HVAC: V is for Ventilation
The “V” in HVAC stands for ventilation, but what does that mean exactly? What is system ventilation? How does it work with your heating and air conditioning system to maintain temperature comfort and air quality? Why do you need it?
Ventilation is required for your HVAC system to provide good air quality. If your ventilation is inadequate, you can experience temperature problems, such as a stuffy bedroom or stale-smelling living room. You also have the potential for health problems, such as “Sick Building Syndrome” in a residential or commercial space. Sick building syndrome (SBS) refers to a situation in which people in a building suffer from symptoms of illness or become infected with chronic disease from the building in which they work or live. Studies also suggest that increasing ventilation can help prevent the spread of COVID-19 by diluting virus particles.
According to the American Society of Heating, Refrigeration, and Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE), your HVAC system should provide the following benefits to your home or work space: “heat, cool, clean, ventilate, humidify and dehumidify as needed to provide health and HVAC comfort.” Ventilation brings in an appropriate amount of fresh air from outside to the indoor air in your space. Without this fresh air, your air can become stagnant and the temperature stuffy. In severely under-ventilated spaces, you could be containing bacteria, viruses, toxins, and contaminants that can make people ill. Modern construction of home and office space is designed to be air-tight. Using outdated techniques can cause excess humidity and airborne pollutants to be trapped indoors. This can result in mold, condensation, and other issues can have serious consequences for the home or businesses structure and negatively affect everyone’s health.
Maybe you have an older home and have already noticed that outdoor air is seeping inside through leaky ducts, poorly insulated walls, and poorly sealed windows and doors. While this can actually have a benefit in that your home is likely getting sufficient ventilation to ensure HVAC comfort, you pay a price in lost energy efficiency. Your air-conditioned air will be leaking out throughout the year. Your air conditioner will have to work much harder in summer. Likewise, your heating system will need to work harder in the winter. End result? Your utility bills are going to be higher than they should be.
Whether you are dealing with new construction or installing a new system, including a great ventilation strategy starts is very important! Prolific Aire can help you provide a continuous supply of fresh air to your space and keep the people in it healthy. In addition, you will see energy-savings while having the confidence that you are breathing healthy air.