One of the unfortunate new normals these days is getting the latest updates on how to best keep our workplaces and homes free from viruses or bacteria. Were you one of the families that wiped and washed all of your groceries early on in the pandemic? Or did you let your USPS packages sit on your doorstep for 24 hours before beginning them inside?
The unfortunate thing about novel viruses is that we just don’t know much about them until they have been around a while. However, as we have learned more about COVID-19, it is becoming clear that properly ventilating our homes, offices, schools, and hospitals goes a long way in making our indoor environments a safer place to live.
Why Ventilation Has Become So Important
Perhaps you’ve seen on the news that air conditioners are helping spread the virus, or read articles like this one in The Atlantic, “Why Aren’t We Talking More About Ventilation?” or this article in The New York Times discussing coronavirus in the air. In short, COVID-19 can be airborne, and is carried by tiny aerosol particles throughout an indoor space.
Though cleaning surfaces, washing hands, utilizing masks when necessary, and regularly using hand sanitizer are all effective and necessary to reduce the spread in your home, properly ventilating and purifying your entire home is emerging (through science) as one of our biggest weapons in the fight to getting “back to normal” and keeping our homes healthy.
Whole-House Ventilation vs. Portable and Single Room Units
What do you think of when it comes to fresh air, ventilation, or air purification? Is it open windows, or maybe a little air purifier unit that you plug into the wall? Though these tactics and products may clean some of the air in your home, and provide some fresh air, they are not whole-home solutions. These are Band-Aid fixes, at best, and in some cases (and in some homes) can lead to other problems, like an excess of indoor pollutants and allergens, or excessive moisture and mold growth.
Whole Home Purification
Properly addressing ventilation is bigger than a single room solution, or just opening a window or two. Your central heating and cooling system already handles all of the air in your home, and includes some filtration measures, like an air filter that should be regularly changed (speaking of which, when was the last time you checked in on your air filter?). However, you can supplement your existing air filters with a whole home purification system designed to remove more of the viruses and contaminants from your breathing air.
At Healthy Home Energy & Consulting, we have chosen to install one of the most advanced whole-home air purification and filtration systems available, from Intellipure. This medical-grade air purification device is made right here in Pulaski, NY, and is used in some of the best hospitals in the country, offering features like:
Filters down to .007 microns, 40x more efficient than HEPA filters
Deactivates mold, viruses, fungi and bacteria inside the filter
Only 4 watts of power consumption (the most efficient on the market)
This device is installed on the existing HVAC ductwork. Even if your home does not have an existing central duct system - Healthy Home has solutions to still allow you to take advantage of Intellipures cutting edge purification technology.
“Seal It Tight, Ventilate It Right!”
Keeping your home healthier through whole home ventilation and filtration is all dependent on your home being as close to a “closed system” as possible, so that you have complete control over what air comes in and out. This is done through air sealing a home (locating and closing up any of the tiny, invisible holes throughout the home) and insulating in key areas like the crawl space and attic to prevent heat losses and gains, and prevent excessive indoor drafts. As we like to say, “Seal it tight, and ventilate right!”
Westchester County’s Indoor Air Specialists
Have you been wondering what is in your breathing air, or where you can get an air quality test for your home? Schedule a Healthy Home Evaluation with our team, and we will get to the bottom of what has been causing your indoor air quality issues, and develop a customized plan for making your home a healthier place to live, eat, and breathe.
Keep your home healthy, by keeping your air clean! Schedule a Healthy Home Assessment with our team today to learn how to improve your indoor air quality. Call 914-242-9733 or get in touch here.
