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Continuous HVAC Blower Fan Operation for Optimum Indoor Air Quality AirCondAPedia © Enter your search terms Submit search form   Search This Website - InspectAPedia.com

• How to improve indoor air quality
• Indoor air filtration using the heater or air conditioner blower fan
• Why & how to run the blower fan continuously indoors

Here we discuss How to how and why to set your air conditioning or heating system blower fan to continuous operation in order to improve indoor air quality by increased and continuous indoor air filtration. (Naturally if there is an IAQ problem source in the building it is essential to also find and correct that condition.

This website answers almost any question you might ask about air filters for heating or air conditioning systems. Contact us to suggest text changes and additions and, if you wish, to receive online listing and credit for that contribution. © Copyright 2008 Daniel Friedman, All Rights Reserved. Information Accuracy & Bias Pledge is at below-left. Use links at the left of each page to navigate this document or to view other topics at this website. Green links show where you are in our document or website.

For maximum IAQ improvement in buildings: for the new blower installation we selected a fan unit which had both the capability of delivering adequate CFM of air flow and a blower fan motor duty cycle which permits continuous operation if we wish to run the system that way. Running the blower continuously at low speed resulted in continual air scrubbing in the building. When the heating or cooling needs of the building require, the fan shifts automatically to high speed.

Why Run an Air Conditioner or Heating Blower Fan Continuously?

Here are some possible advantages of continuous blower fan operation

• Improved air filtration, lower indoor dust levels - this is particularly true if you have a good air filter system installed. In our forensic lab when we installed a new gas furnace we asked the installer to include a multi speed fan (the fan chooses the needed speed automatically), a fan rated for continuous duty cycle, and we specified that the air filter system include HEPA filtration as well as an electrostatic air cleaner. We also included a cheap disposable filter at the air returns.
  
  This fan plus filter design permitted us to run the blower fan continuously in our lab, regardless of whether or not the heat was running (we don't need central air). We measured airborne dust levels in the building before and after installation of the new system and found that indoor dust levels improved by at least one order of magnitude.
  
  This system was enormously more effective than the dust filtration capacity of any free-standing "air cleaner" found on the popular consumer product market. That's because a warm air central heating system or central air conditioning system blower and duct work move many more cubic feet of air per minute through the filter system than a free-standing room "air cleaner" or "air purifier" can handle.
  
  
• Increased building comfort: especially if a multi-speed or variable speed fan motor is included in the system design, the continuous movement of air in the building avoids sudden hot or cold blasts when heating or air conditioning turns on; indoor air temperatures tend to be more even.

Here are some disadvantages of continuous air conditioner or heating system blower fan operation

• Energy use: A downside of continuous blower fan operation is higher electrical costs. On the other hand, if we needed to reduce building dust and allergen levels and/or increase comfort levels, this approach might avoid wasting money on other attempts at air cleaning that are expensive and less effective. More careful study is needed to really evaluate the claim that continuous blower fan operation uses more overall energy. In some cases there may be a net energy savings, depending on how hard the heating or cooling system has to work to satisfy the thermostat (and occupants) during "on" cycles.
  
  
• Equipment life: if the blower motor is not rated for continuous duty operation, it may need replacement sooner when continuous fan operation is used. In this case be sure the new blower is rated for continuous duty.

Air Filtration Suggestions

See these articles about how to use air filters, where to buy them, and how to turn on and off HVAC blower fans

• AIR FILTERS for HVAC SYSTEMS - about air filters
• OPTIMUM INDOOR AIR FILTERS - optimum filter designs for best filtration
• CONTINUOUS BLOWER FAN OPERATION - advantages of continuous air filtration in improving indoor air quality
• AIR FILTER EFFECTIVENESS - how air filter effectiveness is measured
• FIBERGLASS & AIR FILTERS - questions and opinions about fiberglass shedding hazards from air filters
• SOURCES FOR AIR FILTERS - where to buy air filters
• OTHER AIR CLEANERS
• Other Switches on a Room Thermostat - how to set the HVAC blower fan to continuous operation, and what to do if the blower fan won't turn on or won't turn off

Use links just below or at the left of each page to navigate this document or to view other topics at this website. Green links show where you are in our document or website.

