Healthy Indoors Magazine - USA Edition

HI-May-2018

Healthy Indoors Magazine

Issue link: https://hi.healthyindoors.com/i/983045

Contents of this Issue

Navigation

Page 13 of 41

14 | FEATURE— May 2018 Is an airtight house a health hazard? Some will say yes. The EPA cites indoor air sometimes contains 2 to 5 times the pollutants compared to the outdoors, due to issues that range from moisture and mold to carbon monoxide poison- ing and asthma. The source of these issues, include poor filtration, bad ventilation, homeowner behavior, and off-gas- sing from household products and finishes. While the above may be true, there is a recent push by homebuilders to make indoor air quality (IAQ) healthier than outdoor air — even in cities with the highest levels of air pollution. There is a growing trend toward homes becoming clean- air sanctuaries, and safe zones from high levels of out- door air pollution; made possible with the help of improved building codes, increased awareness, designing for health, product innovations, and transparency. The bare minimum: building codes Building codes require minimum ventilation. Gary Church- Smith, IAQ Specialist from Panasonic Eco Solutions, says, "Codes are moving the baseline of minimum indoor air qual- ity higher. ASHRAE 62.2 intends to help reduce or eliminate moisture, and improve IAQ through adequate fresh air." Max Sherman, senior scientist at the Lawrence Berke- ley National Laboratory and ASHRAE board member says, "Tight construction is one of the most important corner- stones of high-performance homes, but is only possible with ensured dilution of indoor contaminants. And this ensured dilution is dependent on an effective base standard for whole-house and spot ventilation. This is why the ASHRAE 62.2 residential ventilation standard is critical to transform- Is a Tight Home a Sick Home? By Phillip Beere "Homeowners have the right to know what's in the air they are breathing."

Articles in this issue

Archives of this issue

view archives of Healthy Indoors Magazine - USA Edition - HI-May-2018