Indoor Air Quality (IAQ)

Concern for air quality has increased in recent years. While many homeowners are worried about outside pollution, the EPA reports that indoor air can be 2 to 5 times more polluted than the outdoors. While many pollutants can find their way into your home through leaks in your building’s thermal envelope, many harmful contaminants also originate inside.

At Wise Home Energy, your health and safety are some of our top priorities, which is why we offer indoor air quality testing along with several IAQ solutions in the Greater Rochester area. These comprehensive services include:

• IAQ testing
• Insulation & air sealing
• Whole home ventilation
• Smart bath timers
• HVAC Filtration
• Dehumidifiers
• UV light filters
• Duct sealing

Keep reading to learn about the importance of indoor air quality and how we can help make your home comfortable, energy efficient, and healthy.

What Affects Indoor Air Quality?

From everyday activities to air leaks in your home, there are several factors that can contribute to poor indoor air quality.

Poorly Sealed Ductwork

Mold spores, dust, and even insects can often get into leaky ductwork, which will eventually circulate into your breathing air via your HVAC system. In addition to the poor IAQ effects, the Department of Energy states that leaky ductwork can lose up to 40% of the energy your HVAC system produces—which has a serious impact on your utility bills.

Excess Moisture

High humidity levels and air leaks can lead to an increase in moisture throughout your home. A rise in moisture creates the perfect breeding ground for mold and mildew—which can have dangerous health effects. Cooking and bathing are both common contributors to high moisture levels in a home.

Not Enough Ventilation

If your home is poorly ventilated, pollutants can get trapped inside and accumulate. While a tightly sealed home is important for energy efficiency, it’s equally important to ensure proper ventilation as well. This helps to keep your home’s air fresh and free from contaminants.

Combustion Appliances

Any appliances in your home that run on fuel, like furnaces, boilers, water heaters, and gas cooktops, produce hazardous chemicals. High levels of carbon monoxide and nitrogen dioxide can create long-term health problems.

Find Pollutants With Air Quality Testing

The best way to get rid of pollutants in your home’s air is to first understand what they are and where they’re coming from. Using a high-tech monitoring system, Wise Home Energy can complete an air quality test on your home’s IAQ in just 30 minutes! Our air quality monitors test for a wide variety of pollutants, including:

• Dust & particles
• Volatile organic compounds (VOCs)
• Chemical pollutants
• Carbon dioxide
• Carbon monoxide
• Temperature
• Humidity

Based on the results of your IAQ test, we’ll make recommendations for IAQ solutions with high-performance products that can ventilate your home and filter pollutants from your breathing air at the source.

Wise IAQ Solutions

Wise Home Energy offers several services aimed at improving the indoor air quality in your home.

Insulation & Air Sealing

While the main job for insulation and air sealing is to keep the outdoor elements and temperatures outdoors, they offer many IAQ benefits as well. These combined services to your home from the attic down help keep pollutants out of your home, like pests, dust, moisture, and more!

Whole-Home Ventilation

Ventilation can help solve many IAQ issues, like moisture build up and combustion-related pollution. By regulating the airflow in your home and introducing fresh, filtered air, odors, and pollutants will be a thing of the past. But, don’t worry, Wise Home Energy installs ventilation systems that are ideal for Rochester’s chilly winters—plus, they’ll minimize your additional energy usage and won’t affect your comfort at all.

Smart Bath Timers

Showering and bathing are everyday activities that can drastically increase the moisture in your home. The Wise team can install a smart bath timer in your home that will automatically turn on your exhaust fan when humidity levels rise in your bathroom. This allows for a ventilation boost that keeps your home protected from mold growth.

HVAC Filtration

Many air filter systems can be installed seamlessly with your HVAC system, including heat pumps. These filters draw air from inside your home and push it through rigid filters with a high MERV rating, which can catch smaller particles of indoor pollutants, like bacteria, dust, and VOCs. Wise Home Energy offers HVAC air filters for several makes and models, and our team can find the best fit for you.

Dehumidifiers

Whether you have a damp and musty crawl space or need a whole home solution, Wise Home Energy has the dehumidifier for you. By drying out the air in areas of high moisture, you’ll not only protect your family from harmful contaminants, you’ll be protecting your home’s structure too.

UV Light Air Filters

UV light filtration deactivates or kills pollutants from your air. These high-tech systems can stop bacteria and viruses in their tracks by harnessing the power of ultraviolet light to destroy their DNA. UV light filters are able to attack contaminants that are too small for most air filters and Wise Home Energy can install one directly on your HVAC system.

Duct Sealing

If your home has a leaky duct system, the Wise team can help! By air sealing and insulating your ductwork, you’ll save on your energy bills and have cleaner air circulating through your home.

Breathe Easier With Wise Home Energy

Since 2010, we’ve been helping the Greater Rochester area with their HVAC and home performance issues. When it comes to improving your home’s IAQ, we can help find a reliable and long-lasting solution that attacks contaminants at the source. You can breathe easy knowing our team stays up to date on the many incentives available here in the Greater Rochester area. These incentives, tax credits, and rebates will help make these home upgrades more affordable. Using our building science expertise and state-of-the-art equipment, we’re your one-stop-shop for all your indoor air quality needs!