The simple act of changing air filters can make all the difference in your air conditioner’s efficiency and your home comfort this summer. When you change the air filter on your air conditioning system regularly, you’ll net several benefits, including:

• Preventing system failure. If your filter is dirty, it won’t allow enough air to flow into the system — air that it needs to operate at peak performance. Worse, over time, restricted airflow can damage the system, causing the motor and air handler to work harder than it should and leading to early system breakdown.
• Ensuring optimal system efficiency. When your filter is clean and it has enough surface space to allow for optimal airflow, your air conditioner will run more efficiently.
• Extending the system’s life span. By changing air filters regularly, you’ll ensure that your system is protected from buildup of dirt and grime and receives optimal airflow, both of which will help your A/C last longer.

Other benefits of changing air filters extend beyond improved performance of the HVAC equipment itself. You’ll:

• Decrease your equipment’s impact on the environment, with less energy waste
• Lower your energy bills, thanks to equipment that runs at peak efficiency
• Improve your home comfort, allowing your system to filter out impurities before they are circulated throughout your home

Not all systems are the same, and not all homes are the same. When you start to use your air conditioner on a regular basis, most experts agree that checking air filters once a month works best. So set up a reminder in your calendar, and change your filter when it looks full or dirty — at least once every three months.

You can build a healthy foundation for your HVAC equipment by making it a priority to check and replace your filters. For more information about your HVAC equipment, contact Jon Wayne Heating & Air Conditioning. We’ve been serving the Greater San Antonio area since the mid-1970s.

Our goal is to help educate our customers about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).  For more information about air filters and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.

Air filter image via Shutterstock

Need an effective solution to fight germs in your home and give indoor air quality a big boost? UV-light systems offer an effective solution for many homeowners, as they specifically target germs like bacteria and viruses and other microorganisms such as mold.

And in San Antonio’s often-humid climate — which provides an especially hospitable environment for airborne microorganisms — germ-fighting ultraviolet (UV) lights can significantly improve your indoor air quality.

Here’s how a UV-light system works:

• Generally installed alongside your cooling equipment, UV lights emit rays that target mold, viruses and bacteria.
• Once the cells are zapped by the UV rays, their core structure changes at the DNA level, which makes them incapable of reproducing.
• As your cooling equipment and ductwork work to circulate the air in your home, the UV lights clean it with each pass.

Using UV lights offers homeowners an additional benefit: They help to keep your air-conditioning system clean, too. Your A/C cooling coil’s damp environment often serves as a comfortable home for pollutants such as mold spores. Buildup on the coil can affect your system’s overall efficiency, causing it to consume more energy and decreasing its performance. With UV lights, generally installed directly over the system’s coils, you’ll see a noticeable difference in your system’s overall performance and indoor air quality.

Too much humidity is a problem in some homes because of oversized A/C equipment. When an A/C is too large, it is generally less able to manage humidity, as large A/C systems tend to run less often but emit strong blasts of cooled air. And a humid environment attracts germs. If you suspect that equipment size is contributing to a less-than-ideal home environment, have an expert evaluate your systems.

It’s important to note that, in general, an ultraviolet-light system only works as long as your A/C system is running. That’s because the A/C keeps the air moving throughout your home and through the lights.

Use the power of UV lights to improve your home’s indoor air quality, and simultaneously get a cleaner A/C system. For expert advice, contact Jon Wayne Heating & Air Conditioning.

Our goal is to help educate our customers about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).  For more information about other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.

UV light image via Shutterstock

Want to learn about the smartest — and fastest — way to improve your home’s indoor air? The comfort experts at Jon Wayne recommend IQAir, the best indoor air quality system available on the market today. It addresses a whole range of indoor air problems by taking advantage of state-of-the-art technology and innovative design.

Installed in your ductwork, the IQAir works with your home’s existing equipment, so that the system’s microfiber pleated panels can effectively filter the air in your home before it’s delivered to the rooms in your home. And each time the air circulates through your HVAC equipment — as many as 125 times a day — the system traps more airborne pollutants.

