Choosing the Best Indoor Air Quality Monitor

Why is it essential to monitor indoor air quality? It is mainly for the customer's health and satisfaction. Unclean air can lead to serious health problems such as irritation of the eyes, nose, and throat, headaches, dizziness, fatigue, and respiratory and heart disease. These are caused by radon, VOC (“Volatile organic compounds are organic chemicals that have a high vapor pressure at room temperature”), CO2, humidity, temperature, pressure, mold, PM 2.5, and PM 10 (PM is the measurement in microns for the particle size). These are listed in the Air Quality index as ground-level ozone, particulate matter, carbon monoxide, lead, sulfur dioxide, and nitrogen dioxide. So having an indoor air quality device will ensure you and your family can be healthy. And I’ll be analyzing three brands and giving examples to give you the needed information to choose a high-end indoor air quality monitor.

Brand 1-Airthings: Airthings produces monitors that detect radon, VOC, CO2, humidity, temperature, pressure, mold, and PM 1 and 2.5. It works 24/7, and works with Wi-FI, allowing you to use your device on your phone through the app. This lets you know about your indoor air quality without being at home. They have models such as the Wave, Wave Mini, Wave Plus, View Plus, and many other models that specialize in individual areas like pollution, radon, or CO2. The Wave trilogy contains the Wave or the House Kit, which is suitable for a customer who wants what is needed. It detects radon, (Total)VOC, mold risk, temperature, and humidity. However, it does not measure CO2, pressure, tilt, PM 2.5, and PM 1. The House Kit comes with three monitors, and is battery-operated, making them more portable. The next monitor, the Wave Mini: detects TVOC, mold, temperature, and humidity. However, it excludes radon, CO2, pressure, tilt, PM 2.5, and PM 1. This monitor is like a first-level monitor and does not monitor all the needed pollutants. In contrast, the Wave Plus detects radon, TVOC, CO2, temperature, humidity, and pressure. Unlike the other two models, the Plus monitors TVOC, CO2, and pressure. However, none of the Wave models monitor PM 2.5, 1, or 10, which are very important for your health because particles that may be big or very tiny may be entering your body, and you may not know it. But, the View Plus is a monitor that detects radon, TVOC, CO2, temperature, humidity, pressure, and PM 1 and 2.5. In closing, Airthings makes different types of indoor air quality monitors to best benefit its customers with a wide variety of products.

Brand 2-CPS: CPS meters use eight categories to test your home’s indoor air quality. It uses particular matter(PM 2.5 and 10), volatile organic compounds, CO2, temperature, relative humidity, and building pressure. These monitors are also Bluetooth, allowing you to use your phone to check your indoor air quality remotely and easily. One of their models is the IAQPRO SmartAir which monitors air quality in the area you place it. The monitor can “diagnose” your air and “…will automatically generate common, “Cause” & “Solution” options for each category that fails a test.” It also has a light bar that changes colors by the quality of the air. The colors work like: GREEN- if all the readings for PM2.5, PM10, VOCs, and CO2 fall within a “GOOD” range. YELLOW- if any one or more of the readings fall within a “SATISFACTORY” category, and none of the others exceed it. DARK YELLOW- if any one or more of the readings fall within a “MODERATE” category, and none of the others exceed it. ORANGE- if any one or more of the readings fall within a “POOR” category, and none of the others exceed it. RED- if any ONE of the readings falls within a “SEVERE” category. This color system makes it easy to assess your indoor air quality with a glance.

Brand 3-IQAir: IQAir monitors can detect PM (1, 2.5, and 10), CO2 AQI (air quality index), temperature, humidity, and pressure. Their indoor air quality monitor is called the AirVisual Pro. It is a smart monitor and can connect to Wi-Fi, and you can see all of your air quality data in real-time on your phone. Plus, you can set up alerts, so you can be aware anytime. It also gives you visuals on the monitor, making it easy to look at. And it is battery powered, plus has USB. This makes the AirVisual Pro a qualified and good monitor for any family and home.

In conclusion, many brands produce high-quality monitors to protect customers’ health, protecting from radon, VOC, CO2, humidity, temperature, pressure, mold, PM 2.5, and PM 1. Having a good indoor air quality meter helps you and your family stay safe because it is important to be aware of the particles and pollutants that you may not even be aware of. It is in our best interest to inform you and help you get the best equipment to help our customers achieve customer satisfaction.

3 Simple Actions A Homeowner Can Do to Maintain Their Air Conditioner

Check and replace their filters.

