Poor indoor air quality in a home can be a problem any time of the year. A fact of modern homes is that they are built to be more airtight than ever before, which makes them easier to efficiently heat and cool. There’s little chance for heat to escape during cold weather or for it slip in during hot weather. But this sealing means less fresh air moving through the rooms, and subsequently a drop in indoor quality.
Why This Is a Problem in Winter
During the winters in Eugene, do you often fling open your doors and windows to enjoy fresh air? Probably not. We’ll wager that you keep the house as securely closed as possible, with weather stripping around the doors and caulking in the windows for extra protection. This is the time of the year when your house is the most airtight, and that makes it more susceptible to air quality trouble. Numerous particles, chemicals, and compounds originate inside your home that will build up in concentration with no easy way to escape.
Adding further to the winter time IAQ problem is that you’ll make use of more combustion, everything from candles and the fireplace to a natural gas furnace. This puts many unhealthy combustion fumes in the air.
What Can Be Done
There is help. You don’t have to open up the windows, shut off the furnace, and freeze for a stretch just to have healthier air. Indoor air quality products will solve the problem for you. Special air filters in the HVAC system catch larger pollutants, while electronic air cleaners zap the smaller contaminants that can get through the filter mesh. There are also energy recovery ventilators that draw outside air into your home, but pre-heats it so that it doesn’t harm energy efficiency.
If you are looking for excellent solutions for winter air quality issues, call Comfort Flow Heating in Eugene, OR. We install the finest quality Trane IAQ products such as the Trane CleanEffects system and the Trane FreshEffects energy recovery ventilator.
