Ventilation Can Improve the Air You Breathe at Home

Opening windows is an effective way to ventilate your Wisconsin home, but it is not always the most practical method for freshening indoor air, especially in winter.

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), ventilation is key to decreasing the concentration of pollutants, such as dust, mold, and bacteria, that you may be inhaling at home.

The agency recommends opening doors and windows, running window or attic fans—when weather permits—or using a window air conditioner with its vent open, to increase the amount of outdoor air that enters your Waterford home. The infusion of fresh air dilutes pollutants and improves indoor air quality (IAQ).

Natural ventilation works well in some seasons but is an impractical way to ventilate in winter. Outdoor air is not “fresh” if it contains allergens, vehicle exhaust, industrial pollution, or smoke. 

How do you ventilate your home under those conditions?

Midwest Heating & Cooling has a solution. Our qualified heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) professionals can help you improve ventilation and indoor air quality in your Waterford home year-round.

What Is in Your Air?

Your journey to fresher, cleaner air and enhanced comfort starts with a home air analysis test. Our expert technicians will pinpoint the concentrations of contaminants, chemicals, and other particles in your Wisconsin home’s air. 

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Americans spend approximately 90 percent of their time indoors. The risk to our health may be greater from indoor contaminants than outdoor pollution. 

Knowing what pollutants are present will help you control or even eliminate their sources. For example, you might install an exhaust fan for use while cooking to remove smoke particles. If the test detects dust mites and pollens, you could try decluttering, swapping bare floors for carpeting, and washing bedding in hot water. 

Poor indoor air quality can trigger a variety of health issues. Indoor particulate matter, for instance, can exacerbate respiratory problems and cause throat and eye irritation. Formaldehyde gas from pressed wood products can cause skin rashes and fatigue. Mold can trigger asthma symptoms.

Ventilation Is Essential

Our Midwest Heating & Cooling experts can recommend a healthy home solution tailored to your needs, based on your Waterford home’s air analysis test. We install, repair, replace, and maintain humidifiers, dehumidifiers, ultraviolet (UV) germicidal lights, and ionizers. These products can help improve your indoor air quality and safeguard your health from indoor contaminants. 

Energy recovery ventilators (ERVs) top the list of devices that improve indoor air quality and bring fresh air into your home. 

An energy recovery ventilator can be attached to a furnace but works independently, using its own heat exchanger, fan, controls, and ductwork. It exhausts the stale, polluted air in your home to the outdoors while simultaneously bringing in fresh, filtered air from outside. 

Fresh, Conditioned Air

The heat exchanger in an energy recovery ventilator transfers heat from stale air as it exits your home to incoming fresh air. In summer, the exhaust air cools the incoming hot outdoor air.

According to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), most energy recovery ventilation systems can recover about 70 to 80 percent of the energy in the exiting air and deliver that energy to the incoming air.

The DOE also points out that energy recovery ventilators are the most cost-effective in climates with harsh winters or summers—just like here in Waterford. 

Energy recovery ventilators also help control humidity indoors. They transfer moisture in the air in much the same way they exchange heat. In winter, moisture in stale air is transferred to the incoming cold, dry air. In summer as the dehumidified indoor air leaves your home, it takes moisture away from the incoming humid air. 

Are you ready to start breathing quality air in your home?

Let Us Freshen Your Indoor Air

Our qualified professionals at Midwest Heating & Cooling can enhance your comfort by properly ventilating your Waterford, WI, home. Contact us for an air analysis test and a consultation on energy recovery ventilators. Call 414-439-0827 or request service online.