A look at some aspects of this indoor air quality system:

• Design. Instead of a traditionally flat filter surface, the IQAir uses a V-shaped filter, giving it almost 50 times the total surface area to filter out impurities, as compared to other indoor air quality systems.
• Filter material. IQAir’s advanced filters have much thinner fibers than those in most systems, meaning airflow through your heating and cooling equipment is maximized. At the same time, these fine filter materials allow the air-cleaning system to trap more particles.
• Maintenance. After it’s installed, the IQAir requires very little attention from you. Unlike other filter systems, it doesn’t need you to remember to check the filter every month — or even every year. In fact, IQAir’s filter boasts a three-year life span, based on the average homeowner’s use of the equipment.
• MERV 16 rating. As the No. 1 indoor air quality system on the market, the IQAir is the only system that has received a perfect rating: Minimum Efficiency Reporting Value (MERV) 16. You just can’t get a better system. And publications such as Consumer Search, Allergy Buyer’s Club, Wired Magazine and Consumers Digest, among several others, have ranked the IQAir as the No. 1 product in its class.

If you’re interested in learning more about the IQAir as it compares to other indoor air quality systems, contact the experts at Jon Wayne Heating & Air Conditioning today. Serving the San Antonio area, we’re happy to help.

Our goal is to help educate our customers about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).  For more information about other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.

Indoor air quality image via Shutterstock

San Antonio residents face a challenge every summer: staying comfortable despite stifling humidity and blazing-hot temperatures. As a result, homeowners are always looking for new ways to cool their homes without spending a fortune on energy bills. Air conditioning enhancers are often a wise investment, because they supplement your cooling system with targeted humidity-fighting capabilities.

Because cooler air naturally feels somewhat drier, you might believe that your air conditioner has the capacity to remove humidity. But it doesn’t. And asking an air conditioner to run all summer in a very humid environment can lead to higher energy costs, because it’s working overtime to generate cooler air while overcoming moisture and condensation within the system.

Air-conditioning enhancers can help. There are two enhancer options for removing humidity:

• Whole-house dehumidifier. Installed inside your home’s ductwork system, a whole-house dehumidifier will remove moisture from the air that will then pass through your air conditioner. The air conditioner can then efficiently cool less humid air. This system is ideal for whole-house comfort, because it utilizes your existing ductwork so that every room in your home benefits from dehumidified, cool air.
• A/C enhancer. Usually added to existing air conditioning systems, this piece of equipment is specifically designed to remove moisture from the air. Used in conjunction with an A/C, it lets the air conditioner do what it does best – cool the air — while the enhancer removes the moisture.

With a system in place to remove humidity, many homeowners can raise their thermostats a few degrees, allowing their air conditioners to consume less energy while still comfortably cooling their home.

With an efficient air conditioner supplemented by air conditioning enhancers, San Antonio homeowners can rest assured that this one-two punch will optimize home comfort and ensure manageable energy bills. For help evaluating which air conditioning enhancer best suits your home, contact Jon Wayne Heating & Air Conditioning today. Serving the San Antonio area, we’re always happy to help.

Our goal is to help educate our customers about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).  For more information about other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.

Humidity meter image via Shutterstock

Wondering what indoor air-quality sources affect your home’s air? The experts at Jon Wayne Heating & Air Conditioning recommend an indoor air-quality test to determine the sources at hand. Typically, homeowners who suffer from allergies or other respiratory issues can improve home comfort with an air-purification system that effectively addresses the problem of  air-quality sources.

There are many types of air purifiers on the market, so how do you know which one to choose? An effective air purifier should be able to:

• Permanently remove particles. If a system uses ionization, it will typically charge pollutants so they stick to surfaces throughout your home, leading to more dust or a white film. A good air purifier should permanently trap particles inside the system, without releasing them again into your home.
• Operate efficiently over the long term. Ask your indoor air-quality expert about long-term efficiency. Many system ratings show their performance capabilities within the first hour of operation. But you’ll need your air purifier to function in a year as well as it did on its first day.
• Remove the smallest particles. Most problematic indoor air-quality sources that affect your health are tiny – as small as 0.1 microns (smaller than a pollen particle). So make sure the system you choose can address ultra-small particles.
• Remove gas and chemicals. Gases and chemicals found in your home’s air are also likely to cause health problems. If you’re going to invest in a system, make sure it can eliminate particles and gases and chemicals.

At Jon Wayne Heating & Air Conditioning we offer a range of indoor air-quality solutions, including ultraviolet light and dehumidification systems, electronic air cleaners and HEPA (high efficiency particulate air) filtration. We generally recommend IQAir’s Perfect 16 air purifier to take care of indoor air-quality sources that impact your home comfort, as this system uses several technologies combined to address bacteria, mold, pet dander, dust and most other common household allergens.

Contact us today for more information, or to schedule an indoor air quality test. Jon Wayne serves the Greater San Antonio area.

Our goal is to help educate our customers about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).  For more information about other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.

Air purification image via Shutterstock

In San Antonio, homeowners are often all too familiar with household mold. Because of our climate, homeowners must be vigilant in keeping relative humidity within a healthy range to prevent household mold from taking over.

