The dog days of summer are coming, and that means your air conditioning system is going to be working overtime, but did you ever stop to consider how clean all that comfy air blowing into your home might be?
The truth is that your indoor breathing air is often considerably dirtier than outdoor air. Why is this?
One reason is the way your air conditioning system works. Basically, your air conditioning system cools air through a continuous process of circulating warm indoor air over the cool evaporator coil in your unit. Your system is usually out of sight somewhere, in a basement, closet, attic or even out in the garage, which means all that warmth, moisture and darkness creates the perfect breeding ground for organisms that can invade your home and impede your HVAC system’s efficiency.
It’s a perfect breeding ground for the common cold, Strep Throat, and other nasty things such as mold spores, bacteria and fungi. “Fungal contamination of air-handling units (AHUs) is a widespread phenomenon in buildings with central heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems, and is a potential source of contamination for occupied spaces,” says the US National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health.
As reported by the Center for Disease Control, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) found:
- Sufficient evidence to link indoor exposure to mold with upper respiratory tract symptoms
- Cough and wheeze in otherwise healthy people
- Increased asthma symptoms in people with asthma
- Hypersensitivity pneumonitis in individuals susceptible to that immune-mediated condition.
Your HVAC equipment can suffer as well. As these living organisms continue to build up on your cooling coil, they can:
- Reduce or obstruct airflow
- Reduce AC system efficiency
- Shorten equipment lifespan
- Increase utility bills
Luckily, there’s an effective, low-cost solution.
You can disinfect your indoor breathing air 24 hours a day without harmful chemicals or sprays with germicidal Ultraviolet lights!
Studies have proven the effectiveness of UV light in killing mold, bacteria and viruses. “In 2012, Researchers at Duke University Medical Center used ultraviolet radiation (UV-C) to nearly eliminate drug-resistant bacteria in 50 hospital rooms, reducing the number of bacteria by more than 97%.”
Germicidal UV lights bathe your cooling coil with intense UV-C light, sterilizing its surfaces while maximizing system efficiency and protecting the air you breathe. UV lights are mounted inside your system, near the indoor cooling coil, where fungus and microbes grow and pollutants collect. Ultraviolet lights are designed to work in newer systems but can work in older systems as well.
UV lights installed into home heating and cooling systems disinfect indoor breathing air 24 hours a day without harmful chemicals or sprays, which keeps systems clean and our customers in good health. Better air quality means a healthier, longer life, and when the Environmental Protection Agency ranks poor indoor air quality as a Top 5 Risk to Public Health, we know it’s worth taking seriously.
Simply put, UV Lights are an easy and inexpensive solution to start sterilizing your indoor breathing air today.
No cleaning is required. Simply contact us to enjoy cleaner, healthier air and enhanced system efficiency.
There are other reasons the air quality in your home is often poor, such as homes being sealed more tightly to conserve energy and letting in less fresh air, “off gassing” from plastics, carpets and furniture, and chemicals and VOCs (volatile organic compounds). To learn more about indoor air quality, read 8 Ways to Protect Your Home from Poor Indoor Air Quality or Shining the UV Light on Germs.
