As a contractor, you know that Indoor Air Quality is a hot topic these days. With more and more people spending time indoors, it is becoming increasingly important to ensure that the air inside homes and businesses for your customers is as clean as possible. The Project Sustainability Podcast is here to help.

Hosted by a team of experts in sustainability and environmentalism, the Project Sustainability Podcast aims to educate and entertain listeners about a wide range of topics related to the environment. Their episode, “An Update on Indoor Air Quality,” features AprilAire Senior Training and Development Manager of AprilAire Academy Chris Howells participating in a discussion on the many factors that can affect the air quality inside our homes and buildings.

From volatile organic compounds to particulate matter to the impact of the air in the home on your customers’ pets, Chris and Project Sustainability’s Peggy Smedley cover a broad range of information and provide an engaging, enjoyable conversation on environmental issues and Indoor Air Quality.

This episode offers valuable insights into how you can continue to improve the air quality in your customers’ homes as well as practical tips for choosing the right air cleaner for different spaces and advice on how to improve ventilation and humidity control. Chris also emphasizes the importance of taking a holistic approach to Indoor Air Quality—there is no one-size-fits-all solution, and a combination of different strategies may be needed depending on the specific circumstances of the home and its location. For contractors, this is an important reminder that improving Indoor Air Quality requires a nuanced understanding of the unique needs of each client.

Tune in for a resource to stay informed on the latest trends and best practices in Indoor Air Quality plus the impact on the HVAC industry. If you are looking to stay ahead of the curve and provide the best possible service to your clients, give the Project Sustainability Podcast a listen today.

Total Home Performance, located on Maryland’s Eastern Shore, utilizes a science-based, top-down approach in creating healthy homes for its clients. They see their customers as their neighbors, utilizing a no-pressure sales technique to provide the best solution, not just the one that’s going to make the biggest impact on the bottom line. They provide an informative and visual-based process that walks the homeowner through any issues they’ve spotted and how they can be addressed based on the latest building science principles.

Total Home Performance Grows Steadily

Over the last 13 years, Total Home has steadily grown from an energy audit service to a full-service home performance contractor. While its growth has led to expanded expertise, more employees, and more infrastructure, the company has remained true to its humble roots to make a positive impact on the lives of homeowners they service. Many of the company’s employees have been with them since the beginning, creating a unique family atmosphere that leaves owner Matthew Hargrove proud.

“We are a true family here. We have committed our lives to this business…We feel very fortunate and proud to not only be supporting this amount of people but providing this type of work that is of such great benefit to our customers.”

Like many other home performance contractors, Total Home Performance has seen increased demand for its services since the COVID-19 pandemic. More homeowners are concerned about their home’s indoor air quality and if their home is making them sick.

Healthy Home Assessments Help Homeowners

As a result, Total Home Performance began offering healthy home assessments to evaluate the health and safety issues that could be negatively impacting homeowners. This begins with a visual inspection of the property to identify things like moisture, mold, pest intrusion, or other potential contaminants. Based on this inspection, they can perform specific tests for things like volatile organic compounds (VOCs), mold, and moisture to pinpoint the root cause and lay out a plan to eradicate these issues.

Humidity control is especially vital for many homeowners along the eastern shore since they butt up against the Chesapeake Bay and other inlets leaving them vulnerable to the impacts of excess humidity like mold, mildew, discomfort, and structural damage.

The Big Three

The Total Home team also shores up any poorly insulated areas ensuring the home is energy-efficient and protected from whatever mother nature may throw its way. Sealing up the house also helps create a perfect structure for Total Home Performance to apply, what Hargrove calls “The Big Three”—ventilation, filtration, and moisture management strategy—which helps eliminate household viruses, VOCs, and other health issues within the home.

Foundation repair and waterproofing company, Acculevel, is in demand and shows no sign of slowing down. Founded in 1996, the company has earned a reputation of trust by being honest and transparent with customers while providing the highest quality work and customer service in the industry. This reputation has spurred rapid growth, so much in fact, that Acculevel is currently building a new facility that will triple their capacity.

