If you've been wondering whether to turn on your air conditioner this week as smoke from wildfires made for chart-topping hazardous air quality in Ottawa, you're not alone.
CBC Radio's Ottawa Morning received multiple calls on the subject so the show invited Duncan Phillips, an air flow expert with the Guelph-based company RWDI, to address those concerns.
Here's a summary of his advice.
Should people run furnaces when the sky is smoky?
Generally it's OK to run the furnace fan as most units have a filter, though you don't necessarily need to run the air conditioner, Phillips said.
People should be aware what type of filter their unit has because that will determine the filter's rating system, which is key.
MERV is the industry standard rating, Phillips said.
No matter the rating system, "you want the highest number possible," he said, "because that's basically taking out more filth, more particulates."
The ideal rating is MERV 13, according to Phillips.
"[That's] about us as high as you can get without sort of forcing the air flow to go."
Where can you find the rating?
"There should be a big label right on the side of it," Phillips said.
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What about air conditioners sticking outside windows?
Usually those types are OK to run as they grab air from inside a home and shoot it outside, Phillips said.
Their filters are not as robust; they're more meant to stop the collection of dust bunnies.
But people can buy filters to place in front of the units to improve their MERV ratings.
What about split systems?
The same goes here as for units that stick outside windows.
"There's usually, again, a filter for dust bunnies, which isn't going to take out particulates, which is the stuff we're really trying to deal with when we're talking about fires," Phillips said.
"Once again, you can go and buy something that might improve the filtration on it."
Is it worth taping up cracks in the walls?
Sure, if the cracks are large and you can feel air coming in, Phillips said.
"Most homes have little small cracks. It's just inevitable. We can't make a home perfectly sealed. I wouldn't worry about chasing those because if they're really small cracks they're going to literally filter anyway."
"Just watch the kind of tape you're going to use," Phillips added, "because eventually you're going to pull the tape off and you don't want to damage the paint."
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June 09, 2023 at 06:35PM
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Expert shares air flow tips to deal with fire smoke - CBC.ca
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