CONTENTS 9/11/2020
Ductless Systems & Smoke?
Exhaust Fan Caution
Filter & Fan Hack
Call Ahead For Fans & Filters
Windyty
Another Web Link
Purple Air Link
Bunny Housing Secured
Radio Free Fl!p: Goodnight My Angel
Today it’s all been about the smoke, all day. The smoke is extra hard with the Coronavirus impacting or threatening lungs. But the emails I’ve received today have been all about neighbors offering help to one another in the form of accurate information, and sometimes more concrete kindness as well. I love you all. I’m ending with one more lullaby. ~Love/Fl!p
DUCTLESS SYSTEM & SMOKE?
I moved into a rental home in the neighborhood a couple of months ago, and it has a Daikin ductless heat/AC system. I’ve never had a ductless system before, and in light of the smoke, I’m wondering if using it will help or hinder our air quality? I don’t quite understand if it will potentially bring in smoke from the outside if we turn it on for cool air…or if running it could even filter the air inside our home. (Google wasn’t helpful in this regard.) Thank you! ~ Whitney Kiewit, Elizabeth Street
[I found this: In split system air conditioners design, commonly heat pumps, part of your system is located outside your home, it does not take in outside air. Its main operational purpose of cooling the air in your home is not achieved by moving cool air inside, but by moving unwanted heat out.
EXHAUST FAN CAUTION
Any fans that blow air out of your home (bathroom, kitchen) wind up also sucking air in through leaks around windows and doors and such. So those fans are not great to use right now. ~ Fl!p
I do not claim to be a specialist in HVAC systems, but my understanding is that ductless heat pump systems recirculate air and don’t necessarily pull in outdoor ambient air. Assuming that’s true for your system, the other consideration is that there are other locations where outdoor air can enter the home. Once the air is in, it will continue to recirculate, so there is still good justification for having a good filter on the system. Again, I’m no HVAC specialist and I’m sure there is considerabe variability in how different systems function. ~ Tim Sturtz
FILTER & FAN HACK
Recommendation is 20 x 20 filter attached to back of box fan, with MERV rating between 11-14.
**A helpful tip: While the 20 x 20 fits perfectly, the 25 x 20 works absolutely fine too!! And this size was in stock AND cheaper! It certainly doesn’t matter if 5 inches of unused filter sticks up above the top of your box fan when you bungee cord it on! Remember to put it on the back of the fan and look for thet arrows for correct air flow direction. And there was the warning too to not to leave it on 24/7 or if you leave the house since the strong filter can heat up the motor too much. ~ Christy Mann
CALL AHEAD FOR FANS & FILTERS
FYI, if people don’t have extra furnace filters on hand, they should call ahead, because some stores, like Ace, are out of the 20 by 20 size. A clerk told me how to use a larger one, because if it’s set up next to the fan, it will stay up while the fan is on, due to the force of the fan blades moving air, but that’s anecdotal and not official. You could just tell people on the blog to call ahead for supplies at different hardware stores. (for 20 by 20 box fan, etc.) and to check for other options with sizes. I am about to set up my oversized 24 by 24 filter next to 20 by 20 fan to try this out. ~ Wendy Borgesen
[A bungie cord can help. ~Fl!p]
WINDYTY
Another great resource is Windyty. It’s most often used as the most accurate wind condition model for offshore fishermen, but also has a setting you can choose that shows smoke and other things. You can select what you want to see and run a model timeline to show when the wind will bring the smoke. You can also drop a pin on your location that will show predicted levels for that exact location. https://www.windy.com ~ Gordon Dunham
ANOTHER WEB LINK
This appears to be more frequently updated (esp. on the forecasting), and I really like the detailed and more extended forecasting it provides. Check it out. https://www.accuweather.com/en/us/seattle/98104/air-quality-index/351409 ~ Margo Murphy
PURPLE AIR LINK
Here is a link to Bellingham on PurpleAir for the later postings for those who aren’t as Google savvy:
https://www.purpleair.com/map?opt=1/mAQI/a10/cC0#11/48.7507/-122.3945
The state sites are taking so long to load that I gave up on them. ~ Aaron Booker
BUNNY HOUSING SECURED
Thank you everyone so much for helping us secure bunny housing. We are overwhelmed by the community support. It’s been wonderful to experience as we scramble to adjust to create a two family house. ~ Sarah Garrett
RADIO FREE FLIP: GOODNIGHT MY ANGEL
I’ve been trying to think how to offer comfort in this hard time, on this day of memories so many of us. I thought of sharing Tom Paxton’s song The Bravest, and decided it was just too hard with everything else going on. And then I thought of my friend John Knowles and the calm, tender confidence of his music. Here, he’s joined by his friend Tommy Emmanuel who I think is better known. Together they offer deep musical kindness.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P7rynT2m94I
Love/Fl!p 360-671-4511 2518 Cherry Street flip@columbianeighborhood.org
If you want to ask me to post something, just email me. If it’s urgent, phone. If it’s a real emergency, call 911.