A breath of Fresh Air – IAQ

You generally do not hear people tell you to go inside for a big breath of fresh air, yet this is where we spend a good portion of our lives.  If you live in colder climate areas you probably look forward to that first warm day of spring when you can open the windows and feel that rush of fresh air come into your home. Just thinking about it probably brings a smile to your face.

You hear the term Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) being thrown around but what does that encompass? There are all kinds of filters and gadgets on the market today that make a multitude of claims. While a lot of these help, they are still just recirculating the existing air within the home. Exchanging the stale air within the home with fresh air from outside is still the most effective way to ensure your home’s indoor air quality.

The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) has done extensive research and work, including developing design standards to ensure indoor air quality. With the introduction of the new design standard known as ASHRAE 62.2, ASHRAE requires a continuously operating exhaust fan to exhaust the stale air within the home and replace it with fresh air from outside the home. There are multiple ways to accomplish proper exhaust rates and we will dedicated future blogs to taking you through some of the common solutions out there.

Air King offers a quick calculator to see how much ventilation you need for your specific home as well as energy efficient ventilation products including ENERGY STAR® certified exhaust fans and ENERGY STAR® certified kitchen range hoods designed to meet and exceed the ASHRAE 62.2 standard.

To learn more about how to bring a breath of fresh air into your home visit the ASHRAE 62.2 learning center on this web site.