The importance of indoor air quality is not a new concept but it’s drawing attention like never before. When a virus like COVID-19 hits it causes people to re-think everything, especially regarding health and the air we’re breathing in our homes every day.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) determines indoor air quality as the quality of a home’s air related to a person’s health and comfort. How to you learn about potential home air pollutants? A home energy audit and healthy home analysis are important to first determine your home’s air quality. An audit by Ecotelligent Homes can reveal areas of your home that may be causing harmful air and provide you with quality solutions to improve your indoor air quality.
Ecotelligent uses the results of the audit and the EPA’s recommendations for improving indoor air quality into consideration to make home improvement suggestions specific to your home. The EPA’s recommendations start with removing pollutants and toxins from the air. The next step is to dilute pollutants with fresh air and better ventilation. Lastly, the EPA recommends cleaning and filtering the air.
Filters and purifiers should not be the first and only step to improving your home’s air quality. There are a few things to consider before addressing the air quality in your home.
1. FILTERS DON’T FIX ALL: Furnace filters are important and necessary. Utilizing a thicker one for more filtering can help improve air quality, but it could also harm your furnace and AC system. Filters or purifies alone are not a cure-all for removing indoor air pollutants. They are more of a band-aid solution to improve your indoor air quality, especially if you have other issues that a home energy audit can reveal.
2. HAVE A BLOWER DOOR TEST DONE: This will show you how much “fresh air” you have vs. what you need per health and safety standards. It will also reveal areas where “fresh air” is entering your home that could be harmful. Air will not be so fresh after running thru a floor joist with bugs or a hot and stuffy attic full of itchy fiberglass.
3. IMPORTANCE OF SENSORS/MONITORS: Ecotelligent Homes uses a portable indoor air quality sensor when doing their home energy audits and is the only company in Southeast Michigan to do so. Furthermore, they can install indoor air quality monitors to take action and work with your HVAC system when your air levels are not ideal.
At some point, COVID-19 will be contained, but the heightened awareness for the best air quality where we work and live should never go away. The pandemic has put more of a focus on using hand sanitizers that will likely stick with us long term. The same should be the case for air quality. Proper monitoring of the air you breathe can provide great peace of mind.
Staying on top of indoor air quality starts with an energy audit. Ecotelligent Homes can do a full assessment starting at $150. That cost gets credited back to you if Ecotelligent makes any improvements to your home to better your air quality.
For more information on the Ecotelligent home energy audits and to schedule one click here. You can also call 248-291-7815.