Prevention strategies are often more effective if you first understand how mold grows.

Mold is actually useful — as part of nature. In its natural environment, mold helps to “mulch” organic matter such as leaves. But inside your home, it holds no value. Mold spores, when present in the air, are attracted to moist surfaces. Once they meet up with moisture, they begin to feast — namely, by reproducing at an alarmingly fast rate.

If you’ve ever had a mold problem in your home, you likely have first-hand experience with how stubborn mold spots are — and how hard it is to get rid of them. That’s why prevention is the best strategy.

Most obviously, the best way to prevent mold is to avoid dampness in your home. But this can be hard to do in San Antonio, with nearly year-round high relative humidity levels. Short of moving, here’s what you can do:

• Clean up water spills and leaks immediately.
• Keep your gutters in good condition for ideal drainage.
• Be sure the ground around your home doesn’t slope toward the structure, which can cause moisture to seep into the home.
• Make sure that your bathroom and kitchen exhaust systems, as well as your furnace and dryer venting, send humid air outside.
• Use a whole-house dehumidification system to consistently maintain healthy indoor humidity levels. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, you can ensure safe indoor humidity levels by keeping relative humidity between 30 and 50 percent. Dehumidification systems are generally manufactured with sensors that allow you to program a particular humidity setting; the system will adjust its output accordingly.
• Consider installing an A/C enhancer, a component that will assist your air-conditioning system by  specifically addressing moisture removal.

Easily limit household mold problems and use these tips to prevent it from getting the upper hand. For expert help and advice, contact Jon Wayne Heating & Air Conditioning today. Serving San Antonio and surrounding communities, we’re always happy to help.

Our goal is to help educate our customers about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).  For more information about other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.

Household air quality image via Shutterstock

Your home needs ventilation, especially if it’s a tightly sealed structure. Ventilation systems help to mechanically control the balance of air in your home, and offer homeowners who use them several benefits.

Imagine if your home, or any building for that matter, was completely sealed up, preventing any air from entering or exiting the structure. That would result in less-than-ideal air quality, among other things. This image gives you a picture of how an efficient home, although desirable, also creates deficiencies.

In the past, most homeowners relied on natural ventilation, either through cracks and leaks in the home or by opening a window. However, in San Antonio neither is practical, nor desirable, for energy savings or comfort.

That’s why most homes nowadays need a mechanical ventilation system. And its benefits are real, including:

Improved indoor air quality

Indoor air pollution is more of a danger than ever, with the Environmental Protection Agency listing it among its top five worst offenders. So, it’s essential to have a means to get rid of stale, polluted indoor air, and usher out pollen, dander, moisture and other allergens.

Better control over even ventilation

Relying on natural air leaks is a less-than-efficient means to ensure proper ventilation, never mind that you can’t use it to evenly control the distribution of the supply of fresh air with a balanced supply of exhausted air. Using windows leads to the same problems. A mechanical ventilation system will produce even amounts of supply and exhaust air, ensuring that your home is appropriately and safely ventilated.

Upgraded home comfort

Depending on the type of ventilation system you choose, you can boost overall home comfort with features that use conditioned air to treat the incoming air supply (which also saves energy), provide dehumidification or filter the air.

This year, take your home ventilation to new heights. Ventilation systems will help to improve indoor air quality, give you more control over ventilation, and upgrade your home comfort. Get help with your home’s ventilation by contacting Jon Wayne Heating & Air Conditioning today. Our experts serve San Antonio homeowners with pride.

Our goal is to help educate our customers about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).  For more information about other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.

Ventilation image via Shutterstock

Have you ever wished you could control the cooling and heating in your home — without spending a fortune? Well, zoning systems might be the answer to your home comfort and design problems.

Find out the five main benefits zoning systems provide, and ask yourself if you deserve the optimal home comfort and energy savings that these systems afford.

• Comfort: Zoning systems allow you to prioritize which areas of your home will receive conditioned air. With motorized dampers and separate thermostats controlling each zone, zoning systems help maximize comfort.
• Energy savings: Because a zoning system allows you to set temperatures in each zone according to its heating and cooling needs, or just to your comfort levels, you can save energy by closing off unused zones. As a result, you don’t pay to heat and cool rooms that you don’t use very often.
• Design elements: A lot of newer homes, especially, have larger windows, higher ceilings, and other architectural features that impact airflow significantly. Having a zoning system installed in your home will allow you to program the zone with the high ceilings, for instance, to receive more cooled air in the summer, so you’ll be able to keep that area at a comfortable level — and you’ll enjoy being in that space more often.
• Cater to preferences: It’s likely that your family consists of people who like a home that’s toasty warm, while others prefer a cooler atmosphere. Well, zoning systems help you to manage individualized preferences, as much as possible.
• Environmentally friendly: When you can maximize the efficiency of your existing HVAC and ductwork systems with zoning equipment, you use less energy. And those actions help you to decrease the contribution of your home’s energy consumption and reduce your carbon footprint.

