Air Advice | Blog & Articles | Hunter’s Air & Heat, Inc.

What are the best plants for indoor air quality?

January 21, 2021

According to the EPA, some pollutants can be between two and five times as concentrated inside your home as they are outside of your home. Since we all spend a considerable amount of time living and sleeping in our homes, this sounds a bit scary. Taking steps to improve your home’s indoor air quality can help you breathe better and reduce the risk of various health concerns, including asthma and allergies. One way you can improve your home’s air quality is by purchasing some indoor houseplants. Some houseplants are actually able to filter out toxins and leave your home’s air cleaner to help everyone breathe more easily. Boston Fern One plant you can consider adding to your space to improve your indoor air quality is a Boston fern. These plants can help remove toxic pollutants including benzene, formaldehyde, toluene and xylene. Boston ferns do best in humid environments, making them a good addition to a bathroom. They don’t need much light to grow, which is another reason they can do very well in bathrooms. Peace Lily Peace lilies are another excellent houseplant if you want to purify your home’s air. Peace lilies break down toxic gases like formaldehyde, carbon monoxide...

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Does Attic Insulation Help During Winter?

December 10, 2020

As the harsh winter weather sets in, many wise homeowners are taking measures to keep their families safe and comfortable. One of the most important measures you can take is to have your attic properly insulated. Doing so will benefit you, your family, and the environment in many ways. Here’s how attic insulation can help you during the winter months. It Makes Your Home More Comfortable We all know how uncomfortable a cold house can be during the winter. By insulating your attic, you’ll make your home less vulnerable to the harsh temperatures outside. Your residence will let in less cold air and lose less hot air. In some cases, a heating system isn’t enough to heat an entire property. Bedrooms located on the upper floors are particularly vulnerable to the cold temperatures. Insulating your attic supports the heating system by keeping the house warm when it gets unbearably cold outside. What’s more, you may have seen how furnaces make a home uncomfortable when you turn up the heat too much. The eyes and skin of your family members and pets can easily become irritated when the heating system is operating at full capacity. You can avoid this by allowing...

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9 Steps to Seal the Inside of Your Ductwork

November 20, 2020

You already know that sealing your ducts saves money on utility costs and protects the lifespan of your HVAC system. Once you realize your ductwork needs to be sealed, you may wonder how to go about the job. The traditional way to seal ducts is to apply a special metal tape or sealant to the exterior, yet this can be challenging and time-consuming with unpredictable results. Sealing the interior of ductwork is a new innovation that simplifies the process and ensures a good, energy-saving outcome. Here are nine steps to follow when sealing the inside of the ductwork in your home. 1. Gather Materials First, you need to gather the materials needed for sealing your ductwork, including: Aerosol sealant product and sprayer Blower fan Foam rubber Wide tape Tool to run a pressurized blower test 2. Remove Vent Covers Remove the covers from the supply and return vents of your heating system. This gives you access to the ductwork for cleaning and sealing. 3. Clean the Ducts Aerosol products that are used to seal ductwork from the inside need to adhere properly to the metal walls. You should begin this project by cleaning the duct and removing any dust, dirt,...

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Will Air Conditioning Remove Home Humidity?

October 15, 2020

If you’ve lived in Boling-lago for long, you know it’s not the heat but the humidity that makes summer days unbearable. Therefore, anything you can do to reduce the humidity in your environment will help to make you much more comfortable. Given that your home’s air conditioner plays an important role in keeping you comfortable, it makes sense that this device should be able to help remove humidity as well. To learn more about what your air conditioner is capable of, we at offer this guide to explain air conditioning and humidity. Removing More Than Heat When your air conditioner runs, it circulates refrigerant at varying temperatures and pressures to absorb heat from your home. Once the refrigerant is outside, your outdoor unit compresses the refrigerant so it can release the heat into the atmosphere. To be able to capture heat from your home, the refrigerant has to be lowered in temperature so that it’s lower than the ambient air temperature in your home. The good news is when the temperature of the refrigerant is lower than the temperature of your home, the temperature of the pipe that the refrigerant is in is also lower than the temperature of your...

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FAQs About Geothermal HVAC Systems

September 20, 2020

Geothermal HVAC systems are increasingly common in the United States. There are homes in all 50 states heated and cooled by one of these systems. They have a few advantages over conventional HVAC systems such as furnaces and air conditioners. What Is a Geothermal HVAC System? Furnaces and air conditioners create heated or cooled air from electricity or natural gas. Geothermal HVAC systems don’t create heated or cool air from a fuel source. Instead, they transfer already-existing heat between two locations. One location is your home and the other location is below the frost line in the ground. Geothermal Heat Pump A geothermal heat pump is the above-ground part of a geothermal HVAC system. It pumps a liquid solution through buried pipes. In the winter, it transfers heat from below ground to your home. In the summer, it transfers heat from your home to below ground. How Deep are the Pipes Buried? There are two types of geothermal pipe systems. A horizontal system is buried between 4 and 8 feet underground, depending on where the frost line is. A vertical system can be up to 400 feet deep. Geothermal HVAC systems take advantage of the fact that the temperature is...

