Indoor Air Quality

On average, people spend 90 percent of their time indoors but don’t know that indoor air can be two to five times more polluted than outside air. The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has indoor air quality ranked as one of the top five environmental dangers to public health. It is linked to severe asthma and allergy development in children and to heart problems and lung cancer in children and adults.

What Are Some Symptoms of Poor Indoor Air Quality?

Symptoms of poor indoor air quality depend on the particular contaminant and are sometimes mistaken for allergies, stress, colds, or flu. Some of these associated symptoms are coughing, sneezing, fatigue, dizziness, headaches, nose bleeds, sore throat, and upper respiratory congestion. Your air quality can also contribute to the development or the exacerbation of some more serious conditions including infections, lung diseases, asthma, and heart disease.

What Are Some Causes of Poor Indoor Air Quality?

Indoor air quality is affected by anything that releases gas or particles, which include combustion, personal-care products and activities, and even outdoor air quality.

Inadequate ventilation will trap contaminated air inside and can keep clean, fresh air from getting in. If you have unmaintained heating and air conditioning systems, your clogged air filters and dirty ducts will contribute to dust and mites in the air. Dampness in your house caused by floods, leaks, high humidity, or an unmaintained humidifier or dehumidifier can create mold and bacteria. Call Hawley Air for help in detecting the possible sources in your home.

You May Be Polluting Your Own Air!

Your own activities can contribute to the pollutants in the air. Cleaners and personal-care products are high culprits for this. Do not smoke inside. Cigarette smoke contains 7,000 chemicals and 69 poisons known to cause cancer. Children and elderly people are particularly sensitive to this, but it is unhealthy for everyone.

Burning of any kind of fuel releases particles into the air. Adequate ventilation is necessary to keep these contaminants under control.

The last thing to consider when looking at your own indoor air quality is the possibility of old or outdated building materials in your home. These poisonous building materials include asbestos and furniture made out of wood treated with formaldehyde.

What Can You Do To Improve Your Home's Air Quality?

Follow the recommendations below to help improve your home’s air quality:

• Ensure proper ventilation around fuel-burning appliances like furnaces, fireplaces, ranges, and heaters.
• Use proper ventilation when cleaning, painting, or using harsh chemical products in your home.
• Replace and maintain your home’s air filters at least once a season.
• Have your ductwork tested for leaks.
• Clean your humidifiers and dehumidifiers regularly.
• Keep your house clean by regularly vacuuming (use a HEPA vacuum cleaner), washing bedding, and leaving shoes at the door.
• Install a carbon monoxide detector, test for radon, and leave the asbestos to the professionals!

Home Air Purifiers

While you have worked hard to safeguard your home against certain household dangers, there may still be invisible contaminants circulating throughout your air. Hawley Air Heating and Cooling can improve the purity of your space with a quality home air purifier. Our dependable technicians are passionate about improving air quality for the residents of North Carolina, as well as the Triad area. Hawley Air Heating and Cooling has the knowledge necessary to truly protect your Triad home against airborne bacteria, toxins, mold, chemicals, and other pollutants. An air purifier installed by Hawley Air Heating and Cooling trained professionals is second to none. We work with you to find the best option for your family and home. We have a selection of HEPA Air filters and UV Light Purifiers to chose from. Our Hawley Air technicians will walk you through the benefits so you can make an educated decision to chose the one that is best for you.

HEPA Rated Air Filters

A percentage of some homes and businesses with indoor air contamination in North Carolina is growing. It has truly become an epidemic, contributing to various chronic and acute respiratory conditions. Hawley Air Heating and Cooling has been combating the problem by installing a HEPA air filters for our commercial customers. This is a filter just like those used in hospital clean rooms and microchip manufacturing plants. These high efficiency air filters use a combination of 3 filters to remove dangerous contaminants from your home, making the air you breathe safe.

The Highest Standard in Air Quality

Hawley Air Heating and Cooling's HEPA filters meet the high standards set by the United States Department of Energy. HEPA filters remove 99.97% of pollutants measuring 0.3 microns from your indoor air. In fact, high-efficiency particulate air filters are used by medical institutions to capture airborne viral and bacterial organisms circulating through the air. Hawley Air uses only the highest quality filtration products available, manufactured by the leading experts in air quality.

