Good indoor air quality (IAQ) is an important element of a healthy home and balanced ventilation plays an important role in achieving and maintaining it. In HVAC terms, it means that there’s as much fresh air coming into your home as there is stale air exiting it.
Why Ventilation is Important
The average adult breathes approximately 11,624 quarts of air daily when at rest. The air in homes typically contains contaminants like pollen, dust, mold spores, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide and sometimes radon. Each of these substances can irritate the respiratory tract or cause physical distress or illness. Without adequate fresh air, their concentrations will build and the risks of toxicity increase.
Types of Balanced Ventilators
Building codes require a minimum amount of ventilation for health and safety. Operable windows, roof vents and exhaust fans are parts of home ventilation systems. In addition, the HVAC industry has developed systems for buildings and homes that exceed the code’s specifications for fresh air. Energy recovery ventilators (ERVs) and heat recovery ventilators (HRVs) are energy efficient balanced ventilators.
Unlike fans, ERVs and HRVs have heat exchanger components built into them that pulls the energy out of the exiting air and puts it into the incoming air. While they do use energy, an HRV or ERV won’t use nearly as much energy to cool your home in the summer as fresh air coming through a door, window, or vent does.
Some HRVs and ERVs use air filters to trap incoming particles and ERVs lower humidity in the incoming air during the summer. These devices can deliver fresh air into a specific area or be attached to your HVAC system so that every time your HVAC system runs, it distributes fresh air as well.
The quality of the air you breathe is vitally important to your health. If you’d like to learn more about balanced ventilation, contact the pros at Air Assurance, providing trusted HVAC services for Broken Arrow homeowners.