Air is everywhere — but how often do you think about it? More to the point, how often do you think about what’s in the air you’re breathing? Particularly the indoor air quality in your own home?
Anyone that suffers from allergies, asthma, or other respiratory conditions knows that indoor air quality (IAQ) can be a daily consideration. Anything from pollen to pet dander can spark a flare-up, so IAQ needs constant attention. For folks who generally breathe easy, the pandemic brought new attention to IAQ.
Health impacts are often the entry point for understanding indoor air quality, but IAQ’s effect on health goes beyond breathing. From home comfort to mental and physical productivity to energy efficiency, IAQ has several impacts. Let’s dive into a few that you may be less familiar with — and the reasons they deserve your attention.
First, let’s take a closer look at air quality’s impact on human health. The American Lung Association says poor indoor air quality can cause or contribute to a variety of significant health issues. These include asthma and lung cancer. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), as little as one exposure to pollutants in the air can cause immediate effects, like ear, nose, and throat irritation. This comes as no surprise to the 26 million Americans that suffer from asthma, or the 80 million who deal with the respiratory effects of airborne allergens.
These statistics from the Asthma & Allergy Foundation of America shed light on the prevalence of the health impacts of poor IAQ. And these conditions can be dangerous. Asthma attacks cause airways to swell and clog with mucus, preventing air from getting in and out of the lungs. They can be fatal. Even if asthma is not a factor, the long-term effects of poor air quality can include heart disease, cancers, and other debilitating or fatal conditions.
The respiratory system isn’t the only part of the body affected by indoor air quality. The Harvard School of Public Health recently reported on research showing that poor IAQ puts brain health at risk.
According to the study, participants were asked to solve basic math problems to assess cognitive function. As indoor air quality decreased, so did the speed at which participants could answer those questions. With these results in mind, indoor air quality deserves attention not just at home, but also at work. IAQ “extends to cognitive function and productivity of workers,” researchers said, “making healthy buildings foundational to public health.”
IAQ in schools falls under the cognitive function and productivity category, as well. The EPA found that everything from pollen to diesel exhaust from school buses can negatively affect school environments and reduce the abilities of teachers, staff, and students to perform in the classroom.
Poor IAQ can affect mental health as well as physical health. The same Harvard research previously mentioned also found an increased risk of depression and dementia related to poor IAQ. Likewise, Oxford researchers have found links between poor indoor air quality and depression, anxiety, and neurological disorders.
Conversely, clean air has a demonstrated impact on improved mental health, making good ventilation an important step. Experts at the American Society for Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) say people tend to sleep better in a well-ventilated environment. They cite Danish research that found people’s sleep quality and performance the next day both improved when their bedrooms benefitted from increased clean outdoor air supply.
As if your physical and mental health weren’t reason enough to focus on IAQ, your home comfort and energy efficiency are also at risk. Poor indoor air quality strains heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems. Particulates like dirt and dust clog HVAC filters. This forces the systems to work harder, increasing their energy consumption — and your energy bills. At the same time, the filters will struggle to remove pollutants from your indoor air.
This is where energy recovery ventilators (ERV) can play a big role. Serving as the backbone of a balanced ventilation strategy, ERVs help turn bad, stagnant air in your home into cleaner, circulated air free of harmful toxins.
From mild allergies to chronic illness and dragging productivity, poor indoor air quality can have serious negative impacts on your daily life. And while your ventilation system can help filter pollutants out of the air in your home, an overburdened HVAC system can make the problem worse.
Understanding the negative effects of poor indoor air quality is the first step to keeping it from harming you and your family. The next step is to apply the proper IAQ management techniques to help improve the air you breathe. If you’re ready to start on the path to fresher air at home, check out Panasonic’s healthy home solutions.