With Covid-19 going around I sure worry about the health and safety of my family.
I have looked online for ways to keep them safe. Masks, hand washings, and avoiding big crowds all make sense. However, what is less clear is how our heating and cooling should be maintained. Some sources say that cold air is better to keep the virus load down. Other sources say that hot, humid air is better at killing the virus. Still others say it doesn’t matter so long as the air is dry. It is all very contradictory. Ultimately, I just decided to keep our home set at a comfortable temperature year round but to also invest in strong air filters. I got a strong air filter for our HVAC system and I also got strong HEPA filters to place around the house. That is the best that I can do for now. I did discover something interesting during all of my internet searches though. I discovered that hot water boiler systems were, essentially, invented because of a virus outbreak about 100 years ago. Heat from boiler systems is a lot safer than forced air furnaces. This is because boiler systems don’t spread germs from one room into all of the rooms in the house. This is certainly good to know. I kind of wish that our house had a boiler system now. We wouldn’t need those old-fashioned radiators. I would be plenty happy with underfloor heating. I know someone who uses a boiler system for exactly that purpose and her floors are so warm and comfortable. Now, if only they would figure out a way to cool our houses safely we would be all set.