AIR CONDITIONING SYSTEMS
AIR CONDITIONER BTU CHART
AIR CONDITIONER COMPONENT PARTS
AIR CONDITIONER TYPES, ENERGY SOURCES
AIR CONDITIONER NOT WORKING
AIR FILTERS for HVAC SYSTEMS
  Air Filter Location
  Dirty Air Filter Problems
  Missing Air Filters
 OPTIMUM INDOOR AIR FILTERS
  Air Filter Efficiency
  Optimum Air Filter Design / Location
  How to Cascade Air Filters
 CONTINUOUS BLOWER FAN OPERATION
 AIR FILTER EFFECTIVENESS
  MERV, HEPA Definitions
  MERV Air Filter Ratings
  How Air Filters Work
  Particle Sizes & IAQ
  Gasketed air filters
  Debris in Return Air Plenum
  Washable air filters
 FIBERGLASS & AIR FILTERS
  Air Filters Shed Fibers?
  Fiberglass & Test Lab Accuracy
  Variations in Fiber Size
 SOURCES FOR AIR FILTERS
  OTHER AIR CLEANERS
AIR HANDLER UNIT
  DIRTY A/C BLOWERS
    Leaks, Rodents In Air Handlers
    Mold Growth in Air Handlers
  DAMAGED COOLING COIL
  DIRTY COOLING COIL
  DIRTY COIL CLEANING PROCEDURES
  FROST BUILD-UP
  BLOWER LEAKS, RUST & MOLD
  ADDING A/C: RETROFIT SIZING
CLEANING & Legionella BACTERIA
COMPRESSOR CONDENSER
CONDENSATE HANDLING
CONTROLS & SWITCHES
COOL OFF HEAT Thermostat Switch
COOLING CAPACITY, RATED
COOLING COIL or EVAPORATOR COIL
DATA TAGS on AIR CONDITIONERS
DUCT SYSTEMS
DUCTS - Asbestos
DUCT SYSTEM DEFECTS
DUCT INSULATION, Asbestos Paper
DUCTS, Asbestos Transite Pipe
DUST FROM HVAC?
FAN AUTO ON Thermostat Switch
INSPECTION LIMITATIONS
LOST COOLING CAPACITY
MOTOR OVERLOAD RESET SWITCH
OPERATING COST
OPERATING DEFECTS
OPERATING TEMPERATURES
REPAIR GUIDE for AIR CONDITIONERS
REPAIR & DIAGNOSTIC FAQs for A/C
REFRIGERANTS
SEER RATINGS & OTHER DEFINITIONS
SYSTEM OPERATION
THERMOSTATS
THERMOSTATIC EXPANSION VALVES
CRITICAL DEFECTS
Air Conditioning "How To" Books
FURNACES WARM AIR HEATING SYSTEMS

Technical Reviewers & References

• Daniel Friedman - principal author/editor of the InspectAPedia ^TM Website
• Thanks to Mark Cramer, Tampa Florida, for assistance in technical review of the "Critical Defects" section and for the photograph of the deteriorating gray Owens Corning flex duct in a hot attic. Mr. Cramer is a Florida home inspector and home inspection educator.
• Thanks to Jon Bolton, an ASHI, FABI, and otherwise certified Florida home inspector who provided photos of failing Goodman gray flex duct in a hot attic.
• Thanks to Alan Carson, Carson Dunlop, Associates, Toronto, for technical critique and for providing a copy of Carson Dunlop Weldon & Associates Technical Reference Guide to manufacturer's model and serial number information for heating and cooling equipment ($69.00 U.S.).
• Wikipedia provided background information about the definition of HEPA and airborne particle interception.

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Contact Daniel Friedman for website content suggestions or for fee-paid consulting

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