In most areas of the United States—most times of the year–outdoor air quality is better than indoor (maybe your folks were right when they told you to go play outside!). Indoor air quality is often poor because many homes do not have fresh air make up. Offgassing from furniture and building materials can be harmful to occupants. Gas ranges, cooking smells, and all other sorts of indoor contaminants can also become trapped when air exchange is not a priority. VOCs can lead to an array of health problems including: fatigue, dizziness, nausea, and sinus irritation. This is why air exchangers, sometimes called energy recovery ventilators (ERVs) or heat recovery ventilators (HRVs) are being required in more and more state’s new home construction code. These units introduce fresh outdoor air into homes in an energy efficient manner. Some units, like Fantech’s HERO series, can even be outfitted with MERV8 or MERV13 filters to remove particulate matter and can be used as a last-resort radon mitigation system*.
However, when forest fires are active outdoor air can become more harmful than indoor air. A growing body of research evidence is showing that wildfire smoke is linked to “cardiovascular- and respiratory related effects” Wildfire smoke contains all sorts of gaseous pollutants of varying sizes. However, fine particle particulates make up “approximately 90% of total particle mass” of wildfires. These particles are of the “greatest health concern” (Source US EPA).
To remove wildfire smoke contaminants from homes in the plume**, filtration is recommended. For fine particulate matter–2.5 microns or smaller–HEPA or MERV20 filtration is your best bet. HEPA filtration is also helpful at removing pet dander, mold spores, and other allergens.
Anecdotal evidence incoming: I have the HS300 HERO series whole house HEPA from Fantech in my home. I suffer from extreme grass and
pollen allergies. I often thought this was an inescapable, seasonal affliction. However, ever since we installed the HS300, I’ve found that my allergy symptoms are reduced dramatically after only 10+ minutes inside my home. If I cut my grass, I begin sneezing and itching, but after a quick shower and some time inside, I am back to 100%. If I’m visiting a friend or on vacation, I immediately feel reduced sinus irritation once I’m home. The HS300 also has a built-in pre-charcoal filter, which gets rid of most any smell from cooking or cleaning. I cannot believe I waited five years in our new home to install HEPA filtration. It fit right on our duct work and the HVAC tech was done in less than two hours.
Air quality is important. Radon is not the only dangerous gas in our homes. Make your home a fresh air oasis with Fantech HERO series products. As always, if you see a product on Fantech.net but not on our website, please reach out to us as we can quote any of the hundreds of products they produce—we just need the item number.
Thank you for reading!
*Sub soil depressurization is always the most efficient radon system, but that’s not always possible. Read about how air exchangers can be used as an radon system here.
**If your home was in the path of a wildfire, please reach out to reputable, certified disaster restoration companies. HEPA systems cannot remove contaminants that have been affixed to drywall, furniture, and more.
Sources:
https://www.epa.gov/wildfire-smoke-course/why-wildfire-smoke-health-concern#complex
https://www.epa.gov/indoor-air-quality-iaq/volatile-organic-compounds-impact-indoor-air-quality#Health_Effects
