Improving Indoor Air Quality In Austin, TX (5 Reasons Why You Should Check Your HVAC System Before Fall)
Fall is right around the corner, so you know what that means… It’s home maintenance season! While improving your air quality is not usually first on the list, it is still a key item you want to check off your fall to-do list. Before you know it, allergy season will hit and your HVAC system will start working overtime to keep your air clean while managing a balanced indoor temperature in the unpredictable and sometimes extreme Austin, TX weather.
As the seasons start to change and your HVAC system makes it out of the tough summer, it can be hard to know if it’s still running its best. Now’s the time to schedule for a technician to check in on all the components of your HVAC system and make sure your home is protected from the negative impacts of poor indoor air quality.
What Does IAQ Stand For
When referring to your HVAC system, IAQ stands for Indoor Air Quality and how indoor air can affect your health, comfort, and ability to work in your space. A few of the key factors that impact your home’s IAQ are poor ventilation, excessive humidity, and moisture, or failure to change your air filters.
While it may not be something you think about often, it is one of the most important factors in maintaining your health and comfort. This is one of the key reasons why homeowners perform HVAC maintenance on their homes. Poor indoor air quality keeps you sick and can lead to significant health complications in young children, elderly adults, and those living with asthma.
While IAQ products, like air filters, air purifiers, and ventilators do help keep common allergens (dust and pollen) as well as bacteria, viruses, and diseases from circulating through your home, did you know there are other components of your HVAC system that contribute to keeping your air clean?
Let’s take you through a few before explaining the importance of keeping those parts of your HVAC system clean and well-maintained.
Understanding Your HVAC System
Do you know what the parts of your HVAC system do and how they contribute to the IAQ of your home? Green Leaf has the answers you need to make sure you’re checking all the boxes on your list of fall air quality maintenance tasks.
What Are Air Ducts?
Air ducts, also known as ductwork, play a large role in circulating air throughout your home. Your HVAC unit will either heat or cool the air and then push it through your ductwork to the correct rooms before the air is transported back to your air handler to be reconditioned. There are two different kinds of ducts your HVAC uses to control your home’s temperature: supply ducts and return ducts.
Supply ducts transport the air from your air handler into the correct rooms via your air vents. Return ducts direct air back into the ductwork to then be reconditioned and circulated back out into your home. These are often larger in size and typically have filters behind them to prevent dirt, dust, and other air-borne contaminants from causing damage to your air handler.
What Are Vents and Registers?
Air vents, registers, and grilles are responsible for distributing the air into your space and taking the stale air in to return to your air handler. All registers and grilles are air vents. Registers will be located on the supply vents while grilles will be placed on the return vents.
The biggest difference between the two is that registers have dampers that open and close to direct airflow and maintain the heat or coolness of your space while grilles remain open to ensure proper airflow into your return ducts. However, both contribute to your household’s circulation of fresh air, manage the humidity levels, and prevent pollutants (like allergens, dust, and pet dander) from accumulating in one place.
What Are Air Filters?
The air filters found in your HVAC system clean the air by removing any unwanted particles or pollutants, prevent mold growth, and reduce odors in your home. Without them, your air wouldn’t go through this decontamination process.
Though breathing outside air isn’t necessarily bad for you, you just never know what pollutants are in the air outside your home. It’s recommended that you replace your air filters about every 3 months. Lucky for you, Green Leaf has high-efficiency air filters that will last you up to 12 months!
5 Reasons Why You Should Check Your HVAC System Before Fall
A clean HVAC is a great way to improve your indoor air quality. Though your HVAC system can be cleaned or serviced any time of the year, doing it at the end of spring or at the beginning of fall as part of your biannual HVAC maintenance is the best time. Since the weather in Austin, TX is mild this time of year, you’ll be able to have your HVAC system checked and cleaned without causing you and your family discomfort.
Here are 5 reasons to prep your HVAC system and improve your indoor air quality by checking maintenance off your to-do list before the seasons change.
1. Reduce Allergy Symptoms
Unfortunately, allergies aren’t limited only to summer months in Austin, TX. Common allergens such as ragweed grow year-round, and the pollen that you often see in spring could make a reappearance in the fall. This makes it difficult to escape allergies when going outside. If components on your HVAC system are dirty and not functioning to filter your air properly, allergy season won’t just be outside your home this fall.
Cleaning your HVAC system and double checking all parts of your HVAC system are working will help improve your overall indoor air quality during the fall, allowing you to relax in your space in peace. In particular, air filters are very important as they remove particles from the air.
2. Improve Air Flow
Have you ever gone from one room to another and felt a big difference in room temperature? Though this can be caused by something as simple as an open window or a blocked air vent, if there’s not an obvious reason why one area of the house is much colder or warmer than the other, it may be time to double-check your air ducts.
Damaged air ducts can hinder the even circulation of air and cause uncomfortable areas in your home. If your air vents are also dirty or clogged, the air that does make it through could be full of dust and dirt.
3. Protect Your Home From Mold and Disease
Where moisture sits, mold will grow. This poses a problem for your HVAC system as if there is mold buildup in the areas your air is passing through, those particles could be circulated throughout your home. Not only is this unpleasant, but it is also hazardous to your health.
It’s important to identify the source and correct the cause to prevent mold growth from spreading and circulating mold spores throughout your home. Regular HVAC maintenance will help identify if there’s any mold in your vents, ductwork, or air handler. There are many potential issues that can lead to water buildup or damage in the different components of your system and unfortunately, once mold sets in, a replacement is usually inevitable, especially with ductwork. Luckily, Green Leaf is here to help with any of your HVAC or ductwork repair and replacement needs.
4. Increase Efficiency
A dirty HVAC system has to work harder to keep your temperatures leveled and your indoor air quality stable. Ensuring that all parts of your HVAC system are able to function to their highest ability will not only increase your indoor air quality but also reduce your chances for costly repairs and replacements.
Efficiency can only be guaranteed if everything is functioning as it should. If one part of your HVAC system isn’t pulling its weight, the other parts will noticeably suffer. If your HVAC is suffering, so will your indoor air quality.
5. Save Money
Your HVAC system works hard to make sure that clean air at the proper temperature is being circulated through your space. If your air ducts and air vents are dirty or your air filter is clogged, this causes your system to have to work harder. A harder working system will require more energy to function which could lead to higher utility bills.
Think about the extra money you’ll be able to save each month by having a more efficient home. A clean and well maintained HVAC system will help prevent your HVAC from having to use more energy and work overtime to keep your air clean. HVAC systems impact your electricity bill quite a bit, so making sure all the components are clean and able to function efficiently will keep you from seeing unnecessary spikes in energy costs.
Regular maintenance is a lot less expensive than having to replace or repair your HVAC system prematurely. Investing in excellent indoor air quality products for your home in the fall will also help you breathe easier during the colder months.
Improve Your Indoor Air Quality In Austin, TX With Green Leaf
Fall is the perfect time to tick HVAC maintenance off your to-do list. When it comes to HVAC maintenance, it’s best to leave the more complicated work to the professionals. This will keep you from having to deal with any accidental damage, increased strain on your system, and half-done jobs. For our Austin, TX homeowners, Green Leaf makes it easy to keep your system in top condition to continue providing you comfort in the fall and throughout the winter.
Indoor air quality grows more important as the weather changes. Call us today to schedule your HVAC maintenance and to talk about IAQ products!
