How has the coronavirus affected your personal life?

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RD. said:
Exposure time, and dust. IMO UV is not at this point overly practical for most home heating/cooling systems.

This is the site & info that we use at work. American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE)

Filtration / Disinfection (ashrae.org)






My reason for posting filter info, was for those caught up in the wildfires.

In those cases, such as millions of people in North America (and elsewhere) are currently in, it doesn't matter one wit whether you live alone, or not. Unless you enjoy the taste of wildfire smoke.
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Hello; Interesting take on the UV sanitizer lights. We have for months been wearing make do masks because the good stuff was near impossible to find. I get that the good masks were for you medical workers. Some sense in that. However the masks I could find the last months were just a little better than nothing to somewhat better than nothing. So that the UV lights are not practical enough for home heating/cooling is an odd take. First they have to be some better than nothing which seems to be a standard good enough so that masks are mandated again in many places.
I again assert that an authority which mandates wearing a mask ought to have a decent mask available, but that is just my ignorant way of thinking. But such is a side issue.

I also did not limit my comment on UV lights to home use only. I did use the word buildings for a reason. Some folks live in an apartment complex with central air. I did for a year. Some other buildings where people work may have separate offices and rooms but have shared air. I rented a room in a mans house for two school terms years ago. I guess I figure if the UV works to some extent then they may be worth it to some. The cost would be less in the long run than replacing the expensive filters. Folks could do filters and UV lights for all I care. I just personally live alone in a house so it is not an issues for me.

Hello; Yes the smoke is a problem for anyone with breathing problems. I can see how having a lung affecting virus and having to breathe smoke is a problem. Same as being obese, having asthma, and other side issues can be a problem. Including my high BP. A UV light may not do anything for smoke but if one can keep virus levels down then why not. If I wind up in a nursing home and have any say so the building will have a UV system.
 
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Damn, that is not good, but seems to becoming more of the norm. Hopefully there is rain for all of us on the horizon!
 
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pacu mom said:
With so many fires going on, Northern California and Southern Oregon have a particularly bad smoke problem right now. For weeks there has been ash being deposited on my car. On any given day, depending on the wind direction, there can be good days and bad days. Last Sunday
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The previous week with smoke from the Monument fire on the horizon
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I have severe allergies to dust, molds and tree pollens and am extremely sensitive to smoke. I put on a mask before I step outside. I'm on two medications daily with a third one I can use 3 times a day if needed.

The very best air filter for home use that I have found is the Air Doctor Pro. I have used four other air purifiers in the recent past, but the Air Doctor Pro is superior, IMO. It's the first smart filter I have come across. The fan ramps up if there are particulates in the air. No matter how careful I am, the unit will turn red when I am scooping cat litter or removing ash from the wood stoves. I now have 12 of them running throughout my house. I can now take off my mask when I am in my house. Even though I am allergic to everything outside, there is no other place I care to live.

View attachment 1469871

If any one is on the market for an air purifier, check out the Air Doctor Pro. They are on the spendy side (compared to other filters) but if you keep searching, you should find a promotional site, and you should not have to pay more than $329.
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Hello; I live in TN. Far away from the fires. I see the smoke haze here and smell it sometimes.
 
The last four days the Portland, Or. metro area has been smoked in, not quite as bad as last year when air quality got to dangerous for everyone level
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skjl47 said:
So that the UV lights are not practical enough for home heating/cooling is an odd take.
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Not when one considers all of the variables involved.

From the ASHRAE site that I linked to.

UV-C In-Duct Air Disinfection
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  • Banks of UV-lamps installed inside HVAC units or associated ductwork; positioned parallel or perpendicular to airflow
  • Requires increased dose of UV to inactivate microorganisms on-the-fly as they pass through the disinfection zone. Due to limited exposure time, installations should observe these guidelines:
    - Minimum target UV dose of 1,500 µW•s/cm2 (1,500 µJ/cm2)
    - Designed for 500 fpm or slower moving airstream
    - Minimum irradiance zone of two feet
    - Minimum UV exposure time of 0.25 second
  • Should be coupled with mechanical filtration
    - Install the highest practical MERV filter that does not compromise system performance
    - Layering of technologies increases overall air cleaning through capture and/or viral inactivation

Does that seem like something that would fit the average home owner install, using something such as the lamp that you linked to? I certainly don't think so, and I work with HVAC systems. There's a lot to calculate and consider, besides just inserting a UV lamp into ones ductwork.

Even with simple home (or commercial) filtration one has to consider air flow rates, pressure drops, etc. Some building HVAC units (including commercial) are not designed to even handle the pressure drop that can be created from Merv 13 or greater filters.

So no, I don't consider that an odd take. lol

But folks are certainly entitled to spend their money as they see fit.
 
If we have had an increase in the local hospital deaths from Covid it has not been publicized locally. That doesn’t necessarily mean much. There has been a lot of discussion here about the rules when kids went back to school, but they are in school.

Our air quality has gone from bad to moderate (yay!) and today it even looks a little better than moderate, There is still a brown haze drifting down from fires far up north (Lassen area) and the haze of smog from I-5 and the Bay Area.

In any event I am outside trying to get some sun and maintain my patio aquariums.

If I have to sterilize the water in my aquariums? I have the wrong fish! I definitely don’t sterilize the air in my house but I do filter the air heavily because we have four furry pets.

Because no air conditioner is perfectly sealed and clean (even from the factory) and, even though I have installed all new ductwork, I filter the air at all 9 ceiling registers as well. I just bought some good quality air filters and cut pieces to fit and I quadruple them up and duct taped it all up inside the duct. After you screw the register back up on the ceiling you can’t see it but they are difficult to change.

Fortunately they don’t need much changing if you have a large high quality air filter on the return, and I run a 24 x 30 x 2. I went down to Fresno distributing and bought a large filter housing to put in my ceiling, and then I moved out the old blocking, enlarged the ceiling hole, and screwed it all up in there with plenty of mastic. It’s a filthy job but I’m glad I did it.

If you’re not that handy, anybody can figure out how to do this stuff in an emergency with some cardboard and duct tape.
 
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