Fort Collins Heating & Air Conditioning Blog

Indoor Air Quality

How a Whole-House Humidifier Protects You and Your Home

When people think of humidity and feeling uncomfortable, they usually think about high humidity. High humidity levels above 60% will make warm temperatures feel far less comfortable because the moisture in the air restricts the body’s ability to release heat through sweating. High humidity will also create problems from mold growth and water damage.

But low humidity is as serious problem a problem as high humidity: it also causes discomfort, damage, and health issues. During a winter in Northern Colorado, the air can get very dry indeed, and there are times when a home will benefit from a whole-house humidifier to balance the humidity. Although you can purchase small portable room humidifiers, these are poor solutions for solving general comfort and building damage dilemmas.

How you and your home can benefit from a whole-house humidifier

  • Comfort: High humidity makes hot temperatures feel hotter; the reverse occurs with low humidity. With low moisture in the air, the heat leaves your body much faster, and cold temperatures feel sharper and less pleasant. A dry winter cold can be quite miserable, but a humidifier will give you a pleasant indoor moisture level that will make everyone in the house feel cozier. (And you’ll save money because you won’t need to run your heater as often.)
  • Health: Dry air causes cracked skin and itchy, irritated eyes. But it can do even worse than this. Low humidity will dry up sinuses and mucus membranes, which are an important defense against the transmission of airborne illnesses like flus and the common cold. A number of dangerous viruses also thrive in dry environments. You’ll experience a reduction in common winter-time ailments thanks to a whole-house humidifier. (And you’ll have fewer pains from static electrical shocks too!)
  • Building damage: Dry air sucks the moisture from surfaces as well—and that’s bad news when it comes to wood, which will begin to crack. Low humidity will cause surfaces to peel, and you don’t want valuable possessions like musical instruments and antiques to suffer damage. Installing a whole-house humidifier will help keep all parts of your home safe from the ravages of dry air.

You must have professionals do the work for installing whole-house humidifiers in Fort Collins, CO. A humidifier that’s too powerful or installed improperly will end up giving you high humidity—a whole other problem you don’t want! Look to the many decades of experience at Fort Collins Heating & Air Conditioning when you want the right balance of humidity for your home.

Call Fort Collins Heating & Air Conditioning today to learn more about humidifiers in Fort Collins, CO and how they can help your indoor comfort levels.

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The Importance of Properly Sealed Ductwork

If some of the rooms in your home never cool quite as quickly as you’d like, it could indicate a problem with the ductwork. Many homeowners take their ducts for granted, forgetting that a component so hidden from view could be so vital to the performance of an HVAC system. Ducts must be in top condition in order for your HVAC system to deliver cool or heated air into your home as efficiently as possible. Unfortunately, ducts may develop cracks and holes over time that keep them from delivering their best work.

Sometimes, faulty ductwork seems like a tolerable problem. For instance, you may adjust to the fact that it takes your home longer to reach a certain temperature, or you may simply vacate the rooms where heating or cooling seems to be uneven. But duct sealing offers more benefits than simply making your home more comfortable. Here are a few reasons prompt duct sealing is so important.

Help Your HVAC System Perform at Its Best

When your ducts are leaking, air cannot reach your home as quickly as it should. This is a given, but have you thought about how this might affect your air conditioner or furnace? When air cannot enter your home with ease, your HVAC system will work harder to reach the proper temperature. This means that parts can become worn down and may eventually fail.

Besides, all the extra work does a number on your energy bills. You spend extra money every month for all of the work your system does, as it must run for longer periods of time to reach the temperature you’ve set.

Improve the Indoor Air Quality

One less obvious reason to schedule duct sealing is improving the quality of the air you breathe. Your ductwork runs through some of the dirtiest areas of your home, the parts that you can’t reach as part of your normal cleaning routine, such as a small crawlspace. As air flows through a leaky duct, it may suck up some of the dust and debris in the crawlspace as well as hazardous particles from insulation.

For professional, quality duct sealing in Loveland, call the indoor air quality experts at Fort Collins Heating & Air Conditioning today!

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Advantages of Installing a Humidifier

People are usually more concerned about overcoming humid air than dry air. A “dry heat” means a more comfortable heat, after all. However, humidity levels that are too low can cause as many health and comfort problems as humidity levels that are too high. You can purchase small portable room humidifiers to deal with the low humidity trouble on a small level, but to take care of dry air throughout a home, you need to contact professionals in indoor air quality and have them install a whole-house humidifier.

There are a number of good reasons for you to consider humidifiers in Fort Collins, CO. If you think that a humidifier is the right choice for you, contact Fort Collins Heating & Air Conditioning. We have many decades of experience finding comfort solutions for homes and businesses in Northern Colorado, and we’re ready to help you find the ideal balance of humidity in your home.

