When you think of keeping your home comfortable during the summer season, what is the first thing that springs to mind? Chances are that it is your air conditioner. This makes a lot of sense, of course. However, you are wise to remember that maintaining comfortable temperatures is really only one part of a bigger picture. To live in a truly comfortable environment — and a healthful one, at that — you also need to maintain great indoor air quality.
In order to do so, you may need to deal with a number of different pollutants that have found their way into your air. In some cases, basic air filtration or more advanced air cleaner systems may be enough to handle the job effectively. In other situations, though, simply removing pollutants from the air is not enough — you must destroy them. In these instances, you may benefit greatly from the use of UV germicidal lights in Spring, TX.
When Is Pollutant Removal Not Enough?
In many cases, homeowners are able to maintain good indoor air quality by simply removing pollutants from the air in their home. These pollutants may include dust, dirt, and other particulate matter that goes airborne in the household. Air filters simply trap such pollutants on the filtering media as air passes through the filter. Electronic air cleaners may use a variety of methods, including an ionization process, in order to trap such pollutants, as well. However, this method of pollutant removal really is not appropriate for dealing with biological pollutants.
Biological pollutants may include viruses, mold, and bacteria. These are living microorganisms, and as living microorganisms they have the ability to reproduce. If you simply filter the pollutants out of the air, they can continue to thrive even in their captive state, and the problems associated with such pollutants will persist. So what is the solution?
Pollutant Destruction
Pollutant destruction based air purifiers, including UV germicidal lights, don’t simply trap the pollutants in the air in your home. They destroy them. The UV rays emitted by the UV lamps installed in your ductwork will upset such pollutants at a biological level. They will be rendered incapable of reproduction and/or destroyed outright. This helps to ensure that you are not allowing such pollutants to continue to grow their numbers in a more traditional filtration system.
UV germicidal lights are simply installed within your ductwork, typically right by the air handler. This ensures that all of the air passing through the system is treated. There is very little required in the way of maintenance with such systems, other than to replace burnt out bulbs as needed. The lamps should be evaluated as part of your routine HVAC maintenance service to guarantee that they are still functioning properly.
You need to keep in mind that such systems will do nothing to remove pollutants and potential allergens such as dust and dirt from the air in your home. That is why UV germicidal lights should be used to supplement, but never to replace, your filtration system(s).
Call Milton Frank Plumbing & Cooling for your IAQ service needs.