Indoor Air Quality

Gra-Tac’s approach to Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) is Find It, Fix It, and YOU WILL Feel Better.

The first step is testing your home or office for the leading causes of poor Indoor Air Quality:  Temperature, Humidity, Carbon Dioxide, Carbon Monoxide, Particulate Matter, and Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs).

According to the EPA, the air inside the average home is up to five times more polluted than the air outside. Pollen, dust mites, dirt, and mold spores in your home’s air can cause minor health problems like eye and nose irritation, dizziness, and headaches. Poor Indoor air Quality can also cause more serious problems like respiratory illness, as well as aggravate allergies and asthma.

Once we know what is in the air in your home or office, fixing it gets much easier.  We don’t simply do the same thing in every situation, we present options and you choose the course of action.

Sometimes it is as simple as Source Control, changing the household / office cleaning methods or products.  As well it can be caused by lack of maintenance to the HVAC system, poor filters, leaking or dirty ductwork. Then there is what is inside the home or office, people breathing, pets, chemicals, combustion appliances, building products off gassing VOCs.

You can decrease the concentration of indoor pollutants by increasing the quantity of air circulating. Sometimes this involves Exhausting Stale Air and Bringing In Fresh Air.  Sometimes you have to Filter and / or Treat the air with special IAQ Products.  Some are shown below.  Call 270-843-1514 for more information or having your Indoor Air Quality Tested.

For more information, read the EPA’s Basic Information about Indoor Air Quality .

Below are some of the Indoor Air Quality products that we install:

Five Stage Air Filtration Product, Includes:  1” pre-filter for capturing larger dirt particles, a 2” pre-filter for smaller visible particles, an activated carbon filter for capturing odors, a 99.97% efficient true HEPA filter, and an ozone-free germicidal UV disinfection lamp.  This model is ducted into and out of the return duct between the inside of your home and your HVAC equipment in a bypass configuration with it’s own fan system.  Definitely the most expensive option, but definitely worth the investment for the clean air aficionado or for larger homes and offices.

Bryant Evolution Whole-House Air Purifier Cleaning System, a MERV 15 efficiency that features the Captures and Kills Technology.  Captures 95% of particles .30 to 1.0 microns in size.  Great Filtration product for Residential and Small Offices.  This product has had really good reviews from our customers that have severe allergies, they were able to take less medicine.

Bryant EZ Flex, pleated filter, MERV 13 and 10 available.  Residential or Commercial Air Cleaning Upgrade.  Perfect for hard to reach filter locations such as attics or crawlspaces, due to the longer periods between filter replacement.

Filter Grille Media Filter, we have many options for central filter grilles from MERV 13, 11, 10, and 8 in 4″ pleated filters to fit various filter grille sizes.

Standard Filter, we recommend a minimum of 1″ thick, MERV 6 or above, preferably pleated, and sized per ACCA guidelines, for all residential and commercial applications.

Available Filters, filters are technically available from MERV 15 down to MERV 1 for Residential and Light Commercial Applications.

MERV 1-4 are usually seen in retail stores, the ones you can usually see through – catches less than 20% of particles 3 to 10 microns.

MERV 6 is recommended by ANSI and ASHRAE – catches 35-50% of particles 3 to 10 microns.

MERV 8 is an upgraded filter that catches greater than 70% of particles 3 to 10 microns.

Above MERV 11 you will usually see in thicker sizes (4″ and above – some 1″ models are available but are not recommended – due to increased cost and increased frequency of replacing them).

MERV 11 catches greater than 85% of particles 3 to 10 microns and 65-80% of particles 1 to 3 microns.

MERV 13 catches greater than 90% of particles 3 to 10 microns, greater than 90% of particles 1 to 3 microns, and less than 75% of particles 0.3 to 1 micron in size.

Above MERV 13 gets into specialized filters

MERV 15 catches greater than 90% of particles 3 to 10 microns, greater than 90% of particles 1 to 3 microns, and 85-95% of particles .03 to 1 micron in size.

Air Filtration: HVAC Air Filters are a hotly contested area of our industry.  Air Filters are rated in MERV, which stands for Minimum Efficiency Reporting Value.  Some people think the cheapest filter made (you know the kind – that you can see through and definitely won’t hold something as simple as table salt – which is 70-11 microns in size, depending on the brand) are good enough.  We know it is tempting to buy a filter of a MERV 4 or less, but if you have seen as many stopped up indoor coils as we have – you would use a better filter also.  Just think about a MERV 4 filter catching less than 20% of the dust that goes through your HVAC system… it adds up quickly.

Humidification (Winter Only):   Steam Humidifiers help you feel warmer at a lower temperature in the home, as well as promotes better breathing!  We recommend these for the wood and trim in your home, as well as the comfort.

Dehumidification:  Dehumidifiers from simple ones for crawlspaces and basements to whole house models that connect to the ductwork of the home.  Evolution equipment has a dehumidification mode that works quite well, removing the need for a separate dehumidifier in most cases.

Ultra Violet Air Treatment:  We use basic UV for maintaining the coil surface and promotes healthier indoor air, with some additional benefits of reducing Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs)* and killing other types of things* as a bonus.  There are more advanced UV treatment devices that have longer bulb life and use processes like Photocatalytic Oxidation (PCO), Bi-Polar Ionization, and Gaseous Hydrogen Peroxide to provide more benefits*.

iWave Cold Plasma Air Purification Devices: Helps Reduce Odors*, Reduces Airborne Dust*, Kills Viruses*, Kills Bacteria*, Kills Airborne Mold*, Maintains Coil Surface*, Promotes Healthier Indoor Air*, Reduces VOC’s (Volatile Organic Compounds)* – Self Cleaning models with Carbon Fiber Brushes.  We have had customers rave about dust removal and even removing the smell of bacon from their homes.

REME HALO® Zero utilizes RGF’s proprietary aGHP-Cell™ technology to create low level, airborne Gaseous Hydrogen Peroxide (aGHP™) throughout the air-conditioned space reducing bacteria*, viruses*, odors*, and mold* along with allergens* and dust at the source.

Energy Recovery Ventilators provide Ultra Efficient (Tight) homes controlled, efficient, and clean fresh air they need.  Installations often include integration with the Thermostat and commercial Carbon Dioxide control.

*Claims to kill viruses, mold, and bacteria are based on manufacturers’ third party testing and literature.  Gra-Tac, Inc. accepts no liability to these claims.  Individual results may very based on variables unique to the installation in your home.