• Air conditioner filters are crucial to maintain the air quality in your home since they trap debris, pollen, dirt, viruses, dust, and any other particles that would damage your HVAC system inside your home. If you have children, pets, or even seasonal allergies, an AC filter is important to upkeep. Without changing it monthly, it will lead to a congested filter and eventually the debris will float around your house or damage your system. But don’t worry, every homeowner can easily install a filter in their home right away.

• Locate your unit and turn it off before taking out your AC filter.

• Usually, your filter will be inside a return vent on the ceiling or near the floor (tip: if you have multiple AC units, make sure to replace all of them). Sometimes a single system may have more than one return vent as well.

• Open the latch to the door of the filter and/or clean it if there is dust piling up.

• Make note of how the filter was put in, its measurements, and its airflow rating before replacing it with a new one- you can easily access one at a local hardware store or have it delivered to your home at https://www.blueridgeheatingair.com/store

• Easily replace the old filter with the new one and close back up.

Maintain a clean condenser coil. Keeping your outdoor AC unit clean is important because dirt or debris can affect the proper airflow of the condenser coils. Remember, the more active your AC units are, the more you should clean them- both interior and exterior units (evaporator coil, blower fan, condenser coils, and compressor). You can buy coil cleaner from the nearest home improvement store near you to clean the condenser coils and evaporator coil (you can even carefully spray your outside unit with a hose to clean away dirt). If it doesn’t seem like your AC is cooling, cleaning your condenser coils may solve the issue since outside units work by moving heat from inside your home to outside your home. While cleaning your condenser coil sounds great, make sure to clean with care. The coil fins are quite sensitive and accidentally damaging them could prove to be harmful- making it not work properly. There’s always the risk of electrical shock or damage from chemicals in coil solutions so if the job seems too difficult, hire a professional technician to do the maintenance.

Make sure the condensate line is clear to allow for liquid runoff. Pour a cup of vinegar down the condensate drain line to clean out the mildew. You can find the pipe in the AC unit; in a garage, crawlspace, closet, or near other electrical units and simply uncap it to pour the vinegar. This action can prevent water clogging and leaking in your pipe because the vinegar will help remove the dirt or mold blocking from inside the pipe.

If you would like a professional to perform maintenance, please contact Blue Ridge Heating and Air at https://www.blueridgeheatingair.com/comfort-maintenance

Filter Fresh Air with Aprilaire

When choosing new HVAC systems, you must get not only the best equipment, but also a trustworthy service and maintenance provider. Whether you are thinking about a new system or already have one, you also want the best air filters to make your system perform excellently and last a long time. Being the customer, you want to live comfortably and save money, and by choosing the best filters, you can accomplish both! Filters are vital because they filtrate dust, pollen, small particles, odor, chemicals, and other debris that could harm the customer and their home. Without proper filters, particles are entering your lungs, and you may not even know it, so it is essential to find reliable brands for top-tier performance. Plus, you can save money in two ways by using quality filters. One: if you have a filter that is not working properly, then you might find yourself having to replace filters more often, or even worse, damaging your air conditioning system creating extra expense to fix. So, having a high-end air purification filter minimizes the amount of money needed to maintain and repair your system. Two: when your filter is working properly, the air is flowing smoothly, but if your filter isn’t working well, the whole system can not breathe and does not operate efficiently. As a result, your system will have higher energy consumption, which will cost more money on your power bill.

Blue Ridge Heating & Air recommends Aprilaire Air Purifiers for your heating and air equipment. They produce high-quality engineered solutions to best fit the customer, meeting their air quality needs. These include removing pollen, mold, bacteria, pet dander, and dust from the air, which improves your home's indoor air quality, allowing you to vacuum and dust less. Plus, Aprilaire products shield your family from smoke, pollution, and viruses, removing up to 99% of asthma triggers. In addition, Aprilaire specializes in its products using self-seal and interlocking rail system technology. Self-seal technology allows a proper seal in the system’s vents to prevent air leakage and maximize indoor air quality and system protection. Plus, interlocking rail systems allow the filter to perform without complicated assembly, or cardboard and metal reinforcements. They supply a variety of models and types to meet customers’ indoor air quality needs with most systems.

Once an Aprilaire Air Purifier is installed, you can purchase replacement filters from the Blue Ridge Heating & Air store, and they will be delivered to your home. Plus, they contain easy instructions on their boxes. We recommend the Aprilaire Healthy Home Air Purifier, 2-Pack, which can be purchased at the Blue Ridge Heating & Air store. STORE | Blue Ridge Heating and Air