HVAC stands for heating, ventilation, and air conditioning. Most of the time, people focus on heating and air conditioning but do not pay as much attention to ventilation. However, ventilation plays an important role not only in terms of your comfort, but also your safety. Without proper ventilation, the air in your home becomes stale, polluted, and has insufficient humidity levels.
Marsh Heating and Air Conditioning is your trusted HVAC company in Edina MN. We offer total solutions for your home comfort needs, including energy-efficient ventilation systems.
Poor Ventilation and Your Health
Many people may not be aware of the effects of inadequate ventilation, but health risks are associated with such problems. Here are some of them:
Low Oxygen Level
Science tells us that the oxygen we breathe in comes from outside, especially from trees and plants. On the other hand, we breathe out carbon dioxide. When your home isn’t adequately ventilated, it will accumulate too much carbon dioxide in the house while the oxygen level gets depleted. This problem may result in shortness of breath, fatigue, and severe headaches.
Transmission of Airborne Diseases
Airborne diseases such as cough and colds are transmitted into the air when an infected person talks, sneezes or coughs directly at someone or in an enclosed environment. Poor ventilation enhances this transmission, causing more people in the home to contract the virus or bacteria.
Stress Buildup
Poor ventilation affects the body and influences our mind, i.e., increased stress and discomfort. While some pressure can benefit your health, primarily if your body responds appropriately, chronic stress can cause irritability, anxiety, and depression symptoms.
How to Improve Your Home’s Ventilation
Consider these tips:
Open doors and windows.
This tip seems like a no-brainer, but how often do you forget to regularly open doors or windows to have a healthy exchange of indoor and outdoor air? Such a simple step like this can quickly replace stale indoor air with fresh outdoor air — not to mention you’ll get rid of contaminants, allergens, and excess moisture.
Aerate your windows at night.
If security is not a problem in your neighborhood, try to leave your windows slightly open overnight, which can improve your indoor air quality while also reducing excess moisture and the risk of mold spread. This method is particularly useful in summer as it promotes better sleep. However, it may not be as wise to do it in the winter, so be careful about ventilating because doing so can allow too much heat to escape from your home.
Try water elements.
Similar with many oriental landscapes and home designs, water plays a vital role in ventilation. Fountains, pools, or swimming pools can act as transition spaces where the air is naturally cooled before entering your home.
Use a heat recovery ventilation system.
A heat recovery ventilator (HRV) is a ventilation system that minimizes the home’s heating and cooling needs. The design makes this possible by recovering any unused heat left in your HVAC system’s exhaust and using it to warm the fresh air being brought into the home from outside. An HRV can save you a significant amount in energy costs as your heating system no longer needs to heat the fresh air. The same thing happens when your cooling system runs; only it does the process backward as it cools down the fresh incoming air before cycling through the HVAC system.
A heat recovery ventilator functions by continuously removing stagnant, moist air from a home’s wet areas. These spaces include bathrooms, kitchens, and utility rooms in houses. While this occurs, filtered, fresh air is sent to occupied rooms, such as living rooms, bedrooms, and dining rooms.
Heat recovery ventilators are environment-friendly systems as they lower carbon dioxide levels, perfect for families with kids, the elderly, or those with preexisting respiratory conditions.
Boost Your Home’s Ventilation with Marsh Heating and Air Conditioning
If you want to avoid the problems associated with poor ventilation, call Marsh Heating and Air Conditioning. We’d love to help you improve the quality of air that circulates throughout your home. We are your leading Minnetonka heating and air conditioning company.