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Pleated Filters: Why They Are So Effective

August 8, 2020

You’ve probably heard of many types of filters on the market. Fiberglass, deep media and pleated filters are a couple of the most common ones. However, one of these filters stands out among the rest. If you’re a homeowner looking to keep your air clean, you’ll want to turn to pleated filters. Here’s a close look at why pleated filters are so effective. High MERV Ratings The MERV rating of a filter measures how well the device removes allergens and other particles from the air. Simply put, pleated filters have some of the highest MERV ratings on the market. The MERV scale ranges from 5 to 16, and pleated filters often cross into the double digits. While there are many scientific principles that make these filters so effective, they can all be summarized by these fantastic MERV ratings. When you go to the store to select a filter, you’ll be able to see the different MERV ratings. Notice how pleated filters boast a much higher average than others. When pleated filters are empowered by electrostatics as discussed below, their ratings skyrocket even further. Large Surface Area One of these scientific principles is the large surface area of a pleated filter....

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Why Does My AC Unit Need an Air Filter

July 12, 2020

There’s so much more to an air conditioner than its basic capabilities. With a little bit of HVAC knowledge, you can equip your AC with the latest technology. However, every system must have a few basic requirements. In particular, air filters are vital. While you can technically run a system without a filter, there are many reasons why you need one for proper air conditioning. Much Cleaner Air To start things off, an air filter leads to cleaner air. That’s the whole point of the filter; it catches dust and other particles and prevents them from reaching the rest of your home. When your child stomps on the rug, dust particles are bound to spew into the air. As these particles are cycled into the AC, they will be stopped in their tracks by the filter. Individuals with underlying health conditions will be particularly thankful for air filters. There is a much lower chance of asthma or allergies flaring up when your AC is backed by a filter. Moreover, many physicians and doctors strongly recommend air filters for all of your HVAC appliances. They are simply good to have on hand at all times. More Efficient, Cleaner System An air...

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Air Purifiers vs Air Filters

June 6, 2020

In the region around Wharton, TX, is the heating and cooling company you can trust to keep your home comfortable throughout the year. However, we know there is more to home comfort than temperature alone. Especially in newer homes, tight construction methods can increase the number of impurities that are floating around in your home’s air. We install several products that can make a big difference in your indoor air quality. Among our most common requests are air filters and air purifiers. Common Household Air Impurities When a sunbeam shines through a window, you can see the particles of dust that float around your home. The impurities that are visible to the naked eye are a mix of skin cells, fibers, and other small particles. During the spring and fall seasons, you will also find pollen grains that can cause allergic reactions in sensitive people. In humid areas, mold spores might also be in the mix. If you are concerned about air quality, you are probably also wondering about the impurities that you cannot see. Some of these are particles, such as the fine ash produced by cigarette smoke or wildfires. Other impurities are biological, such as bacteria and viruses....

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Could Your AC Problem Be Caused By Your Thermostat?

May 11, 2020

Having a quality air conditioner is extremely important for anyone in the Boling-Iago, TX, area. If your air conditioner is not working properly, keeping your home cool during the hot summer months could be challenging. One reason why your air conditioner may not be working well could be due to a faulty thermostat. There are six different signs that your air conditioning problem is actually caused by your thermostat. 1. The Fan Is Not Blowing When Turned On One of the most common signs that your thermostat is affecting your overall air conditioner system is if the fan is changing when you switch it on. Any thermostat is going to have a button that is pressed when you want the fan to blow on. If you press this button or switch within the next few seconds, it could be due to the fact that the thermostat is not functioning. For those in the Boling-Lago, TX, area, will be able to determine if the thermostat is to blame or if there is another underlying problem. 2. Thermostat Display Is Off or Doesn’t Respond A functioning thermostat should have a clear display that is easy to read and control. If your display...

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Tips for Cleaning Your HVAC System

April 15, 2020

The HVAC system is one of the most critical investments you can make in your home. It plays an essential role in heating and cooling your house. To ensure that your system is performing at optimum levels, you need to make sure you handle it with care and also carry out maintenance when necessary. Cleaning your HVAC is one of the most straightforward strategies that you can incorporate to make sure that your system is always running at an optimum level. Cleaning is not expensive or robust, which causes many people to ignore it. Here are some tips that you can incorporate to clean your HVAC system. Clean Air Filters The air filter is one of the most critical components of your HVAC system. Filters are easy to clean, but they are mostly forgotten about. If you want to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of your unit, you need to make sure that you clean the air filters regularly. Cleaning air filters makes it easier for the system to pull in air without using excessive energy. Do not allow your air filters to clog, as this will lead to poor heating or cooling in your home. Worn-out air filters should...

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