Some benefits of installing a humidifier

  • Increased comfort: High humidity makes you feel hotter because the moisture in the air slows down your body’s ability to release heat. Low humidity does the opposite. It draws water—and therefore heat—rapidly from your body, making you feel cooler. This is an advantage during the summer, but a severe handicap during a rough Colorado winter. A humidifier will give the balanced “just right” moisture level to keep you comfortable.
  • Decreased health issues: Low humidity causes problems from dried-out skin, causing itching and flaking. It will also lead to eye-irritation, nose bleeds, and sore throats. In addition, the dry environment makes the transmission of illnesses easier, and a number of viruses thrive in arid atmospheres. You can eliminate these discomforts and dangers with humidity raised to a safe, balanced level.
  • Protect you home and furnishings: When the air in a home becomes excessively dry, it will begin to cause cracking and splintering in wood. This will not only damage your floors and wooden furniture, but it can ruin precision devices such as wooden musical instruments. Low humidity will also cause paint to peel and chip and wallpaper to peel. Keep all this from happening with the right humidifier working to keep the humidity at a safe level.

A whole-house humidifier goes into your HVAC system, and a professional installer will make sure that the unit will function well with your heater and air conditioner and not make your home too damp.

Call Fort Collins Heating & Air Conditioning today and one of our specialists will help you out with humidifiers in Fort Collins, CO and the surrounding areas.

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The Importance of Commercial Indoor Air Quality

The HVAC system that keeps your business comfortable needs proper repairs and maintenance so that it works its best. However, a good HVAC system is about more than maintaining the right indoor temperature. It should also maintain healthy air quality for your business. Indoor air quality is something that business owners often don’t consider, but in today’s modern buildings that receive very little outdoor air circulation, poor indoor air quality is turning into a serious problem.

Is the air in your workplace as healthy as it could be? Chances are that it’s not, and your will need to turn to professionals who handle commercial indoor air quality in Fort Collins, TX.

At Fort Collins Heating & Air Conditioning, we take special pride in the indoor air quality services we provide for businesses. We have worked for many decades caring for commercial comfort needs, so we know how important it is that you have quality air for your business.

Why indoor air quality is so important

The U.S. EPA has identified the reduction in indoor air quality due to the heavy heat and air sealing on buildings as one of the major health threats in the country. Your workplace is a location where your employees will spend most of their indoor time when they are away from home; this makes it vital for their well-being that the air they breathe is as clean as possible. This will keep them productive and content, and will mean less sick days.

Although your customers and clients (if the workplace is designed to service them) will spend far less time inside your business, they need to have their comfort protected as well, and that means protecting them from poor air. Clients and customers will not enjoy time spent in a business filled with stale, unhealthy air.

For some businesses, maintaining high indoor air quality isn’t just about keeping people comfortable: it’s about staying within local health codes. If you run a business that specializes in food service (a restaurant, bakery, cafeteria, school kitchen, etc.) you can’t risk bad ventilation leading to air contamination and a forcible shutdown.

What you can do to improve the air in your business

There are a number of solutions to poor indoor air quality. Our services include air filter installation, air purifier installation, and duct sealing.

Call Fort Collins Heating & Air Conditioning and we can help you find the right way to deal with the specific problems you are having with your commercial indoor air quality in Fort Collins, CO.

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How Does Duct Sealing Save You Money

Although the ductwork of your house remains mostly hidden from your sight, there are still ways to tell if you need professionals to seal up breaks or gaps in your ducts. If you detect low air pressure, incorrect temperatures, or musty smells emanating from your vents, then chances are good there’s a break somewhere in them. (Even if there isn’t, something is wrong and it needs investigating.)

Duct sealing isn’t only about restoring your home’s correct temperature. It will save you money. Here are some of the different ways that our Laporte, CO, duct sealing team at Fort Collins Heating & Air Conditioning can help you save money with repairs on your ducts.

Here’s Why Duct Sealing Will Save You Money

  • Increased efficiency for your HVAC system: The most immediate problem that breaks and gaps in ducts will cause is a reduction of air pressure. Ductwork requires an airtight seal along its length to maintain the air pressure from the blower all the way to the vents, and when any leaks occur along the ducts it will lead to a drop in airflow and a loss of heating and cooling. Your HVAC system will work harder to overcome this loss, leading to a noticeable spike in your bills. Duct sealing will restore the airtightness of the ducts and take pressure off your comfort system.
  • Less need for duct cleaning: Duct cleaning is something you should schedule on a regular basis—dust will enter your ventilation system no matter what—but the amount of dust and other contaminants that will enter the ducts will leap dramatically because of breaks. Often, these breaks occur in hidden and dusty areas of your home, which makes the dirt and debris problem worse. You could find yourself needing duct cleaning more than once a year unless you seal up those holes.
  • Reduced chance of needing mold remediation: Another danger from having leaks that open up onto hidden and unused areas of your home is that moisture can get inside the ducts, and this will encourage the growth of mold, mildew, and bacteria. To protect your indoor air quality, as well as to prevent further damage to the ducts, you will need to have mold remediation done using the installation of UV germicidal lights. Avoid this extra expense with timely duct sealing.

