Question from Meg
I am looking to buy and have installed a whole house air exchanger. Does anyone have any experience with this type of device? We recently moved to Florida and opening the windows for fresh air is miserable during summer. My daughter (age 7) has severe MCS.
Also, how do we find an experienced company to install it? A Heating and AC company?
Debra’s Answer
This question sent me on an interesting search.
First, I should say that I spent most of my life in the San Francisco Bay Area until 2002, when we moved to Florida. San Francisco and its surrounding area has it’s own built-in air conditioning: the fog that comes through the Golden Gate on most summer afternoons. In fact, this fog can be so chilling that Mark Twain once quipped, “The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco.” Needless to say, most homes in the area do not have air conditioners and we live with the windows open most of the year.
So living with air conditioning was a new and strange thing when I moved to Florida.
When I first read your question, I had to find out two things.
1) Do air conditioners need air exchangers at all? (I assumed that my air conditioner was bringing fresh air in from the outdoors already.)
2) Do air exchangers exist for air conditioners? (My first introduction to air-to-air exchangers were ventilation devices that exchanged heat between outgoing indoor air and incoming outdoor air, so as to not lose the energy used to heat the indoor air.)
We are moving to Safety Harbor, FL, and would like to find a whole condo air system to keep us safe and clearheaded. The air is stinky here! People run their cars for a long time before leaving some mornings, etc., etc. I found this after reading the thread back to 2010. THis product sounds great! Anyone have any feedback on whole house systems that are best now?
http://www.aprilaire.com/index.php?znfAction=ProductDetails&category=7&item=5000
Thanks!
Mary
COMMENT FROM DEBRA:
This unit only removes particles. Volatile toxic chemicals are gasses. Some gasses piggy-back on particles and can be removed with a particle filter, but in general it is recommended to use a carbon filter.
I would check with a local HVAC company and see what they recommend for your system. Whole house units need to be installed in your system. They are not stand-alone.