Even if no one in your Westchase, Florida, home suffers from allergies or asthma, creating a breathable living environment for you and your family is essential. Naturally, the cleaner your house, the fresher the air inside will be, but cleanliness alone may not be enough. Ventilation systems in the home can help lower concentrations of indoor pollutants and disperse humidity throughout your house.
Don’t Ignore the Value of Home Ventilation
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) states that if too little outdoor air enters your home, indoor pollutant levels can increase. When home pollutant levels increase, they could cause health problems and discomfort. Newer home constructions tend to be particularly susceptible since new homes tend to be well insulated and sealed. During the winter months, when windows are closed, pollutants can accumulate and cause a problem in older homes as well.
If you notice condensation accumulations on walls or windows, foul-smelling or stuffy air, dirty air conditioning and heating vents, and biological growth occurring in places where books and shoes collect, your home may not have enough ventilation. The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) recommends the total volume of air changes per hour between indoor and outdoor air be 0.35. A technician can determine this air exchange volume based on the ventilation systems in your home.
Three Sources of Ventilation
Outside air enters and leaves your home through three distinct processes: infiltration, mechanical ventilation, and natural ventilation.
- Infiltration involves outdoor air getting into your home through openings such as cracks and joints in ceilings, floors, and walls, as well as gaps around door and window openings.
- Mechanical ventilation occurs when devices and equipment get involved in the movement of air between the indoors and outdoors. Some examples include exhaust fans that vent air from a single room, such as a bathroom or kitchen. Fans and ductwork inside your home also play a role in removing stale indoor air and distributing filtered outdoor air throughout your house.
- Natural ventilation takes place when air enters and exits your home through open doors and windows. Wind and temperature differences between the indoors and outdoors create a current of air that allows infiltration and ventilation to occur.
If you have an attic in your home, ventilation can do an important job here when you take advantage of heat rising to the top level of your house. An exhaust fan installed in a gable or the roof can help draw hot air up and out of your house while encouraging cooler air to enter into your home through doors and windows below.
How to Improve Ventilation in the Home
You can help your home’s HVAC system with ventilation inside your house with a few simple strategies. Use a system of fans — whether they’re bathroom exhaust, ceiling, kitchen, tabletop, or window fans — to augment the heating and cooling functions of your HVAC system. Fans can help facilitate the flow of heat in your home during the winter, circulate air conditioning throughout your living spaces during the summer, and help disperse high humidity in the home.
To lower concentrations of indoor air pollutants, open windows in your home when possible to allow fresh air to enter your house. To create a cross-ventilation effect, open windows that face or are adjacent to one another.
Keep your HVAC system operating at peak efficiency to ensure your home is properly ventilated. A properly operating HVAC system ensures that your home remains a comfortable place to be throughout the year. A service technician can clean, inspect, and make any necessary repairs to your home’s central heating and cooling systems and ventilation systems.
Don’t let stale indoor air hamper your ability to enjoy your home this season. Contact the team at Nuccio Heating & Air Conditioning, Inc. today at 813-961-7895 to learn more about ventilation and how it can improve your indoor air quality.
