Blog Tag: fresh air

When we hear the term “fresh air” we often think about being outside next to the ocean feeling the breeze or on top of a mountain breathing the cool, crisp air. Or, when you are stuck indoors in a building or home for long periods of time you might say, “I’m going outside to get some fresh air.” If we really believe the air is better outside, why do we spend so much time indoors? And, more importantly, what is fresh air?

In reality the term “Fresh Air” is really a misnomer. While it is true that air outdoors is not prone to have that “stale air” smell you have indoors due to lack of ventilation, the levels of airborne contaminants and gaseous molecules outdoors is often not any lower. Yes, that is correct. Depending upon where you are outdoors the levels of harmful airborne particulate and gaseous pollutants can be extremely high.

You already know that during the spring and fall of the year various grasses, weeds, trees, etc. produce pollen of all sorts creating significant allergic reactions and health problems. Is this fresh air? You are outside…aren’t you? Or if you are in a downtown area of a large city you can sometimes feel some stinging in you eyes and throat. That’s usually caused by the high levels of gases such as nitrogen oxide, carbon monoxide, sulphur dioxide and hydrocarbons from all the vehicles. Of course you also have all the airborne particulate that is produced by tires grinding dirt into sub-micron particles. So now that we have identified fresh air let’s take a look at the process of using outside air for ventilation and reduction of CO2 in homes and buildings.

Pure Air Systems has been manufacturing HEPA and Carbon based fan powered, commercial grade air filtration systems since 1985. These units were not only designed to filter the air in a room, home or commercial facility but also to concurrently introduce small amounts of outside air and filter that air prior to introducing it to the indoor environment. As we mentioned before, the term fresh air is really a misnomer. Unless the outside air source is filtered prior to mixing with the indoor environment, it is not fresh air.

The PAS product line is capable of introducing high percentages of outside air that is filtered by three different medias. First there is a polyester dual-layer ring panel filter that is designed to take out the larger particles. Second the carbon media removes many of the odors and gases. Third, is the HEPA filter itself which is a certified HEPA rated at 99.99% removal of all particles 0.3 microns and larger. This three stage filtration ensures that any outside air will be in actuality, “Fresh Filtered Air.”

So the next time you hear the term fresh air remember there are levels of fresh air and you need to make sure that you use the right filtration process to ensure you and your family are breathing fresh air.

For more information on this concept and the complete product line offered by PAS please go to our website at: www.pureairsystems.com. You can also contact us on Facebook and Twitter.

Space. The final frontier. These are the voyages of…….lost in space. Walk into room and can’t remember why you went there? Have that fuzzy kind of brain doesn’t seem to be working day? Maybe a senior moment…but you are only 35? Feel lethargic? Can’t concentrate? What the heck is going on?

Interesting thing about Oxygen..too much or too little can be lethal. The right balance of 21% Oxygen and 79% Nitrogen keeps us humans happy and healthy. The right balance of CO2 in the atmosphere is also critical to our happiness and well being.

Spatial Disorientation….a new frontier. This is the more common syndrome caused by a lack of fresh air or oxygen and too much CO2, or stale air. Most people experience this in schools, offices or homes where there is little or no fresh air exchange taking place. When you have room that is full of people the amount of CO2 goes up and the amount of O2 or oxygen tends to go down if there is no method of introducing outside fresh air.

The typical symptoms of this problem include, lethargy, headaches, inability to concentrate, foggy/groggy feeling and total lack of focus. This is why many of the older schools in the US that had through the wall heating/cooling units and no central systems to introduce fresh air  had so many students falling asleep or having significant problems concentrating in class by the middle of the afternoon.

The majority of the homes that have been built in the last 10 to 15 years in the US have incorporated new energy conserving building technology and materials to keep the house warmer or cooler using less energy. These “tight” homes also have little or no natural ventilation which means no way to introduce any fresh air into the living space.

While the ability to introduce outside air through “economizers” incorporated in many of the commercial HVAC systems used in commercial building is fairly common, this is not the case for the residential market. Unless requested by the home owner, fresh air dampers or mechanisms designed to introduce outside air through the HVAC unit are never installed in homes. And for good reason.

When the outside air temperature is higher or lower than the inside ambient temperature it makes little sense to introduce cold or hot humid outside air into the house since you will now have to expend more energy to heat or cool that additional outside air. Yet, with the tightness of the homes, some effort should be made to introduce small amounts of  outside, fresh conditioned air into the home.

Pure Air Systems has been making HEPA based, fan powered air filtration systems since 1985. These units are designed to either attach to an existing heating/cooling unit or as stand-alone systems. PAS HEPA units are attached to the heating/cooling units using the partial by-pass concept. In this way they pull a small portion of the total return air flow and filter it before putting it back into the supply side. These units can be used to introduce small amounts of outside air, filter it and mix it with the return air from the HVAC unit and then introduce it  back into the house…..without using more energy to heat or cool.

