately, modern homes are built with energy efficiency rather than natural ventilation in mind. While this keeps your energy bills low, it often leads to indoor air quality problems as your indoor air continues to circulate and recirculate. If you own a forced-air distribution system such as a furnace or central air unit, there are several upgrades that you can take advantage of in order to improve your indoor air. The air purifier is one of the most effective.
A whole house air purifier is quite different than the type of portable air units that you find in hardware stores. You don’t have to move it around the house in order to clean your indoor air evenly and you don’t have to worry about turning it on and off. Whole house air purifiers are relatively compact and they are integrated directly within your ductwork system. Unlike a conventional air filter, they do not trap particles on a medium such as fiberglass, but rather use a specialized ionization system.
As your indoor air passes through the air purifier, noxious particles such as dander, dust and other contaminants are given an electric charge. This causes them to be attracted to material with an opposite charge, which is why they collect on a plate or cell within the device, or glom together into larger particles that fall to the ground, ready to be vacuumed up. The process is relatively simple, and it has numerous benefits.
The chief benefit of any air cleaner is cleaner air, but the air purifier ensures that the cleaning process is done so without blocking your air. HEPA filters are highly effective but they can result in increased energy bills as they reduce the amount of air that can travel through the device at any one time. These systems also require very little to no maintenance.
If an air purifier sounds right by you, then make sure you give the experts at Roznovak’s Services a call today. We can answer any further questions that you might have and get you started on the path to cleaner air with an air purifier in Austin, TX.
The Importance of Insulation
Friday, July 18th, 2014The modern home is built with energy efficiency in mind. Over the years, architects and builders have sought to ensure that your home is a place where heating and cooling can take place efficiently, that hot air stays outside during the summer and that hot air stays inside during the winter months. As you can well imagine, ventilation problems can arise, although there are many ways to prevent such problems with an indoor air quality product. But all of these considerations are primarily due to a single product, insulation. While it comes in various shapes, sizes and colors, your insulation is the key to energy efficiency in the home.
Without insulation, your indoor living space is subject to the whims of nature. On a particularly scorching day, the thermal energy will radiate through the roof and into all the nooks of your house; on a particularly cold day, your heater will simply be unable to keep up with the energy loss as your heat goes right through the walls, windows, doors and roof. Not only would a lack of insulation dramatically affect your comfort, but it would also lead to exorbitant energy bills. One of the ways that whole house HVAC systems are able to be relatively affordable is due to insulation technology.
It’s imperative that your insulation be professionally installed or replaced as the case may be. If you live in an older home, then you may want to consider upgrading your old insulation. Depending on what type it is, how it was installed originally, as well as its location, you may stand to benefit greatly from the improved efficiency. If you are building a new home, make sure you hire a trusted contractor to take care of your insulation needs before they close the walls up, although blown-in insulation is also an option for retrofitting purposes.
Today’s lesson: don’t underestimate the importance of your insulation. Poor quality or poorly installed insulation can cause even high-end air conditioners and heating systems to produce lackluster results, lead to intimidating utility bills, and generally provide discomfort throughout the home. If you have any further questions about our insulation services in Austin, TX, don’t hesitate to get in touch with Roznovak’s Services.
Signs that You Need a Humidifier in Your Home
Friday, June 27th, 2014Do you suspect that the dry air in your home is leading to all sorts of difficulty throughout the house? Do you want to make certain that any related health or structural issues are taken care of? You have no doubt heard of or possibly used a portable humidifier at some point. They are popular items, particularly during the winter months when dry air seems to linger throughout our living spaces. But they are hardly sufficient for larger spaces, or to cover the humidification needs of an entire home or commercial work space. In today’s post, we’d like to look closely at some signs that indicate a need for humidification. Whole house humidifiers truly are the way to go.
Humidity is the amount of moisture in the air. High humidity levels can make the indoor air feel a lot hotter than the temperature indicates because our skin cannot use perspiration to cool itself. Conversely, low humidity levels can cause the indoor air to feel colder than it actually is. Low humidity can cause all sorts of trouble.
- Dry skin, nosebleeds, and sore throats. If you frequently wake up a sore throat, then it may not be related to illness at all, but rather to the low humidity levels in the home. Low humidity sucks the moisture away from the skin, causing it to become dry or chapped. It can also affect your mucus membranes and cause nosebleeds.
- Warping, splitting and cracking. Wood flooring, furniture and instruments are all susceptible to problems caused by low humidity. If you find that your flooring makes additional noise during the dry season or you see visible cracks in the walls or ceiling, then you may want to consider boosting your humidity levels.
- Static electricity. Dry air is also susceptible to increased static electricity. If you find yourself getting shocked throughout your own home, then adjusting the humidity levels is the best way to prevent this annoyance.
If you want to make a big difference in your indoor air quality, then adjusting the humidity can go a long way. We offer comprehensive humidifier services throughout the Austin, TX area.
Reasons to Consider a Dehumidifier in Austin, TX
Monday, June 23rd, 2014Does it feel a bit muggy in your home during the summer months? Even with your AC blasting, does it still feel a bit uncomfortable? We constantly focus on temperature when it comes to home comfort, and not without good reason. It’s certainly the primary indicator of comfort, but it’s not only the factor to take into consideration. The humidity levels of your indoor air are equally important, and when they fall below or rise above the ideal range, the results can be much more than negligible. In particular, high humidity levels can cause all sorts of trouble.
You may find that your indoor air leaves your skin feeling sticky during the summer months, or that your bathroom and kitchen walls and floors are wet with condensation, not to mention your windows. Allowing such high moisture issues to linger can provide disastrous in the long-term as it can lead to structural damage.
Here Are Some Reasons to Consider a Dehumidifier for Your Austin, TX Home
- Reduce your cooling needs. The higher the humidity, the greater the perceived temperature. The hotter the temperature is, the greater the amount of water vapor it can hold, and the two conspire during the summer months to make comfort a challenge. A whole dehumidifier allows you to adjust the temperature a bit higher than you otherwise would as dehumidification lowers the perceived temperature. We know that cooling in the summer is expensive. Any chance you have at reducing your energy bill in the long-term is worth taking seriously.
- Improve your comfort. A dehumidifier can help you to achieve a greater level of comfort in your home. By reducing the humidity level, you also improve the quality of the indoor air. Your air will be less stale and muggy, and there is less of a chance of your indoor air developing biological contaminants that are linked to high humidity.
- Avoid moisture-related problems. With a professionally installed humidifier, you can also other moisture-related problems that can occur within your home. High moisture content can take a serious toll on wooden and painted surfaces over time, and the presence of such moisture can be a breeding ground for mold, mildew and bacteria.
Call Roznovak’s Services today to learn more about the power of dehumidifiers in Austin, TX.
