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06naturalLiving ❙ Fall-Winter
naturalLiving ❙ Fall-Winter
07
naturally better
Y
ou’re home after a long day. Time to relax and
breathe a little easier. Or not. Truth be told, the air in-
side your home is probably worse than it is outside,
smog and allergens included. The Environmental Pro-
tection Agency (EPA) has estimated that indoor air is
up to 10 times worse than the air we breathe outside. Given those
kinds of statistics, homeowners nationwide are more interested
than ever in breathing easier. The good news is that more man-
ufacturers and building suppliers are designing products that can
help us all take a deep, healthy breath.
Take desiccants, for example. That’s what’s in those little pack-
ets found in everything from pill bottles to pillowcases — essen-
tially, minerals like silica gel, calcium sulfate and other substances
that act as natural dehumidifiers, removing moisture from the air,
pills or even pillowcases. Ever seen rice inside salt shakers at
restaurants? Rice is a “low-tech” desiccant, and it’s there to make
sure that moisture doesn’t make the salt clump when you’re try-
ing to shake it on French fries. When used as part of your home’s
heating and air conditioning system, desiccants help remove mois-
ture in the air, improving your home’s indoor air quality.
“A desiccant unit can take a house’s relative humidity down
to 45 to 50 percent, helping homeowners avoid a whole host of
pathogens,” says Scott Janke of Novelaire, the only manufacturer
of residential gas-fired desiccant systems. “Indoor air quality has
always been a big issue, and this alleviates a lot of the problems.”
ASHRE, a nationally recognized engineering association,
states that the optimum humidity level for controlling, bacteria,
viruses and dust mites is between 40 and 60 percent. Living in a
house with just 50 percent relative humidity means living in a
home where health and allergy issues related to mold and dust
mites are dramatically decreased. That’s because mold can’t grow
in homes with 50 percent humidity, and dust mites can’t repro-
duce (it’s their waste that triggers allergy problems). “People tend
to crank up the air conditioner when it’s hot and sticky in the
house,” Janke says. “You don’t have to do that with a desiccant
system because it controls the humidity.”
If you live in a high humidity area, then you understand and
probably detest that sticky, clammy feeling. High humidity causes
us to feel hotter, so we lower the temperature on our air condi-
tioner and then we get cold — so we start the up-down thermo-
stat war. Less relative humidity means the house stays drier, your
air conditioner doesn’t have to work as hard, and everyone
breathes easier. A desiccant system operates independent of
your home’s AC system, so it operates only when the moisture
level in your home goes over the unit’s setting. “Homeowners
end up feeling comfortable at higher temperatures, and that can
save money on energy bills,” says Janke.
Contact your local natural gas company or a heating and air
conditioning contractor to discuss the installation of a desiccant
unit in your home.
The Air Inside Your Home
Learn how desiccants can improve air quality and help your
family breathe easier.
By Amy E. Lemen
Whether you decide to invest in a desiccant system now or later
(prices range from $4,000 to $5,000, installed), take these steps
now for healthier air in your home.
1. Vent bathrooms, kitchens, toilets and laundry rooms directly
outdoors, and use energy-efficient and quiet fans.
2. Avoid locating furnaces, air conditioners and ductwork in
garages or other spaces where they could draw contami-
nants into the house.
3. Properly vent fireplaces, wood stoves and other hearth
products, and use tight doors and outdoor air intakes
wherever possible.
4. Vent clothes dryers and central vacuum cleaners
directly outdoors.
5. Store toxic or volatile compounds, such as paints, solvents,
cleaners and pesticides, outside livable spaces.
6. Minimize or avoid unvented combustion sources such
as indoor barbecues.
7. Open windows when you’re using strong chemical
products, such as home cleaning products and paint.
8. Use sealed-combustion, power-vented or condensing water
heaters and furnaces. If you’re using natural-draft applica-
tions, be sure they’ve been tested for proper venting and,
if possible, that they’re located outside living spaces.
9. Invest in a good particle filter or air cleaner in your air
handling system to keep dirt out of the air and off your
ductwork and heating and cooling components.
10. Use whole-house mechanical ventilation to let a minimum
level of outdoor air circulate throughout the home.
Source: American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers.
Top Ways
to Improve
Indoor
Air Quality
Backup Generators
Given the volatile weather of the past five years, it’s not surprising
that the sale of backup power generators to homeowners has in-
creased. In fact, a 2006 study found that half of those who lived in
hurricane-prone states (essentially the entire Gulf Coast — about
nine million households) expected to lose power at least once dur-
ing each hurricane season.
Add to that the power loss from downed power lines during
snowstorms, ice storms and tornados, and you’re looking at a
power-loss scenario that many homeowners are eager to avoid.
“We’ve definitely seen an increase in demand, especially as the
cost has come down in recent years and generators have become
more affordable,” says Troy Blewett of Briggs & Stratton. “Pricing
now is about $3,000 to $5,000 without installation. That’s worth
it to many people.”
Today’s backup generators are often called standby genera-
tors, because they’re literally “standing by” when your main power
goes out, turning on automatically when you need it.
Smaller, portable units are also available, which run
on gas and are often used by campers, homeowners
and contractors who need an extra source of power
for recreation or work, but it’s
the installed units that most
homeowners want.
“The demand for standby
units has really started to kick
in over the past five years,” says
Blewett. “Even in new con-
struction, they’re starting to
become a regular part of the
home, just like an air condi-
tioning unit.”
Water Heaters
Today’s water heaters have more features
and options than ever, which translates into
more choices for homeowners.
There are two types of water heating
systems: the most common is a conven-
t
ional tank system, which stores and heats
water in a tank until needed; and a contin-
uous or tankless water heating system,
which has a a higher efficiency rating than
any other conventional residential water
heating system. “Tankless is about 25 to 28
percent more efficient, and people love
them because you never run out of hot
water,” says Butch Aikens, resource man-
ager for Rheem, which makes tank and
tankless models. “They cost more, but for
most people, it’s about the features and
benefits they get with it.”
When selecting a water heater, con-
sider the first hour rating (FHR) to properly
size a storage water heater or select the
model of a tankless unit. The FHR is the
amount of hot water the water heater can
supply in the first hour of operation. It’s a
combined measurement of how much
water is stored in the water heater and how
quickly the water heater can heat cold
water to the desired temperature. Use this
rating to compare hot water delivery capa-
bilities of similar models and determine the
b
est unit for your household. For example,
a Maytag 40-gallon electric water heater has
an FHR of 50 gallons at 3800 watts, or 58
gallons at 5500 watts. A comparable Maytag
gas water heater has an FHR of 73 gallons
for a power vent model and 81 gallons for
a standard model.
Look for the EnergyGuide Label, which
lists the first hour rating in the top left cor-
ner as “Capacity.” Finally, think about how
long it will take
for the water
heater to re-
cover and be
ready for the
next shower
should it run
out of hot
water.
A water heater’s energy effi-
ciency (its Energy Factor, or
EF) depends on how quickly
the energy source (gas or
electric) heats the water,
how much energy is lost
when the water heater is
idle, and energy lost as
the unit cycles on and off.
Photo courtesy of
Bradford White.
Suppliers report surging
sales of compact, efficient
backup (“standby”) genera-
tors, which help homeown-
ers stay powered during
outages.
Photo courtesy of
Briggs & Stratton.