Is your home healthy? How is your I.A.Q.

I.A.Q...Huh???

Acronyms. The heating and cooling community, like many industries, loves them. But one that is thrown around a great deal is I.A.Q., it stands for Indoor Air Quality. For many it congers up ideas of floating particles flying around the home or office, causing odors, irritants, or making us sick. Is it really that serious or is this something for only those who have severe repository issues?

Short answer. Its extremely important for all us. Our living/working space affects our health far more than most things we encounter each day. As energy codes have tightened over the last few decades, our homes and offices have gotten a tighter and tighter air seal from the outside world. This has caused us to be effectively living and working in more or less huge plastic bags. The more outside air let into buildings means it costs more to either warm up or cool down that outside air, so engineers and architects have increasingly been looking for better ways to stop that infiltration of outside air. On the other hand mechanical codes have required more and more outside air to be let in through the ductwork systems or other means, to combat the tight air seal of the building. So we are constantly fighting a battle between having enough fresh air in a space and it not costing a fortune to heat and cool that fresh air.

There is another issue with the our living and working spaces. Pollutants. Most of the time people think about pollutants as coming from industrial processes, power generation, automobiles or something similar. However, our living/working spaces are also a source of pollutants. We have carcinogens being "off gassed" by almost every product installed in the space. Carpets, paints, glues, finishes on wood products, all of these produce carcinogens. Carcinogens can and do cause cancer cells to develop in the human body. Ultimately we can not escape carcinogens in our modern world, but we can reduce our exposure. That is what IAQ is all about.

So what do you do about I.A.Q.? Many people just ignore it. Sadly in choosing to do so they are making their homes and businesses a breeding ground for many nasty things that are making the occupants of those buildings unhealthy and sick. Some will open up ventilation in the space, such as windows or doors to keep fresh air flowing through. While this will help with air quality, financially it is not a good option, as we end up trying to heat and cool the outside world instead of our building/living space, not only is that really expensive, when the weather gets to an extreme hot or cold, it becomes impossible to keep the building comfortable.

There are many options to help control the pollutants in the home. Things like higher quality filters that capture more pollutants. Ozone generation through electronic air cleaners. Ultra violet light generators. Cold plasma generators, and combinations of these different approaches. Also there are ways to bring in fresh air through heat exchangers that reduce energy loss while supplying fresh air into the building.

All of these options can dramatically improve the indoor air quality of a building. However many of them have continued costs to maintain them. Which option is best for your building? Short answer, any of these options can help...however the best thing to do is have a HVAC professional come and evaluate your building and help you decide what options will work best for you and your building's individual needs and budget.

Word of caution. Many products claim to kill most all bacteria and viruses, such as flu viruses and COVID-19. Usually with a claim of 99% effective or something along those lines. While some products do have a relatively good measure of success in destroying bacteria and viruses, none of them can completely remove the risks associated with germs, bacteria, and viruses. Be cautious of claims of complete effectiveness against every kind of "bad bug" or virus. The old adage holds true...if it sounds too good to be true, it probably isn't.