Winter Months Challenge

Winter is almost here and new challenges to clean indoor air are upon us now. In spring and summer we worry about outdoor allergens like pollen and also about pollution created indoors from cooking, and smoking, and VOC’s. Air conditioning keeps us comfortably cool in the noon and afternoon hours. Opening windows in the morning or late evening to let fresh air in insures that we have fresh outdoor air and meets the recommended ventilation rates. Air purifiers add another level of insurance.

But in the winter months’ ventilation is more difficult. We tend to seal the home tighter, add insulation to windows and doors to prevent heat losses and reduce heating costs. But these actions create new problems.

Lack of adequate ventilation allows pollutants to accumulate inside the house and operating furnaces add to the level of CO2 and even increase the risk of carbon monoxide poisoning.

We have to be more vigilant. Also, the holiday season with the added fragrances, to make the home smell “nice”, add to the problem with the increased emission of VOC’s.Click here to see my recommendation on a very efficient HVAC filter.

Importance of Ventilation

Ventilation is still necessary, we must expel the stale air and allow the intake of fresh air. Ideally we should have installed a heat recovery ventilator (HRV) that extracts heat from the stale air that is exhausted from the house and transfers it to the incoming fresh, but cold, air. It is a heat exchanger where the exhaust air warms up the incoming supply air. These systems may be expensive to install but will provide energy savings since the furnace will cycle on less frequently. However, even if you do not have an HRV in your home you still must have ventilation.

But I want to stress that you must have CO, carbon monoxide, detectors in your home since malfunctioning furnaces can be lethal. Continue reading “IMPROVING INDOOR AIR QUALITY – WINTER MONTHS CHALLENGE” →