Ahh yes, regulation... It's that insane people would suggest this especially now that anyone can build their ideas. Rather than wanting to regulate more, let's educate people how to research their vendors or providers better.
All the tech in the world won't change anything if people don't focus on airflow and airchanges. Air needs to move and be replenished with air from the outside. Filters/UV/etc are just a bonus.
Even basic airflow understanding is surprisingly not common knowledge. IE for air to leave a room occupied by humans, then air needs a path into that room too.
I commonly see ceiling exhaust fans in bathroom showers and toilets with windows sealed shut. The door is meant to be closed... so the only gap for air to come into the room is around the door somehow - while the exhaust fan struggles.
I even visited one host who implemented a seal along the bottom of the door because:
1. Shower creates steam and with the above mentioned little airflow, that steam stayed around.
2. So the exhaust fan had to run while they dried themselves with a towel.
3. But they didn't like getting cold feet from the draft of air coming in under the door...
I could not convince them they needed an air intake vent. :-(
Similar but different, a couple of times now I've been in hotel rooms with a bar fridge buzzing away entirely enclosed in a cupboard. Extrapolate that to the hundred rooms or more of the hotel and it is a colossal waste thanks to a "simple" understanding of airflow.
> I commonly see ceiling exhaust fans in bathroom showers and toilets with windows sealed shut. The door is meant to be closed... so the only gap for air to come into the room is around the door somehow
If the building has central air heating or cooling, having a vent into the bathroom is standard. That’s more than enough for the exhaust fan to pull from.
In areas where central air is uncommon, you need a decent door undercut. A surprising amount of air can flow around a door and modern exhaust fans can pull a relatively good vacuum.
I live in an apartment above a busy road, and my building has no central HVAC. Opening my windows makes the air (much, much) worse.
It took a while to figure this out, so from the ~1.5 years I've lived here, I've accumulated huge, thick coats of brake dust on my windowsills, in my carpets, on the blades of my air-circulation floor... and so on. Probably am half-way to developing COPD.
I do still "replenish air from outside", though! ...through a three-stage filter. (I put an industrial air scrubber on my balcony, and fed the exhaust from it inside through the same kind of doorjam seal you'd use for a portable AC unit.)
I still get noxious fumes coming in sometimes, though. I had to set the thing up on a timer so it wouldn't pull air in during rush hour.
I've been running an airgradient sensor for a year now and as a result I am seriously considering adding a MERV to my HVAC system. Ideally I'd like to get two more sensors (one outside, one in the HVAC ducts) and setup home assistant to govern air exchanges.
Tip: avoid the cheap 1" filters that only have a few pleats. Fewer pleats = less surface area = more flow resistance.
Many HVAC people will recommend thicker filters (3-6" thick) if using a higher MERV, but the 1" 3M 1900 often has more actual surface area if laid flat.
Testing by Project Farm and others showed the 3M 1900 filter has the lowest airflow resistance of any 1" high-MERV filter. If your HVAC only accepts a 1" filter, that's the only brand I'd use. Change the filter ideally every 3 months, but to avoid costly HVAC repairs don't exceed 6 months maximum.
You can damage/destroy your furnace if you put in a too restrictive filter. Better to follow manufacturer recommendations and add circulating air filters in your house.
The issue is, all too often the HVAC equivalent of "gym bro science" teaches young technicians that High MERV = Too Restrictive, which (to put it mildly) is a gross oversimplification.
It's important to follow the manufacturers recommendations for the total pressure drop including the filter (this can be measured with a $10 radon manometer), but if the manufacture says something silly like "avoid high MERV filters" then you can safely ignore that claim provided you abide by the maximum pressure drop specced.
This is just an issue with residential HVAC, but of course the residential side has always been messed up...
> * Air needs to move and be replenished with air from the outside. Filters/UV/etc are just a bonus.*
Outside air needs to be filtered otherwise you can bring in pollen and other things (e.g., exhaust/brake dust from cars if near heavy arteries). Avoid UV for residences:
Yes, there is a whole certification system for measuring how well an air purifier works (CADR - Clean Air Delivery Rate) but consumers are easily distracted and confused by flashy features that promise everything but usually don't do much.
Thanks, this is one of those - I need this to exist for me, and I’m hopeful others might care. I’m so tired of the “news” - just want to calm down, learn things, and see if society can find solutions.
Great idea. One suggestion might be to offer users a toggle between the square Recent Backstories cards and a much more condensed and easy to scan line by line river of news? Maybe even categorized? But great job anyway, so thanks.
This was an issue I ran into a lot and why I settled eventually on a design similar to what you’re saying. Even for something seemingly simple like deciding what the title is or what’s the main picture is ridiculous hard with scraping alone so I have to pass most the data for ai analysis and then generate the details, summary and backstories. Thanks for checking it out
General liability. If people run one of their segments to compete, and something happens to them, it seems like Strava could be held accountable. I don't agree with this, but it seems like something that would have to be dealt with.
