4 ms·

We recently built a new house and I decided to over provision air handlers so that we could get better control at the room level. As a result of that, there are

by jmacd 3y ago

We recently built a new house and I decided to over provision air handlers so that we could get better control at the room level. As a result of that, there are a lot of fans moving a lot of (sound dampened!) air, through air filters. I upgraded the air filtration on each of them to something pretty close to HEPA, but not quite. I also have activated carbon added to the filters in order to reduce an odours. Long story-- the house is comfortable, yes, but we also just don't get nearly as much transmission of viruses between the family. Of course plenty of colds get passed around with 2 adults and 3 kids, but anecdotally we just seem to be way less sick and rarely all sick at once. My alertness level is also never an issue like I remember it being, but I have made many other lifestyle changes which could be having an impact on that.

f6v 3y ago
> but I have made many other lifestyle changes which could be having an impact on that. Could you share?
- jmacd 3y ago
  Mostly I switched from high intensity cardio workouts (1hr+ cycling or running fast/hard) to much longer low impact workouts (walking for 3 hours+ some evenings). The most likely reason that had a big impact was that I am not sitting on the couch and thus not snacking late at night...
HPsquared 3y ago
I want to get something like this to get some relief from hayfever. I find my symptoms are much better when I'm at work (air conditioned office) than at home.
- dv_dt 3y ago
  You can add portable air filters, either units made specifically for it, or homemade Corsi-Rosenthal boxes. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corsi%E2%80%93Rosenthal_Box https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corsi%E2%80%93Rosenthal_Box
a_subsystem 3y ago
We added a UV light to our AC system in our < 2 year old house and went from everyone sick every couple months to rarely sick. 2 adults and > 1 children Anecdata, of course.
- jmacd 3y ago
  Wow, I had no idea about this!
  - a_subsystem 3y ago
    Beware your air filter may get dirtier faster (our AC company says, anyway) because of dead organisms.
- lostlogin 3y ago
  To join your anecdata, covid has had a huge impact on my wellness. Since the pandemic began I have been sick once, and that was miserable (I caught covid 2 months ago). I credit a general acceptance that if you’re sick you stay at home, and mask wearing.
bmitc 3y ago
Do you run the fans constantly or periodically even without the A/C engaged?
- jmacd 3y ago
  It does 5 full (filtered) air exchanges with outside air per hour. There are a further ~10 full circulations of internal air through the full filtering system. That level of air movement remains comfortable because we have a lot of ducting (we detailed in a lot of grilles, not just one single one per room) so it is a low-velocity high throughput system. You never get a lot of air blowing out of one place, but you get a lot of placed blowing a little air.

by jmacd 3y ago

f6v 3y ago

> but I have made many other lifestyle changes which could be having an impact on that. Could you share?

jmacd 3y ago
Mostly I switched from high intensity cardio workouts (1hr+ cycling or running fast/hard) to much longer low impact workouts (walking for 3 hours+ some evenings). The most likely reason that had a big impact was that I am not sitting on the couch and thus not snacking late at night...

HPsquared 3y ago

I want to get something like this to get some relief from hayfever. I find my symptoms are much better when I'm at work (air conditioned office) than at home.

dv_dt 3y ago
You can add portable air filters, either units made specifically for it, or homemade Corsi-Rosenthal boxes. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corsi%E2%80%93Rosenthal_Box https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corsi%E2%80%93Rosenthal_Box

a_subsystem 3y ago

We added a UV light to our AC system in our < 2 year old house and went from everyone sick every couple months to rarely sick. 2 adults and > 1 children Anecdata, of course.

jmacd 3y ago
Wow, I had no idea about this!
- a_subsystem 3y ago
  Beware your air filter may get dirtier faster (our AC company says, anyway) because of dead organisms.
lostlogin 3y ago
To join your anecdata, covid has had a huge impact on my wellness. Since the pandemic began I have been sick once, and that was miserable (I caught covid 2 months ago). I credit a general acceptance that if you’re sick you stay at home, and mask wearing.

bmitc 3y ago

Do you run the fans constantly or periodically even without the A/C engaged?

jmacd 3y ago
It does 5 full (filtered) air exchanges with outside air per hour. There are a further ~10 full circulations of internal air through the full filtering system. That level of air movement remains comfortable because we have a lot of ducting (we detailed in a lot of grilles, not just one single one per room) so it is a low-velocity high throughput system. You never get a lot of air blowing out of one place, but you get a lot of placed blowing a little air.