Why Should I Invest In a HEPA Air Filter?

Have you checked your filter lately? Filters can become clogged and congested with dirt, dust, and other particulates. Not only does this affect the efficiency of the heating and cooling equipment, but it also contributes to poor air quality within your home.
Here are just a few reasons why you should consider investing in quality filters:

• Clean the air. Ensure the air in your home is clean and fresh with a high-quality filter.
• Maximize the efficiency of your heating and cooling system. Reduce the workload of your furnace and air conditioner by ensuring it has a clean filter at all times.
• Increase the lifespan of your furnace and air conditioner. Clean, high-quality filters will allow the air to freely flow through your duct-system, and avoid overheating, freezing or other damage from occurring.
• Avoid costly repairs. Clogged filters can result in a frozen evaporator coil and  overheating of the furnace which can shut your entire system down. An investment in a better filter will save you money in the long run.
• Although HEPA Filters are used mostly in commercial applications your home may be suited for HEPA filters, if not we can offer you a MERV Rated Filter for your home to best suit your needs.

UV Light Air Purification

Ultraviolet light purification systems have increased in popularity as one of the most efficient ways to clean the air in your home. The professionals at Hawley Air Heating and Cooling specialize in bringing this amazing technology to their customers in North Carolina and the greater Triad Area. Our goal is to provide our loyal customers with comfort to every degree in their home. This includes providing fresh and clean air to breathe through the use of UV lights and filtration systems.

How Does UV Air Purification Work?

An ultraviolet purification system functions as a zapper of pollutants and contamination. As the contaminated air flows through the ductwork, the ultraviolet light destroys the structure of bacteria and other microorganisms. UV lights are used in many medical facilities and labs since they effectively destroy a large percentage of bacteria and viruses.

Why Should I Install One in My Home?

Installing a new UV light air purification system in your home is simple. Hawley Air’s professional team of experts can add the system to an existing cooling and heating device or they can incorporate one into air filtration systems. We recommend combining UV lights with a Hawley Air high-quality HEPA filter to maximize the air purity in your home.

There are many reasons why UV lights can improve the quality of a home, including:

• Eradicate up to 99.9% of germs circulating throughout the air in your home.
• Work synergistically with other filtration systems to improve the air quality in your home by nearly 99%.

Whole House Humidifiers

Installing a whole house humidifier is one of the best ways to feel comfortable in your home while preventing health problems. Air that is too dry can cause or exacerbate numerous health conditions, and for many North Carolina homeowners, stationing a few humidifiers around the house just isn’t enough to have humidity control. Homeowners who are tired of feeling sick or uncomfortable in their own homes should call Hawley Air Heating and Cooling for a whole home humidifier installation. Whole home humidifiers use your existing duct system to deliver soothing, moist air to every room. This can save you money, discomfort, and even health problems.

Controlling the Humidity in Your Home

Maintaining a comfortable level of humidity in the home can be a challenge. During winter months, when indoor heating reduces the relative humidity of already dry air, which can make spending time indoors particularly unpleasant. Whole home humidifiers work to bring you perfect humidity in the winter to help prevent drying of nasal passages and relieves static electricity. It also helps keep wooden furniture, doors and floors from shrinking during the dry season.Many people don’t realize that dry air can cause a number of problems. Dryness makes people perceive the air as being colder than it is, which can lead to a higher heating bill. Dry air can also cause the following:

• Skin dryness and irritation
• Respiratory health problems
• Nose bleeds
• Static electricity and frequent shocks
• Cracks in drywall
• Gaps in wood walls or flooring
• Mold

In other words, dry air can be damaging to parts of your home as well as your health. A whole home humidifier can help you protect your floors and walls, increase your comfort, and even reduce allergy symptoms.

Whole House Dehumidifiers

Many NC homeowners use products like air purifiers and humidifiers, but are still missing out on the benefits of whole house dehumidifiers. A whole house dehumidifier makes hot summer months more tolerable, but more importantly, it can lessen the presence of allergens and prevent damage to your home.

You can trust Hawley Air to handle your whole house dehumidifier installation. The prospect of installing and maintaining a whole-home system may seem daunting, but we can take care of the setup, answer your questions, and ensure that your needs are met. The changes you’ll enjoy afterward will make the process more than worthwhile.