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AprilAire Stands Up For Clean Air

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Every year, the American Lung Association works diligently to champion lung health for all Americans. Through a variety of education, research and advocacy initiatives they strive to prevent disease and promote health. Here at AprilAire, we believe everyone deserves access to healthy air. So it only made sense that we should partner with the Lung Association to work together on our complementary missions. Strength in numbers, right? We were excited to launch this partnership in early 2020, eagerly kicking things off by becoming a national sponsor of the Lung Association’s Fight For Air Climb. The Fight For Air Climb is one of many Lung Association events designed to support friends and loved ones living with a lung disease while raising funds for clean air, lung health education and other aspects of the organization’s mission.

More recently, the Lung Association launched the Stand Up For Clean Air initiative to honor the 50th anniversary of the Clean Air Act. This provides a platform for everyone to learn about how air quality impacts our lives and health, as well as ways to advocate and educate others about this important topic at a community level. It is about creating conversations around air quality, climate and health. More importantly, conversations that explore who may be impacted the most (e.g. low-income communities, older Americans, people of color, etc.) by these issues. AprilAire was very excited to sponsor and support this initiative.

The #MyCleanAirStory contest grew out of the Stand Up For Clean Air initiative as a way for people to share their thoughts on why clean air matters to them. Created by the Lung Association, it allows a glimpse into why clean air matters to all Americans. Nine contestants won AprilAire Allergy True HEPA Air Purifiers donated by AprilAire. The grand prize contest winner won a whole-home Indoor Air Quality upgrade which included a free AprilAire Healthy Air System™ installation from our valued partner contractor, Aaron York’s Quality Air in Indianapolis, IN. Committed to building trust and delivering quality service, York’s has been providing HVAC and Indoor Air Quality services to their community for almost 45 years. Reflecting on the installation process, Aaron York’s President Kris Conover, stated “Being able to promote a system concept like this is really ideal. I love sharing with people all the aspects of what goes into creating good Indoor Air Quality in the home.”

Clean air matters to all of us – for one reason or another. Start asking your customers why clean air is important to them!

Healthy Clean Air

What Can Imprinted Air Purifiers Do For Your Business?

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How many ways can an AprilAire air purifier help your business? Watch this video with Joe Hoffmann from Hoffmann Brothers in St. Louis as he tells us about the benefits of our air purifiers, as well as the positive impact their imprinted logo has made on their ability to keep customers for life. If you have questions about our imprinting offer, contact your AprilAire District Sales Manager.

Healthy Clean Air

High Efficiency Filtration in Unconventional Settings

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One of the things we want to do here at Partners ProTalk is feature stories from our great AprilAire Partner dealers from all over the country. Our Marketing Communications Manager Tom Ruse recently went down to Murphysboro, IL and met up with Neil Voss from Voss Heating to see how he and his team make AprilAire Air Purifiers a focus of their installs.

It’s all about having a combination of the right equipment, smarts and in some cases, a little spit-balling.

Whenever I talk to contractors who’ve been around the block about installs, it’s amazing how quickly they start talking over my head. It’s not that they mean to, it’s just that it’s not that big of a leap. But still.

I’m always impressed with their technical chops. They have to know the physics of air movement, the mechanics of HVAC equipment, plumbing and electricity hands down. They also tend to be the ultimate handymen; able to think on their feet, improvise when necessary and find a solution to a set of problems that may be so unique that they may never come across them again in just the same way.

Neil Voss is one of those guys. He may have a fancy, yet well-deserved VP title now, but when you talk to him, you know he’s “been there/done that” and probably still does. I asked Neil about a particular install that illustrates a way to use a larger air cleaner for tons of air flow, while keeping static pressure in check. This is some of Neil’s handiwork:

 

Air Movement High, Static Pressure Low

“This is a 5 ton system with 4 zones. There are actually 2 systems like that in this building. It’s a church and it’s a classroom wing of the building they added on. We have 10 tons of cooling in there and 8 separate zones. The furnaces are set up to provide about 2,000 CFM, so we wanted to use the 1510 filter. The size of the 1510 allows plenty of air to move through it without adding a lot of static pressure. The other benefit is we only have to use 1 filter. I see this far far too often, but people don’t bother to read the instructions. Furnaces that move 2000 CFM require a return opening on either, both sides, or bottom only.  The 1510 is tall enough that we simply put it on a furnace box, and cut the side out of the box and the furnace, as well as remove the bottom of the furnace.  The size of the 1510 also matches perfectly to a 24” wide furnace.”

“We’ve used AprilAire filters in a lot of ‘unconventional’ settings. We recently installed three 1410 filters banked together on two twinned Carrier furnaces that share a return box (see above). Another thing we do A LOT in lieu of trying to adapt a filter to a unit: we install the filter in the furnace or fan coil box and the box is made the correct size for the unit. Hard to explain, but actually simple in concept. This makes for a super clean install because there are no weird overhangs or things not fitting, etc.

“Bottom line is we don’t ever go to an install and think, ‘the filter has to attach directly to the furnace or air handler’. Depending on the situation, we routinely use the filter in what will end up being the cleanest or neatest way to install it. So the 2210 might get used on a furnace, the 1410 might get used on a fan coil. We’ve used a bunch of 1510’s but we haven’t used one on a geo thermal yet. We stock the whole 1000 series line, and only replace the media with MERV 13 media”.

So there you have it!  Straight from the Pros. Even our own Air Purifier Product Marketing Manager Chris Chase concurs after viewing these pictures.  “These guys install a good looking system and you can tell that they design it for performance and with the end-user in mind”.

Neil Voss is Vice President of Voss Heating and A/C in Murphysboro IL. 15 years at Voss, Neil and his brother-in-law Anthony Baston took over for Neil’s father, who started the business in 1972. Voss runs 10 trucks around a 45-mile radius from Murphysboro, a rural community about 100 miles southeast of St. Louis.

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An Update on Indoor Air Quality from the Project Sustainability Podcast

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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.

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Total Home Performance Provides Solutions Based on Building Science

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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.

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Indiana-Based Acculevel’s Quality People and Partners Provide Recipe for Success

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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.