Many homeowners understand that heating and air conditioning is vital to staying comfortable throughout the whole year. HVAC systems are considered to be an important part of the home and regulating the temperature not only improves comfort, but can play a role in your overall health and safety. Unfortunately, heating and cooling is not the only factor in the comfort levels of your home; the air quality is also vitally important. As the weather warms up and we start to turn off our heating systems until next fall, it is a good time to assess whether you are effectively managing the indoor air quality in your home.
The Importance of Good Indoor Air Quality: 
Whether it is the amount of dust and pollen, the humidity level or the presence of bacteria and germs, your indoor air can play a massive role in your health and comfort. Allergy sufferers, in particular, can be affected by poor air quality, as pollen and other allergens trigger an attack. Unfortunately, this is the most obvious sign of poor air quality, and your health could be silently compromised.
According to the EPA, the quality of the air inside our homes could be two to five times worse compared to outdoors. Exposure to poor quality indoor air is linked to nose, throat and eye irritation, fatigue, dizziness, and headaches. Long term exposure can also contribute to respiratory disease and an increased risk of developing cardiovascular disease and some types of cancer.
Improving Your Indoor Air:
Fortunately, there are a number of ways that you can improve your indoor air. The most common cause of poor air quality is the presence of dust. Dust can not only create cleaning problems, but it lowers the air quality and can cause sinus irritation. HVAC systems are fitted with one or more filters to improve air quality and protect the mechanical components of the system from dust and debris. These filters should be cleaned or replaced on a regular basis. Most manufacturers recommend changing the filters every four to six weeks, but if you have a serious dust problem, it may need to be done more frequently. You may also want to consider an electronic air purifier. This ionizes even microscopic particles passing through it allowing them to be pulled from the air into a collection pan.
If you are concerned about germs and other forms of bacteria, you could install a UV purifier into your HVAC system. UV is harmless to humans, but effective at killing germs. When UV lights are placed at the apex of your ducts, you can effectively clean the air of any biological contaminants each time the heating or air conditioning is running.
Finally, you may want to consider the humidity levels inside your home. Low humidity tends to be a problem in winter, but it can cause problems at other times of the year. A humidifier for your HVAC system is essentially a water filled pad with a reservoir. When the fan blows over the pad, moisture is released into the air to restore your home’s humidity to a comfortable level.