6 Key Benefits of Fresh Air Ventilators | 2024 Indoor Air Quality Report

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How much of your day would you estimate you spend indoors? 60%?… 75%?… 90%?…

Whether it be our home, office, or school, the reality is that the majority of us spend most of our lives indoors. That means that most of the air you breathe throughout your life comes from an indoor environment, which may be compromising your health without you realizing it.

Maintaining a healthy and inviting indoor environment is crucial; not only to the comfort of our homes but also to the long-term health of our families that live in them.

We at Mattioni advocate addressing indoor air quality with a three-pronged approach: setting up an air scrubber, air purifier, and whole-home ventilation systems, like a fresh air ventilator (FAV). While many homeowners have embraced air scrubbers and air purifiers, we sometimes get asked about FAVs, and how they’re different.

What is a Fresh Air Ventilator?

Whole-home fresh air ventilators are air exchange systems designed to improve indoor air quality by perpetually pulling stale indoor air from your home and replacing it with fresh outdoor air. They’re usually hooked up to return ducts, giving them direct access to your home’s entire air supply.

Think of whole-home FAVs as a system that more thoroughly and efficiently achieves what we want when we open our windows to let fresh air in. They’re powered by fans and automatic dampers, and often incorporate some of the best air filters available.

Incorporating a whole-home FAV into your home offers several advantages. Here are six of the biggest benefits to be mindful of when evaluating fresh air ventilators for your home.

 

Top Benefits of Whole-Home Fresh Air Ventilators for Your Home

 

1. Improved Indoor Air Quality (IAQ)

Household contaminants like allergens, cooking byproducts, tobacco smoke, and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are common and can build up to levels that are harmful to your family’s health.

Hairspray, pet dander, paint aerosols, and disinfectants can also linger in the air for much longer than we realize and collectively become a danger to the health of anyone in your home. Symptoms like nausea, irritation, and serious lung issues can occur and persist in homes with high levels of VOCs.

The American Lung Association recommends to “open windows and add a fan to pull the indoor air outside while you’re using products with high VOCs.” This is precisely what a whole-home fresh air ventilator achieves.

FAVs connect directly to your home’s HVAC return vents and continuously replace stale indoor air with fresh outdoor air, effectively diluting the quantity of harmful contaminants in your home.

 

2. Humidity Balance & Enhanced Comfort

Balancing humidity levels is crucial for comfort and health. Whole-home fresh air ventilators introduce outdoor air that can help regulate indoor humidity, preventing issues like excessive dryness in winter and dampness in summer.

By maintaining optimal humidity levels between 40% and 60%, an FAV reduces the risk of dry skin and respiratory issues in winter while preventing mold growth during summer.

Regulating your home’s humidity with a whole-home FAV alongside humidifiers and dehumidifiers is an exceptionally effective way to keep your home well-ventilated and comfortable for your family and guests.

 

3. Odor Prevention

From cooking byproducts and VOCs to pet dander, our homes are continually subjected to unpleasant odors that can take some time to expel.

Remedies like scented air sprays or candles only mask these bad smells and aren’t a thorough solution. Not only that, but candles and air sprays can actually release harmful VOCs into your home as well, compounding the problem.

By constantly circulating fresh air and removing compromised air, whole-home fresh air ventilators offer a robust solution to keeping odors from stagnating within your home. This is particularly beneficial in kitchens, bathrooms, basements, and areas where pets are kept.

Many fresh air ventilation systems integrate highly graded MERV air filters that are specifically designed to capture odors from pets, cooking, VOCs, and tobacco.

 

4. Reduced Mold and Mildew

By regulating humidity and providing a constant flow of fresh air, whole-home FAVs prevent the damp and stagnant conditions that lead to mold and mildew growth.

Installing an FAV in bathrooms and basements can keep the air circulating and dry, preventing mold spores from settling and proliferating in those areas.

For a holistic approach to mold and mildew remediation and prevention, bring in a whole-home FAV alongside a dehumidifier with direct access to the compromised location. Further steps may be needed to resolve an existing outbreak but these steps should sufficiently prevent any future instances.

 

5. Energy Efficiency & HVAC System Longevity

Modern fresh air ventilators are also designed to enhance the overall energy efficiency of your home in a few ways. Consider that your home’s comfort is directly related to its humidity levels; think of it as a “real feel” in your home.

For every 4% change in humidity, there’s a 1°F change in felt temperature. So, by balancing humidity with an FAV, you’ll be less reliant on your heating or air conditioning system to keep you comfortable. This is especially true during the hottest and coldest times of the year.

Perhaps most importantly, FAVs can significantly mitigate the buildup of particles in your air filters. As an air filter captures more particles, dust, and debris, it causes your AC and heating system to work harder to produce the same temperature output. This results in increased wear and tear and decreased energy efficiency.

Introducing a fresh air ventilator will keep your air filters cleaner longer, maintaining your system’s health and efficiency.

 

6. Protection Against Viruses

By continuously exchanging indoor and outdoor air, FAVs reduce the concentration of airborne viruses that spread when we talk, cough, and sneeze. Scientists know that viruses like the flu, common cold, and COVID-19 are transmitted via long-term exposure in indoor environments.

By addressing these indoor environments, we significantly diminish the transmissibility of these viruses.

According to a Nature report, installing a ventilation system in a home had the same mitigating effect on influenza transmissions as a vaccination coverage of 50% to 60%.

Whole-home FAVs with medical-grade, industry-leading air filters are effective at virus protection and are vital to lowering the risk of respiratory infections and creating healthier living environments.

 

 

Next Steps to Installing a Whole-Home Fresh Air Ventilator

While the benefits of whole-home fresh air ventilators start with enhanced indoor air quality, they extend to aspects of your home like energy efficiency, humidity balance, and odor control.

Investing in an FAV leads to a healthier and more comfortable home while creating an environment in which your heating and AC systems run smoothly and efficiently.

The world’s understanding of IAQ has grown greatly in recent years, and it’s still growing today. We at Mattioni anticipate that whole-home ventilators, and other IAQ systems like air scrubbers and air purifiers, will become adopted in more homes as essential systems for modern living.

Call the Mattioni team at 610-400-8510 with any questions regarding whole-home FAVs, or schedule your free consultation online to take the first step towards a healthier, more comfortable home.