Why an Energy-Efficient House Can
Impact Air Quality and How to Enhance It
Homes today are designed with energy efficiency in mind. This entails extra insulation and tightly sealed doors and windows to keep energy expenses affordable. While this is great for your energy expenses, it’s not so good for your indoor air quality.
As air has decreased chances to escape, chemicals can build up and impact your home’s indoor air quality. In fact, your residence’s air can actually be 2–5 times more polluted than the outdoors, according to the EPA. That’s not good for anyone, but it’s especially detrimental for family members with allergies, asthma, other respiratory concerns or heart disease.
Let’s review some of these routine pollutants and how you can improve your house’s indoor air quality.
6 Everyday Pollutants that Affect Indoor Air Quality
When you envision pollutants, you could think about smog or tobacco smoke. But lots of substances that impact your air quality are everyday substances. These things contain chemicals called volatile organic compounds, or VOCs.
They entail:
- Cleaning products, like aerosol sprays, bleach and window cleaner.
- Personal care products, including hairspray, perfume and nail products.
- Candles and air fresheners.
- Formaldehyde, which is frequently used in plastic, foam and particleboard products.
- Furniture, window treatments and carpet, particularly when they’re brand new.
- Paints and stains.
Other common pollutants include:
- Dust
- Pet dander
- Pollen
- Mold
Symptoms of VOC Exposure
Some people are more influenced by VOCs than others. The EPA says symptoms of VOC exposure involve:
- Irritated eyes, nose or throat
- Headaches
- Dizziness
- Fatigue
In extreme cases, the EPA says VOCs are linked to respiratory and heart diseases.
4 Ways to Boost Your Home’s Indoor Air Quality
It isn’t complicated to enhance your home’s air quality. Here are several recommendations from Harvard Medical School:
1. Clean Your Residence Often
Regularly cleaning and washing surfaces that attract allergens, like furniture, carpet and bedding, will help reduce on dust, dust mites and pet dander in your house.
2. Regularly Switch Your Air Filter
This important filter keeps your house comfortable and air fresh. How often you should change your air filter depends on the kind of filter you install. Flat filters should be replaced monthly, while pleated filters should be replaced every three months. If you’re unsure if your filter should be swapped, pull it out and hold it up to the light. Replace it if you can’t see light through it.
If someone in your residence suffers from allergies or asthma, we suggest having a filter with a higher MERV rating. The bigger the number this is, the better your filter is at eliminating contaminants.
3. Maximize Natural Ventilation
Keep fresh air circulating by opening windows whenever the weather allows. We also recommend turning on exhaust fans in your bathroom and kitchen as much as possible to eliminate pollutants and introduce more fresh air.
4. Talk with Our Indoor Air Quality Pros
From whole-home air purifiers, Service Experts Heating & Air Conditioning has a fix to help your household breathe more easily. We’ll help you select the right option during your free home comfort assessment. Contact us at 403-279-5760 to book yours now!