rite-air

Central Humidifiers: Are They Worth It?

contact@missouridigitalmarketing.com (Brent Moore) — Tue, 02 Nov 2021 13:14:59 GMT

Why to maintain your humidity levels

When the air gets dry, especially in the colder months when your heater is running, you can suffer from a whole host of problems. Allergies, scratchy throat, dry skin, chapped lips, and nasal congestion are just a few of the symptoms that accompany dry air conditions. A humidifier is the solution to the majority of these issues.

Humidifiers can do wonders not only for your health, but for your home and furnishings as well. Dry air can do more than just harm your body, it can do damage to your walls, furniture, and especially any woodwork in your home. To preserve your health and your home, humidifiers come highly recommended.

So do you go all out and get a central humidifier, or use a portable machine? What is the difference?

Price

While a portable humidifier might be cheaper to buy at first, the cost of upkeep and running can be much more expensive than a central unit. Central humidifiers run with your home’s heating and cooling system, and yearly costs are almost nothing.

Higher end portable units can actually cost a lot more than central units, and after you factor in the cost of the electricity it uses and all the upkeep, central humidifiers are a better bet financially.

All the Upkeep

Portable humidifiers need to be cleaned quite often and the water changed daily to avoid spreading harmful germs. In most cases, only distilled water can be used, and filters need to be changed quite regularly. The upkeep on portable humidifiers is very important because harmful bacteria and germs can build up and make you sick rather than help your symptoms.

If you are using one portable unit for multiple rooms, you will need to move it from room to room. At best, it only humidifies two to three rooms if the layout is right. Portable machines, unless you are using a tiny desktop unit that doesn’t cover much area, are actually pretty heavy and cumbersome.

Central humidifiers, however, work with your existing heating and cooling system, and disperse needed humidity throughout your entire home. The unit is hooked directly to your plumbing, so there is never a need to refill or empty tanks. There is still some upkeep, as with any appliance, but typically the unit just needs to be cleaned one time at the end of the dry season to avoid any hard deposits.

Ease of Use

Central humidifiers, again, win this round hands down. Because the units are centrally located and hooked up to your heating and plumbing units, there is little to no upkeep or usage involved. It simply does the work for you.

Portable machines need to be taken apart and cleaned regularly, the tank drained and refilled, and moved around from room to room. The motor and fan need to be maintained, and can be quite loud to run. Not to mention the hazard of someone tripping or knocking over the unit and what a mess that could make.

Overall, central humidifiers are absolutely worth it. They are cheaper to purchase and maintain, and their upkeep and ease of use far outweigh portable units.

Filters: The First Line of Defense for Your AC and Heating

contact@missouridigitalmarketing.com (Brent Moore) — Thu, 28 Oct 2021 13:14:59 GMT

The importance of air filters

There are many different parts and components of your air conditioning and heating system. Of all of the different parts, one of the most important components are the smallest. The filters you use and your maintenance of them are extremely important to the life and function of your air conditioning and heating system.

Your home heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (or HVAC) system specifies ventilation in its name for a very specific reason. This is because the ventilation plays a prime role in how efficiently the air in your home can be heated and cooled to keep you and your family comfortable. Without the ventilation, your heating and cooling unit would be unable to disperse comfortably temperate air throughout the entire house.

When the air is being sent through the ventilation system, it needs to be filtered. This is to keep both you and your family, as well as the unit itself, safe. Dirt, dust, hair, and particulates in the air can damage the system and be unhealthy for the people that are breathing the air. This makes the filters one of the most important parts of your HVAC system.

Proper Maintenance of Filters

Taking care of your HVAC system has many different steps and parts to the process. None of them, however, need to be inspected and maintained as often as taking care of your filters.

Your filters need to be changed multiple times per year. The rate at which you change your filters depends a lot on different factors. Some of these factors are:

What type of filters you use.

Whether or not you have pets.

If anyone in the home has bad allergies.

How many people live in your home.

The air quality inside the home and your preferences.

The air quality outside of the home- do you live near a construction site, is there a factory nearby, or is there otherwise a lot of air pollution?

Depending on these factors, as well as your own preferences, your air filters should be changed every 1 to 3 months. If you still aren’t sure how often to change your air filters, open the vent and look at your filters. If it is dirty, change it.

Reasons to Change Your Filters

In every HVAC system, there are one or more areas in the home by which the air is received into the system. These areas are covered by a large vent, and behind that vent is a filter. If that filter is dirty, it can make it difficult for your HVAC system to circulate the air, making it work harder than it needs to. This can cause unnecessary wear and tear on your system, and severely shorten its functional lifespan.

Changing your filters regularly and keeping the system clean helps the HVAC system work more efficiently which saves you money on your energy bill.

When the filters are clean, the air that gets pumped throughout your home is healthier and cleaner, making your air quality and breathing much better.

Understanding Your Home’s Circulatory System

contact@missouridigitalmarketing.com (Brent Moore) — Thu, 28 Oct 2021 12:28:16 GMT

The first step of understanding your home’s HVAC system is knowing about its different parts

When you think about it, your home and the way it functions is a bit like a living body. Every part of your home accounts for another important function, must like the organs and systems in your own body.

If you think about your house in this way, then the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system is a lot like its circulatory system. It pumps air to and from every room in your house through a system of vents, ducts, and filters much like your heart pumps blood to and from different parts of your body through a system of veins, arteries, and organs.

Understanding your home’s circulatory system and how it works can help you understand your entire home better, which can help you with preventative maintenance and taking care of your home properly.

The first step of understanding your home’s HVAC system is knowing about its different parts:

The Thermostat

The thermostat is probably the only component of your HVAC system that gets a lot of attention. This little console controls the settings of your HVAC system so you can change the temperature, and in newer models, even program your heating and cooling settings to your own specifications.

The Heating System

HVAC systems are heated using a number of different means. Typically, your heating system is based on an electric, natural gas, oil, or even steam component.

The air is heated via a heating element or furnace, and once the air has reached the designated temperature the heating component is automatically switched off and will cut back on automatically if the air needs to be heated more.

Once the air is warmed to the appropriate temperature, it is flushed out into the ventilation system by use of a fan.

The Compressor

The compressor has multiple functions. It is the method by which your system pumps air into the system in order to be heated or cooled. The compressor is also responsible for cooling. To cool, the compressor pulls refrigerant into a system of coils.

The compressor is another one of the more visible components of the HVAC system. It is usually on the outside of your home, and you can often see and hear it running by means of a fan. The fan is how the compressor pulls air into your system.

Ventilation

One of the main purposes of an HVAC system is in the name: ventilation. Your home’s ventilation system is somewhat like the system of veins working throughout your body. Your entire home is connected to the main HVAC unit through a series of vents and ducts. This is how the heated or cooled air is dispersed through the house.

Depending on your specific type of HVAC system, some of the functions will vary. There are also a lot of other, smaller parts of your HVAC system that all have a function in the system that is essentially your home’s circulatory system. All of these parts work together to properly heat and cool your home so you and your family can stay safe and comfortable.