Now that the snow has thawed and the afternoons of warm sunshine are waiting just around the bend, I know it’s time to start my yearly maintenance work on the house. I do roof inspections, electrical fixes, plumbing adjustments, house painting, and anything else I manage to remember after four months of being locked in by the freeze. But perhaps the most important round of maintenance each year is the repairs and adjustments that I do on my heating and cooling system. I’m fortunate enough to have a state-of-the-art wood stove that has it’s very own ductwork attached so it can be utilized as a central furnace with room control and everything. In this sense, the work on my heating setup is minimal since I’m not paying to constantly fix fragile components in an electric or gas powered furnace. But my air conditioner is another story altogether. It’s nearing the 10 year mark and it’s chugging performance in the summer months is a testament to that. I decided to bite the bullet and finally replace my central air conditioner this year, but I knew I wanted to add UV lights to improve my air quality even more. These bulbs emit extremely bright ultraviolet light that literally destroys any microbes or particles that pass over and around them in your system’s air stream. They’re particularly good at cleaning your air of mold or bacteria. Since I have had shoddy breathing the last few years, I figured I’d give them a shot. If nothing else, they just add more value to my house if I ever decide to sell it anytime soon.