Acculevel’s Focus is on Family and Culture

Acculevel is a family-run business as founder Andy Beery works alongside his sons Neil and Nolan who handle operations and sales. Together, they have built a strong culture focused on helping people. “We’ve really focused the culture of our company and the great people and talent we have on just truly helping people,” says Operations Manager, Neil Beery. “That growth – that culture has really made a massive impact on what we do.”

Utilizing the best products is another key to Acculevel’s success. It’s no coincidence that homeowners think highly of the company as the solutions they provide stand the test of time, something that can’t be said about the work of all contractors in the industry. They proudly use AprilAire Dehumidifiers on their encapsulation jobs. “In our opinion, AprilAire is the top-of-the-line product, so there’s nowhere else to go in order to improve,” says President, Andy Beery.

Nash Distribution Provides Quality Products for Acculevel

With rapid growth also comes the need to have the tools and materials at the ready to complete the work without building a backlog. That’s where Acculevel’s partnership with Nash Distribution and AprilAire really shines. In a time of almost constant supply chain disruption, Nash Distribution prides itself on having the products their partners need, when they need them. That, in combination with AprilAire’s U.S. manufacturing, ensures Acculevel gets the quality products they expect delivered on time.

Acculevel’s dedication to customer service and providing real solutions has made for an ideal partnership with AprilAire. “We’ve exclusively used AprilAire for years – they are excellent products and our customers are extremely satisfied with their performance,” Andy Beery said.

Most any business, regardless of industry, can learn from Acculevel’s model of aligning with like-minded partners, providing a premium service and focusing on solutions that benefit the customer. Encompassing these characteristics into your business will you take you to the next level by creating an army of satisfied customers that will market your services via word of mouth and drive leads your way, saving your marketing dollars and the time of your sales force.

MADISON, Wis. (March 25, 2024) – AprilAire, the leader in whole-house Healthy Air solutions, announces it is once again advancing its Dehumidifier lineup to be more intuitive, easy to connect, simple to use and maintain, and environmentally friendly.

Customers fuel the AprilAire passion to continually raise the bar. In 2024, AprilAire is excited to phase in the following new features and benefits to its market-leading Dehumidifier product offering:

First, and most significantly, AprilAire is upgrading the refrigerant in its Dehumidifiers to reduce by 66% the Global Warming Potential (GWP) of all the models in its lineup. The transition to R32 is underway and projected to wrap up across the full product line by year-end.

Look for this seal on AprilAire Dehumidifier packaging to indicate the product is more environmentally friendly and contains the refrigerant R32.

In addition, AprilAire continues to make its Dehumidifiers easier to use and maintain by eliminating the On/Off switch in non-hardwired models, as well as introducing a new, tool-less filter door in the E080 and E100 models.

“Customers will continue to experience the same superior product performance and reliability they have come to expect from AprilAire Dehumidifiers. By providing a more environmentally friendly product, we strengthen our brand leverage in the whole-home category and retain our position as the leader in delivering best-in-class Healthy Air solutions to dehumidify homes,” said Katie Zagorski, AprilAire Senior Product Manager, Dehumidification.

About AprilAire

AprilAire is on a mission to make homes healthy. We believe everyone deserves Healthy Air and envision a future with Healthy Air in every home. Headquartered in Madison, Wisconsin since 1954, AprilAire has been creating and delivering Healthy Air solutions to manage air purity, humidity, fresh air supply, temperature, and mitigate radon and viruses in all types of homes, and all environments. We have an unparalleled reputation as the brand of choice among tens of thousands of professional contractors and make a Healthy Air difference in the lives of the millions of families who rely on our products every day. To learn how to turn a house into a Healthy Home with the AprilAire Healthy Air System® visit www.aprilaire.com.