For more information on the complete PAS product line and their capabilities please go to our website at: www.pureairsystems.com

When discussing quality of life issues the issue of good health is always one of the primary discussion points. Most of us are aware of the health challenges when we don’t eat the proper foods or too much food and we always are striving to exercise more to keep our bodies and hearts in better shape. Yet when it comes to the environments in which we live and breathe and spend most of our waking hours we often don’t think about them as a quality of life issue.

The quality of indoor air, whether it pertains to your home, office or place of work, is fast becoming a major quality of life issue. And the condition of the work or living environment has a huge impact on your health.

Because most of us spend a good portion of our lives breathing the air in some type of indoor environment it is essential that the air we breathe indoors is as clean and contaminant free as possible. In addition, the rate of fresh air exchange ndoors is necessary to minimize CO2 build-up.

To minimize the entry of airborne particles in the indoor environment it is necessary to first look at the types of furniture and electrical devices that are used in the specific indoor environment.

Less expensive wood laminates tend to off-gas and can create some respiratory issues. The collection of paper, books and paper products produce tiny particles every time they are opened or leafed through. The use of laser printers, copiers and fax machines all produce some  type of ozone when running.

Carpeting can act as a breeding ground for dust mites and other allergens whereas hard wood floors or tile create fewer of those issues. The use of indirect lighting can also provide for less glare and eye strain when looking at computer screens for extended periods of time.

One of the major challenges with maintaining a healthy indoor environment is the heating/cooling and air exchange issue. Maintaining a comfortable air temperature and humidity level in the environment is essential to proper indoor air quality. Most importantly is the ability to have at least 2 to 4 air changes per hour in a occupied environment.

Even with a minimum number of occupants in any room or office environment, the combination of airborne contaminants being produced from all the furniture and equipment plus the CO2 being produced from the individuals themselves, the level of indoor air quality and its affect on the human body can be significant.

Pure Air Systems offers a complete line of HEPA and Carbon based air filtration systems designed to be used in conjunction with the central heating/cooling systems or as stand alone units for individual areas. These units will remove the harmful airborne particulate as well as reduce the level of gases and odors and offer the ability to introduce fresh, filtered outside air to reduce the level of CO2 in a room and provide for a significant number of fresh air changes.

For more information on the complete line of HEPA and Carbon based air filtration systems please go to our website at: www.pureairsystems.com

You can’t pick up a newspaper or magazine or go on-line today without reading about health care. While much of the commentary is on changes to the health care system, a lot is also pointed toward the ways we can reduce health care costs by taking better care of our bodies.

While knowing more about how to maintain a healthy lifestyle is important, it is just as critical to become better educated on how to maintain a healthy home.

Since we spend the majority of our lives inside our homes breathing the air in this enclosed, controlled environment, shouldn’t we know more about how this environment can affect us? I think we should. After all, breathing in even small quantities of airborne allergens, pathogens and gases over time can significantly affect you health.

New home construction techniques have made homes tighter and more energy efficient, they have also significantly reduced the amount of fresh air exchange while significantly increasing the concentration levels of all types of airborne contaminants. Yes, your furnace filter does remove some of the larger dust particles and yes some of the more sophisticated hybrid type electronic cleaners are more effective on smaller particles. However, both of these systems require you to run your furnace fan constantly to keep the airborne contaminants coming to the filters, and, neither of these filter systems allows for any fresh, filtered outside air.

Airborne contaminants, allergens, pathogens and gases are generated on a daily basis in all homes. Carpeting, cleaning chemicals, pets, hair spray, dust from clothing, books and outside the house and our own bodies, all contribute to this indoor air pollution.

Because the majority of these harmful particles are tiny, less than 20 microns in size ( the human eye can only detect particles about 100 microns in size) they are not visible therefore not noticed. Yet a large majority of these small particles are inhaled into our lungs and stay there. Our bodies naturally remove most of these but some can be harmful and some of the airborne allergens and pathogens can cause significant respiratory problems or severe allergic reactions that can become chronic.

Pure Air Systems has been manufacturing true, commercial and hospital grade HEPA based air filtration systems since 1985. These systems are designed to be installed as part of the HVAC system (heating/cooling unit) and filter all the air in the house up to 48  to 60 times per day. In addition, these units have the ability to introduce fresh, filtered outside air into to house.  The HEPA filter is designed to remove 99.99% of all particles 0.3 microns and larger and approaches this same level of efficiency on particles as small as .012 microns.

This unit can be used in conjunction with any type of forced air heating/cooling unit and the PAS units use the energy efficient ECM motor that can run continuously removing airborne contaminants 24/7  and operating for only pennies a day.

The cost of health care is one of the most critical issues we face today. Pure Air Systems has one solution to help you keep you home healthy and you healthy at the same time.

For  more information on the PAS HEPA systems go to. www.pureairsystems.com.