Want to get in on the benefits that zoning systems provide? The experts at Jon Wayne Heating & Air Conditioning are standing by, ready to answer your questions. Just call us today for a free consultation. We’ve served countless homeowners in the San Antonio area, starting in the mid-1970s, and our proven track record of excellence continues today.

Our goal is to help educate our customers about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).  For more information about other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.

Zoning systems image via Shutterstock

Energy recovery ventilators (ERVs) are an ideal system for San Antonio homeowners, who deal with nearly year-round high humidity levels. They not only help to manage humidity, but they can operate nearly cost-free, due to their ability to reuse conditioned air. So, with one system, you can effectively manage indoor air quality, comfort, and energy savings.

Most homes require ventilation, especially during extreme weather, because they tend to stay closed up to keep homeowners comfortable. But this action also restricts air circulation, keeping air inside and preventing fresh air from infiltrating the home.

That’s how ERVs help, providing an equal supply of fresh incoming air and polluted outgoing air. And while that air is exhausted, it takes with it the pollution — and moisture — from within your home.

Here’s how it works:

• Two supply channels allow one duct to take in fresh, outside air, while another disposes of stale, moist indoor air.
• The two streams of air pass each other, but don’t ever intermingle, so there’s no chance of pollution to taint incoming air.

But here’s the rub — while the ERV transfers these two streams of air, there’s one element that does remain: Energy. In the summer, when the ERV exhausts cool air, the energy is transferred to the supply stream. The system can reuse up to 80 percent of conditioned air to pre-cool the incoming supply — reversing the cycle in the winter, reusing heated air.

You may be wondering, Why do I need an ERV when I have a central A/C system that? Air conditioners are not designed to remove humidity. The air in your home only feels less moist because it feels cooler, and colder air naturally holds less moisture. It’s highly beneficial to have a ventilation system to manage moisture, increasing the efficiency of your A/C when it doesn’t have to overcome humidity.

Take your home’s comfort, indoor air quality and energy savings to the next level with a energy recovery ventilators. Contact us at Jon Wayne Heating & Air Conditioning for help. We have served San Antonio homeowners since the mid-1970s.

Our goal is to help educate our customers about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).  For more information about other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.

Fresh air image via Shutterstock

Indoor air quality is often worse than outdoor air. In fact, the Environmental Protection Agency includes indoor air quality on its list of the top five environmental concerns. Before you do something about yours, indoor air quality testing can help to identify problems and pinpoint effective solutions.

Common contaminants that exist in homes include:

• Carbon monoxide
• Smoke from cigarettes
• Carbon dioxide
• Pet dander
• Dust mites
• Mold
• Volatile organic compounds
• Radon
• Lead

These sources of pollution can lead to health issues, including allergies, asthma and other respiratory issues, even in healthy individuals — but they are of particular concern for the young and the elderly.

There are a variety of solutions you can implement to address contaminants, such as installing an ultraviolet light system, a dehumidifier or air-purification device. However, indoor air quality testing conducted by a professional will give you specific information on factors that are unique to your home. Otherwise, you’ll spend money in the hopes that you’ve chosen the right solution, instead of investing in equipment that will give you a guaranteed return.

Indoor air quality tests exist for all of the contaminants listed above, and you can use self-testing kits. However, most at-home kits require that you conduct the test yourself and interpret the results. There’s lots of room for error here.

To ensure accurate results, it’s best to have a professional perform the test. Experts have access to specialize tools and tests, along with the necessary expertise. An expert will also be able to offer a gamut of solutions to target contaminants present in your home, and the know-how to help you develop a plan to improve your home’s air quality.

Are you wondering where your HVAC system’s air filter fits into the equation? The truth is that most residential filters — and standard HVAC filters — are not able to address most dangerous pollutants, but your HVAC contractor can help you choose a filter, along with relevant equipment, that will do a better job.

To have indoor air quality testing done in your San Antonio home, contact Jon Wayne Heating & Air Conditioning today. We offer a free home evaluation.

Our goal is to help educate our customers about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).  For more information about other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.

Allergens image via Shutterstock