Breathe Easier: How HVAC Systems Improve Indoor Air Quality

It’s no secret that HVAC systems play a huge role in your indoor air quality. They directly affect things like filtration, humidity levels, and air exchange systems that directly affect your health. Read this blog to learn more about the HVAC’s impact on indoor air quality so you can breathe a little easier. Advanced Filtration for Improved Indoor Air Quality Part of the job of your HVAC system is to filter dust, pollen, pet dander, and other airborne particles out of the air. These filters vary in efficiency depending on their rating; they’re rated from 1 to 20, with higher ratings indicating better air filtration efficiency. High-efficiency filters, such as HEPA (High-Efficiency Particulate Air) filters, effectively eliminate smaller particles. Remember that higher efficiency may increase energy use, but if you invest in anything, it should be your home’s air quality. In addition to high quality filters, air purifiers, UV light units, and smart ventilation systems can also be used to improve air quality, and they can often be integrated into a pre-existing system. Air purifiers can be integrated into the system to remove smaller particles and provide comprehensive air cleaning. UV light units kill bacteria, viruses, and other biological contaminants that float in the air and make you sick. Smart ventilation systems use sensors to automatically adjust air exchange rates based on occupancy, indoor air quality, preprogrammed schedules, weather forecasts, building pressure changes, electricity grid needs, or the operation of other moving and cleaning systems. How Humidity Control Improves Indoor Air Quality Unfortunately, indoor humidity can affect indoor air pollution concentration. For example, high humidity keeps the air moist, which increases the likelihood of mold growth. The target indoor humidity percentage is between 30 and 50%. Humidity control improves indoor air quality by reducing biological pollutants, protecting against air pollution, and simply improving comfort. Mold spores aren’t the only biological pollutants that thrive in high humidity; dust mites do, too, and the higher the humidity, the more they spread. Maintaining a proper humidity percentage helps minimize the growth of bacteria and viruses, in turn preventing the spread of infections and respiratory diseases. Additionally, airborne pollutant concentrations depend on the amount of water vapor in the air–more vapor means a higher pollutant concentration. That said, you want to have some humidity in the air, as it helps reduce congestion, soothe dry skin, and moisten nasal passages, which helps your body’s natural defenses against bacteria and viruses. That’s why the focus is on humidity control and not humidity removal. Indoor air quality depends on a little bit of moisture. How Air Exchange Systems Improve Indoor Air Quality An air exchange system is exactly what it sounds like a device that exchanges stale or polluted indoor air with fresh air from outside. They work by using a central unit and a system of ducts to circulate air throughout your home. One fan and vent pushes stale air outside while another fan sucks fresh air in. The ducts can also warm the incoming air if necessary. Air exchange systems improve indoor air quality by removing pollutants, eliminating odors, regulating humidity, and reducing energy consumption. These systems work alongside your existing heating and cooling systems to enact filtration and temperature control measures. And it helps you save on your energy consumption by reducing the amount of energy needed to maintain your home’s internal temperature. People with allergies or asthma will get the most immediate benefit from an air exchanger because it helps control all the airborne contaminants that make it difficult for them to breathe. That said, these systems are highly recommended because they contribute to energy efficiency through heat recovery, reducing the load on your HVAC system while filtering the air. However, it is worth noting that they cannot cool an already heated room; they only control the humidity. Conclusion Now that you know how HVAC systems contribute to indoor air quality, your sigh of relief over knowing your indoor air quality is high will come easier. You can add many different features to your existing HVAC systems to improve your air quality, so it’s important to know their basic functions to properly assess which types your home needs most.