How to Make Your Home Properly Ventilated All Year Round

For the most part, people in the United States spend about 90% of their time indoors. And because the majority of people’s daily tasks happen inside the house, the air indoors can affect your health as well as the safety of others. According to research, indoor air pollution can have significant damaging effects on human health. That is why having a good home ventilation should be one of the items on your to-do lists this season.

Four Seasons Air Specialists is your trusted HVAC company in White Bear Lake MN. We offer total home comfort solutions, ventilation systems included. In this article, we’ll tackle the importance of ventilation and ways how to aerate your home better.

What is Ventilation?

According to the United States Department of Energy website, ventilation refers to the exchange of indoor and outdoor air. Ventilation is critical to your home's comfort and safety. Without it, your insulated and airtight house will lock in harmful contaminants, including carbon monoxide and moisture that can harm your family's health and damage your house.

Maybe you’re wondering, “why should I ventilate?” If you live in a house that runs combustion appliances like stoves and furnaces, these gases can accumulate in a poorly ventilated home and put your health and safety at risk.

Allergens such as pollen, dust, and other irritants can become confined and concentrated in your home, especially when it is poorly ventilated. Proper ventilation will help remove large particles and dust from your indoor air. This way, it effectively helps reduce allergy symptoms, making the indoor air much more comfortable for allergy sufferers.

Moreover, if your home is overly humidified, the excess moisture can threaten your health and promote mold growth. When ignored, too much moisture can also ruin your home's insulation and even lead to structural damage.

Tips To Improve Your Home’s Ventilation

Use exhaust fans.

Running exhaust fans can draw air from your home and vent it outside. Some parts of your house, like the kitchen and bathroom, should have exhaust fans designed to pull air particles up and out of those areas. Make sure to run the exhaust fan in the bathroom during use, which can help draw moisture from the sink or bathtub out of the air and lessen the formation of mold on surfaces. The same principle applies to the kitchen: operate the exhaust fan when using the oven or stove, so fumes from cooking with oil or smoke from baking food get drawn out of the air.

Upgrade your HVAC system’s filters.

Most HVAC systems are equipped with basic filtration units. However, they don’t completely remove moisture and contaminants from the air. For this reason, try switching to a HEPA (high efficiency particulate air) filter. Choose one with a filtered vacuum and activated carbon air filter, which can significantly increase the safety of your indoor air.

Using HEPA filters is highly recommended if your home has occupants with preexisting respiratory conditions, pregnant women, children, and the elderly.

Use a mechanical ventilation system.

A ventilation system helps control your home's humidity levels. As a result, your family will breathe much more effortlessly. It increases your home's comfort level, allowing you to minimize your use of HVAC systems.

During high seasons, your heating or cooling system works round the clock. You would want your furnace or heat pump to always be at its best. With that in mind, a ventilation system (mainly a heat recovery unit) will run entirely at a low rate to minimize your energy consumption. It will significantly lower your monthly energy costs by using the heat that is usually wasted through standard extract systems. The recovered heat is up to twenty times the energy used by electric fans.

Ventilation Questions? Ask Four Seasons Air Specialists

Our goal is to help homeowners like you create a living space that is entirely comfortable and safe. That's why we offer holistic, long-term HVAC solutions. If you are interested in having one installed in your home, give us a call. We are your leading Dellwood heating and air conditioning company. It would be our pleasure to help you and your family enjoy a comfortable, properly ventilated home.