Indoor air quality
Real measurements before we sell you anything.
Whole-home filtration, HRV and ERV ventilation, humidifiers, and honest assessments — we test what's actually in the air in your home before recommending equipment. The industry sells a lot of IAQ products that don't do much. We won't.
Pricing
What it costs.
Indoor air quality work covers a wide range. Costs depend heavily on your existing ductwork and what we find in the assessment.
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Indoor air quality assessment
Two-hour in-home walk-through with calibrated meters: particulate matter, VOCs, CO₂, humidity. Written report with prioritized recommendations.
$295 -
Whole-home media filter upgrade
MERV 13 or 16 4"-deep media filter added to your existing air handler. Includes return-side cabinet, filter, and any duct modifications.
$650–$1,100 -
Whole-home HEPA bypass system
True-HEPA filtration on a bypass loop, removes 99.97% of particulate down to 0.3 microns. The right answer when allergies or asthma are a primary concern.
$1,800–$3,200 -
ERV — energy recovery ventilator
Continuous fresh-air ventilation with heat and humidity recovery. Best fit for tighter homes built since 2000 or any home after an air-sealing project.
$2,500–$4,500 -
HRV — heat recovery ventilator
Continuous fresh-air ventilation with heat recovery (no humidity exchange). Common pairing with high-efficiency furnaces or heat pumps.
$2,200–$4,000 -
Whole-home steam humidifier
Steam-based humidifier added to your existing air handler. Right answer for homes that drop below 25% RH in January.
$1,400–$2,200 -
UV-C light installation
Coil-mounted UV-C lamp to suppress biological growth on the cooling coil. Honest pricing for what it actually does — we won't oversell it as a virus solution.
$400–$700
We don't sell ionizers, ozone generators, or PCO (photocatalytic oxidation) systems — research on residential ozone and PCO devices is mixed at best and some have been shown to generate harmful byproducts. If a contractor is selling you one, ask hard questions. Wisetack financing available on IAQ projects over $1,500.
How it goes
From the assessment to clean air.
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Assessment in your home
Two hours with calibrated meters. We test particulate matter, VOCs, CO₂, and relative humidity, and look at your existing duct system, filtration, and ventilation.
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Written findings
Inside three business days: a written report of what we measured against ASHRAE residential targets, and prioritized recommendations. No upsell pressure.
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Flat-rate quote, on paper
If you want to proceed: written quote with itemized equipment, labor, and any duct modifications. Wisetack financing options listed if useful.
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Install and verify
One-day install for most filtration and humidifier work, two to three days for ventilation systems with new duct runs. We re-measure on the way out to confirm we moved the needle.
What an assessment covers
Every assessment includes:
- PM2.5 and PM10 particulate measurement, multiple rooms
- Total VOC measurement (TVOC)
- CO₂ measurement (a proxy for ventilation adequacy)
- Relative humidity and temperature, multiple rooms
- Existing filter MERV rating and replacement cycle review
- Visual duct inspection at the air handler
- Static pressure across the filter and coil
- Combustion safety check on any gas appliances
- Bathroom and kitchen exhaust verification
- Crawlspace or basement humidity check (if applicable)
- Discussion of household allergies, asthma, or sensitivities
- Written report with ASHRAE benchmark comparison
Questions
Worth asking before you book.
What's the cheapest thing I can do today?
Two things. One: upgrade your air filter to a MERV 11 or 13 in the slot you've already got, and change it every 60 days instead of 90. Two: run your HVAC fan continuously (it costs about $5/month on an ECM motor) so the filter is actually catching air all day. These two changes account for most of the IAQ improvement most homes need.
Are HEPA systems worth it?
For most homes, no — a properly-sized MERV 13 filter catches 90% of what HEPA catches at a fraction of the cost. HEPA makes sense when someone in the household has documented allergies, asthma, or respiratory conditions where the difference between 90% and 99.97% particulate removal is clinically meaningful.
Do I need an HRV or ERV?
Depends how tight your house is. Pre-1990 homes typically leak enough air that they don't. Homes built since 2000, homes after an air-sealing project, and homes with persistently high humidity or CO₂ readings often do. The assessment tells us which side of that line you're on.
What about ionizers, ozone generators, or PCO systems?
We don't install them. The peer-reviewed research on residential ionizers and PCO systems is mixed at best, and some ozone-generating devices have been shown to produce byproducts (formaldehyde, ultra-fine particulate) that are themselves air quality concerns. We'd rather lose the sale than install something we don't trust.
Will a humidifier help with winter dry air?
Yes, if you're measuring below about 30% RH in winter (which is most MetroWest homes by January). Steam humidifiers are the right tool — they're more expensive than the bypass-style units but they actually keep humidity at the setpoint without growing biological material in the unit. The bypass-style humidifiers have a tendency to become a problem of their own.
How long does an IAQ install take?
Filter cabinet upgrades and humidifiers: one day. UV-C: a few hours. HRV or ERV systems with new duct runs: two to three days depending on access. We always re-measure on the way out so you can see the difference.
Honest assessments, no upsell
Get a real person on the phone.
If you've been told you need a $4,000 ionizer or UV system, we're happy to give a free second opinion over the phone before you write a check.