When your home is sealed against winter cold and summer heat, your indoor temperatures remain comfortable and your energy waste is minimized. But there’s one drawback to tightly sealed homes: reduced ventilation. As the supply of fresh air into your house is cut off by closed doors and windows and tight seals against the weather, your indoor air quality may decline.
Attached garages are convenient, but they present a distinct disadvantage: They can compromise your indoor air quality and, in some cases, expose your family to harmful gases, fumes and other irritants.
Many homes are inadequately ventilated and improper air exchange is a direct cause of low indoor air quality. Air exchange is simply the introduction of fresh air from the outdoors to a home and the expelling of stale indoor air, but opening your windows simply isn’t enough. Homes need specially designed ventilation systems to circulate air properly and ensure that air exchange levels are meeting minimum requirements.
Of the many options that exist to boost indoor air quality, one of the most thorough methods is to use a ventilation system to bring in air from outside and send out the stale air that is contained inside your home. Installing a heat recovery ventilator (HRV) in your home is one way to balance the ventilation, ensuring fresh, clean air is circulating throughout your home and maintaining proper moisture control. (more…)
