Change settings on your HVAC system to protect against viruses
There are settings on your heating and air conditioning system you can adjust for optimal protection against viruses and allergens. Plus anything else you don’t want flying around your indoor air.
Here are some of the best HVAC settings to prevent viruses and increase protection against germs:
- Set your fan to “on” so your indoor air is constantly circulating through your filtration system.
- Use your variable drive blower motor to circulate the air 24/7 for the maximum amount of filtration.
- Set your whole home humidifier to 40%-50%
- Turn UV Light to maximum setting
- Make sure filter is clean and changed regularly
The optimal way to have your heating and air conditioning set to reduce viruses and illnesses
Of course you’re heating and air conditioning system is not the only way to prevent illnesses or viruses in your home. However it is at least part of your defense. Include these settings along with hand-washing social distancing. We want to let you know how best to use your heating and air conditioning system in order to keep you as safe as possible.
According to the EPA: Air cleaning and filtration can help reduce airborne contaminants, including particles containing viruses.
We don’t know a lot about the Coronavirus but we do know that the residential UV lights have been successful in sterilizing other viruses in the past so according to an article put out by the refrigeration news we have no reason to believe that it will be much different than these other types of viruses in far as how we can help treat it with our heating and air conditioning system.
Run Your Blower/Fan 24/7 to Prevent Viruses
The vast majority of the furnaces we install have variable drive blowers. They are extremely efficient and they have a low electric consumption. This affords you to be able to use it as a constant air cleaner.
Go to the thermostat and look for the blower switch. Where it says “on” or “automatic” put it in the “on” position. You’re telling it to run the blower all the time. 24/7.
The amount of electricity that it uses is extremely low. By doing this the furnace blower will constantly gather up all the air in the home, take it down to a central location, (via the return air duct )and at that point we can clean it with your filter. Better yet, clean it with a Micro Power Guard air cleaner or a UV light that can help to sterilize the air. You will also humidify the air if you have a humidifier.
For optimal air quality and illness protection it is extremely important keep the air circulating
When you keep the air circulating, it can be filtered as much as possible. If you have a variable drive blower motor it throttles down so it’s not like you’re going to have the curtains blowing. It’s going to be about half its normal air velocity. It will quietly and continuously circulate, clean and freshen the air so it is the best air quality you can have.
Again, if your blower is off, air is not being filtered so it is best to keep the air moving through your filtration system as much as possible.
Make Sure Electronic Air Cleaner is Turned On
If you have a Micro Power Guard electronic air cleaner those are really either on or off so it’s just important to make sure that it is on. Also make sure it has a clean media in the electronic air cleaner. If you’re one of our Comfort Club Members we take care of that for you and change the MPG media during your routine maintenance.
We recommend that those media be changed two to three times a year.
Turn UV Light to High and Change the Bulbs Every Two Years
The most popular UV Light that we install is the Oxyquantum LED UV Light. This light usually has two bulbs in it. Turn it to the maximum setting. This is also great for odor control and sterilizing the air as much as possible.
The best setting for your HVAC UV LIGHT sterilization system is to set to high, and make sure the bulbs have been changed within the last two years. (If you have an Oxyquantum LED UV System.)
Set Humidity to 40-50% for virus protection
If you have a whole home humidifier, keep that humidity in the 40 to 50% range.
We don’t want it to get too humid as we get more into the summertime but right now keeping the humidity setting so we’re maintaining about 40 to 50% is optimal for the control of viruses.
Does humidity kill viruses?
We recommend you set your humidifier to 40%-50. It has been shown that viruses are least viable in that range of humidity.
With what we have discussed, you also need to consider the proper care and feeding of your HVAC accessories. They need to be maintained on a routine basis, which is important to make sure that everything is clean and functioning properly.
Of course your heating and air conditioning system should only be seen as a part of illness prevention, along with all the other preventative measures. However, if you do the things we just mentioned above…your HVAC system can be used as another layer of defense against illnesses.
