We currently have a Trane 2-Stage Furnace with AC and are located in Central Oregon where fires are more and more frequent. I'd like to add an ERV and purification/filtration beyond our Merv 13 2'x20"x4"
Our Airthings sensor normally reads 0 2.5ppm unless the AQI outdoors gets above 200 which it does often in late summer (or someone uses our old toaster, I'd never realized how much cooking downgraded AQI but not shocked). If the windows stay closed, C02 peaks just below 800.
I want to install an ERV such as the Zehnder ComfoAir Q600 ST although there are no in-town installers so I'd need to plead with one a few hours away to do the work. Their power efficiency appealed to me but not sure there are deal-breaker features on the current crop of ERV's. Our home is just over 4k ft.
If it matters for configuration options, I'd also like to replace the existing Furnace/AC with one of the new Mitsubishi GUZ heat pumps and air handlers.
I could use suggestions though on the air filtration side. I see a large selection of different types of purification systems that use different technologies like PCO, Hydrogen Peroxide to chemically filter the air but I've also seen plenty of articles raising questions about their component durability (how long they can effectively react before replacing main catalyst components etc) as well as adding oxidizing components or ions to the air. Some like the Aerus Air Scrubber are vague about what process they use to clean. Is there any settled unbiased research about their longer-term efficacy and durability ? Any that stand out as best-of-class ? Maybe a product that would satisfy an otherwise skeptic ?
I understand the IQAir Perfect 16 gets a lot of praise. Would it be able to handle outside air fouled by area smoke ? Say AQI index > 200 ?
On better outside air days when the AQI is green (< 30 ppm2.5), is it possible or even preferable to increase the air exchange speed to function more like an open window at each end of your house ? I do this often in the summer when it's cool outside but the house is still warm or I just want to get fresh air inside as quickly as possible. When the air's clean outside, it seems a shame to send it through heavy handed filtration. Call it smart filtration or at least only-when-necessary.
Our Airthings sensor normally reads 0 2.5ppm unless the AQI outdoors gets above 200 which it does often in late summer (or someone uses our old toaster, I'd never realized how much cooking downgraded AQI but not shocked). If the windows stay closed, C02 peaks just below 800.
I want to install an ERV such as the Zehnder ComfoAir Q600 ST although there are no in-town installers so I'd need to plead with one a few hours away to do the work. Their power efficiency appealed to me but not sure there are deal-breaker features on the current crop of ERV's. Our home is just over 4k ft.
If it matters for configuration options, I'd also like to replace the existing Furnace/AC with one of the new Mitsubishi GUZ heat pumps and air handlers.
I could use suggestions though on the air filtration side. I see a large selection of different types of purification systems that use different technologies like PCO, Hydrogen Peroxide to chemically filter the air but I've also seen plenty of articles raising questions about their component durability (how long they can effectively react before replacing main catalyst components etc) as well as adding oxidizing components or ions to the air. Some like the Aerus Air Scrubber are vague about what process they use to clean. Is there any settled unbiased research about their longer-term efficacy and durability ? Any that stand out as best-of-class ? Maybe a product that would satisfy an otherwise skeptic ?
I understand the IQAir Perfect 16 gets a lot of praise. Would it be able to handle outside air fouled by area smoke ? Say AQI index > 200 ?
On better outside air days when the AQI is green (< 30 ppm2.5), is it possible or even preferable to increase the air exchange speed to function more like an open window at each end of your house ? I do this often in the summer when it's cool outside but the house is still warm or I just want to get fresh air inside as quickly as possible. When the air's clean outside, it seems a shame to send it through heavy handed filtration. Call it smart filtration or at least only-when-necessary.