Duct Sealing Needs Professionals

If you thought that perhaps you could just seal those holes with duct tape, you need to know that duct tape isn’t for ductwork. Sealing ducts requires special metallic tape and resin sealant. It also requires technicians capable of accessing your ducts. Call in the professionals for this job: Fort Collins Heating & Air Conditioning has the duct sealing and HVAC service specialists in Laporte who can help you save money.

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The Stages of Duct Cleaning

The most common method of heating homes is through forced-air systems: heaters that distribute warm air through ductwork and out vents. Furnaces as well as most heat pumps use ducts to provide homes with the warmth they need during winter.

There’s a downside to ducts, however, which is that if they develop contamination from dust, dirt, pollen, dander, or microbacteria, they will contribute to a reduction in the quality of your indoor air. They will also place more strain on your heating system, and this will lead to higher heating bills and extra repairs.

Because some level of dust or dirt will eventually develop in your ventilation system, you should schedule duct cleaning in Wellington, CO regularly or when you find evidence of duct contamination. This is a job for professional duct cleaners using special equipment. For excellent local duct cleaning services, call Fort Collins Heating & Air Conditioning.

The Stages of Professional Duct Cleaning

System testing: The duct cleaners will open up the cabinet of your heating system and then activate it to see that it is working as expected. They will then shut off the power to the system.

Removing the blower and accessing the vents: The blower unit is what sends the conditioned air into the ductwork. The cleaners will detach the blower to allow them to access the ducts.

Power vacuuming: The most important step in the cleaning process is attaching a high-powered vacuum to the ductwork that applies pressure to the entire network of ducts. Compressed air forces the dust and dirt from the walls to make it easier for the vacuum to draw it in. These vacuums are immense and apply a level of pressure and suction far above anything found in a commercial vacuum. The cleaners will also use special agitation tools like rotary brushes, as well as inspection camera equipment to monitor where they need to apply cleaning.

Sealing the system and testing: Once the cleaning is complete, the technicians will detach the vacuum, reconnect the blower unit, and seal up the ductwork. They finish by testing the system to make sure there are no air leaks and everything is working properly.

Only Rely on Professionals

Duct cleaning is intricate work that involves thorough knowledge of how HVAC systems operate. A “duct cleaning” service from amateurs that is nothing more than putting a vacuum hose through a few vents will not get the job done. Instead, you should contact trained experts with the advanced equipment necessary to do the work right.

Fort Collins Heating & Air Conditioning takes pride in our services for duct cleaning in Wellington, CO. Give us a call when you need a proper cleaning job done for your ductwork or when you’re looking for other HVAC services in Wellington.

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What Causes My Ducts to Get Dirty?

Ducts form the distribution network for your heating or central air conditioning system. They spread throughout your house via the attic, crawlspace or other unobtrusive location, moving cool or warm air from the central unit to all of your rooms and walkways. Over time, they can accumulate dust, which may have an adverse effect on the quality of air in your home. In Berthoud, duct cleaning may be necessary when the atmosphere gets dry in the winter, creating a lot of dust and similar particles.

But what causes your ducts to get dirty?

In many cases, leaks, cracks or loose fittings are what allow dirt in. When ducts get old, they start to break down, just like any other appliance. If the opening occurs in a dirty part of the house, such as the attic or crawlspace, negative pressure from the air passing through the ducts can pull in dirt and debris.

The causes of those leaks can vary. Heat or cold may cause the metal of the ducts to expand or contract, which puts stress on the fittings and may result in a leak. Improper installation may be the culprit as well, especially if the contractor wasn’t properly certified. Older homes may have an older duct system that is no longer up to code, creating similar issues. Besides the reduction in air quality, such leaks also prevent your heater or air conditioner from functioning at peak capacity, forcing you to pay higher energy bills every month.

A thorough duct cleaning from a trained professional is part of the solution – and such operations are standard procedure for most qualified HVAC experts – but that’s only part of the equation. The specialist needs to hunt down the cause of the leaks or loose fittings and repair it. Otherwise, the process will start all over again. For Berthoud duct cleaning services, contact the specialists at Fort Collins Heating & Air Conditioning. Our trained experts can travel to your home and pinpoint what causes your ducts to get dirty, then perform professional repairs to seal the leaks. Call us today to set up an appointment.

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