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All About Ventilation
When it comes to your home, you probably don’t think about the air you breathe. But air movement and quality are crucial to maintaining a healthy and functional home.
Ventilation is a crucial part of home functionality, but it doesn’t get talked about nearly enough. We’re breaking down how ventilation works and why it can make your home more comfortable and healthy.
Why Ventilation is Necessary
Ventilation is crucial to reduce moisture and the accumulation of harmful pollutants. As you perform daily activities and use your home appliances, different particles enter the air and need a place to go. Without proper ventilation, those potentially harmful particles could be breathed in by you and your family.
Aside from particles that may be in the air, poor ventilation also results in an overly humid environment. Indoors, it’s not just uncomfortable but can contribute to mold growth. Both of these issues make your home less comfortable and put your health at risk.
Ventilation Systems
There are several types of ventilation systems available for your home, each with its own set of strategies for exchanging air.
Natural Ventilation
Natural ventilation involves simply allowing air to move naturally in and out of your home. This could be through windows and doors but also cracks and small openings around your house. This was the original form of ventilation and works in some cases, but is hard to manage and produced unreliable results.
You can effectively ventilate your home by opening windows and doors, but this only works when the temperature doesn’t require the use of heating or cooling systems. Trying to heat or cool your home with the windows open is incredibly difficult and inefficient.
Spot Ventilation
Spot ventilation is an area approach, with vents or exhaust fans built for specific applications. The most commonly used examples include a range hood over a stove or a bathroom exhaust vent.
These devices help to remove harmful pollutants or moisture from the air during specific times and are not meant to be running all day.
While spot ventilation is effective, it doesn’t address pollutants found in other areas of the home. It doesn’t manage dust or help with attached portions of your home, like a garage or addition.
Whole-Home Ventilation
Whole-home ventilation is a system that brings in fresh air, moves out stale air, or both. They come in a variety of configurations, including exhaust-only, intake-only, or balanced.
Supply systems bring in fresh air to your home, while exhaust systems remove stale air from inside your home. Each of these systems adds or removes pressure from your home. Which choice is best for you depends on the climate and humidity. Balanced systems have both exhaust and supply airflow running at the same time.
Improving Air Quality
Ventilation is crucial for healthy air inside your home. While air purifiers and HVAC filters help get the job done as well, proper ventilation is the first line of defense against harmful air pollutants.
In addition to ventilation, make sure you change your HVAC filters. Clean filters are essential to clean indoor air. If you have a ventilation system and are keeping up with good indoor air quality habits but your home air feels stale, or you suffer from allergies, an air purifier might be a good option. These devices can be either standalone or fit for your whole home and help to filter out harmful pollutants.
Keeping Your Home Comfortable With Superior Service
At West Coast Air Conditioning, we’re dedicated to providing you with superior service and efficient work all year. Give us a call 24/7 at (805) 954-9195 for any issues with your home HVAC system.