Specializing in clearing the air

Say you moved to Newport Beach for the weather, only to discover it’s not always paradise.

Take your typical April morning. The morning fog on the ocean rolls over your home, driving wet air indoors.

The sun finally comes out around noon and warms up the moisture, creating humidity and winds that spread allergens from the desert fauna.

Afternoons are usually warm affairs, but the setting of the sun brings a drop in temperature and a chill in the air that requires you to wear a sweatshirt or jacket if you venture outdoors.

It’s not Chicago, but it’s not Hawaii either, and the changes in temperature can be difficult for your home heating and cooling system to handle. One Corona del Mar man says he has the solution to indoor climate-control issues for Southern California.

“I like to use medical analogies, and I often say the home is like a human body,” contractor Randy Scholnick said. “If one part of your system isn’t functioning well, the rest will not work properly.”

Scholnick, owner of Air Doctors, wants to change the way homeowners look at their heating and air conditioning systems.

At the center of his high-end systems is the furnace. For Scholnick, that piece is usually the GE ECM 2.3, a programmable system with an onboard computer that can continually adjust airflow so each room maintains a consistent humidity level and air temperature.

Residents control the temperature through a remote-control thermostat that can maintain various temperatures in different rooms, a concept Scholnick calls “zoning.”

The consistency comes from the variable-speed technology that runs in a continuous fan device. Unlike traditional furnaces that fire up and fire down to reach a set temperature, the variable-speed fan runs continuously at a slower airflow, maintaining a steady air temperature and capturing airborne particles and allergens.

Those particles are filtered through an air-purifier powered by the furnace.

The system lowers energy costs, Scholnick claims, because the furnace is a more efficient power-source for the filtration system. The furnace itself also requires significantly less power than a conventional system. “I tell people the system is usually paid off in three to five years through energy savings,” he said.

Air Doctors also installs high-end air duct and ventilation systems, along with water filtration and tankless water heaters that can fit anywhere in the house. He said his business is growing as homeowners look to upgrade their homes, either for better climate control or to deal with dust and allergens. dpt.01-bizspot-C.1PhotoInfoOB1QG6IN20060501iyk65pncDON LEACH / DAILY PILOT(LA)Randy Scholnick of Air Doctors holds a special air filter he uses in his home.