Carrier Healthy Buildings and Homes Solutions Help Protect Indoor Air Quality from Wildfire Smoke
Smoke from the wildfires has engulfed large portions of
Wildfire smoke can make outdoor air unhealthy to breathe, but smoke from outdoors can enter homes and other buildings, making indoor air unhealthy, as well. Smoke is made up of a mixture of gasses and fine particles, which can get into one's eyes and respiratory system, causing such health problems as burning eyes, runny noses, and more serious illnesses, including bronchitis. Fine particles can also aggravate serious existing health issues, such as heart and lung disease, according to the EPA.
"With many health officials urging individuals to stay indoors during air quality alerts, it is more important than ever to protect indoor environments," said Justin Keppy, President, North America Residential & Light Commercial HVAC, at Carrier. "Fortunately, there are actions people can take immediately to improve indoor air quality in homes and commercial buildings, and solutions to help them prepare for future events."
How to Maintain Healthy Indoor Air Quality During Wildfires and Other Events:
- Use re-circulated indoor air to help prevent and limit potentially hazardous contaminants from entering a home or building. Reduce the fresh air intake through ventilation to prevent the intake of poor-quality outdoor air.
- If you have a standalone HVAC system with a high-efficiency filter, switch it to fan-on mode to increase the recirculation of air through the filter to capture particulate.
- Install a MERV 13 minimum filtration system and / or use a room air purifier with a HEPA filter and activated carbon layer for small particle and odor mitigation.
- Clean or replace the HVAC system's air filter in accordance with the manufacturer's guidelines. Over the next few days or weeks, air filters will be capturing smoke-related airborne particles that impact your indoor air quality. A buildup of these particulates on a filter can impact your system's efficiency and reliability.
- Limit smoke intrusion. Prior to wildfire season, weatherize the building envelope, including doors and windows, to reduce infiltration by sealing and caulking cracks. Keep doors and windows closed to limit smoke intrusion.
Carrier provides an expanded suite of advanced solutions to help deliver healthier, safer, more efficient indoor air quality, including:
- IAQ Assessment to test air quality and develop and implement upgrades to help ensure optimal filtration, ventilation, airflow, controls, etc. Carrier experts can also develop and implement corporate-wide IAQ engineering standards.
- Carrier Air Purifiers can help improve indoor air quality. This air purifier uses Captures & Kills™ technology to trap up to
95% of particles such as pollen, animal dander, bacteria and other pollutants, then uses an electrical charge to kill or inactivate up to95% of particles between 1.0 and 3.0 microns trapped on the filter. - OptiClean™ Dual-Mode Air Scrubber & Negative Air Machine plugs into a standard electrical outlet to quickly improve indoor air quality. It can operate as an air scrubber, using a
99.97% efficient, long-life HEPA filter to help remove contaminants and discharge cleaner air back into the room. It can also, with expert assistance and installation, help convert a normal room into a negative-pressure airborne infectious isolation room by adding a vacuum effect to the HEPA filtration capability. The Manteca Unified School District, located in wildfire-proneNorthern California , has been using OptiClean air scrubbers since 2021 to maintain a healthy indoor environment for kids.
For more information, visit www.corporate.carrier.com.
About Carrier
Carrier Global Corporation, global leader in intelligent climate and energy solutions, is committed to creating solutions that matter for people and our planet for generations to come. From the beginning, we've led in inventing new technologies and entirely new industries. Today, we continue to lead because we have a world-class, diverse workforce that puts the customer at the center of everything we do. For more information, visit corporate.carrier.com or follow Carrier on social media at @Carrier.
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