Indoor air quality is a serious issue in many homes today; in fact, in many cases the air inside a home can be 4 to 5 times worse than the air found outside. One of the reasons for this is that the heavy insulation on homes designed to make them more energy efficient (less heat loss in cold weather, less heat gain in warm weather) also prevents fresh outdoor air from circulating. The result is air that continues to move through the house, becoming stale and filled with dust, dirt, dander, and other indoor pollution.
The indoor air quality specialists at JC Mechanical Inc. are available to help you increase your indoor air quality while maintaining energy efficiency. Give us a call today for service in Southern California.
One option you have to allow fresh air into your home without losing the energy efficiency is the installation of an energy recovery ventilator (ERV). An ERV permits fresh air into your home, but pre-cools or pre-heats it, depending on the weather, which will prevent your heater or air conditioner from working too hard.
The major benefits of an energy recovery ventilator:
- Fresh air means better air quality: An energy recovery ventilator draws fresh air through an outdoor vent and exhausts the indoor air. The fresh air replacing the stale indoor air means a healthier indoor environment, with fewer contaminants.
- Savings on heating and cooling: The fresh air entering your home will not place an extra burden on your heating and cooling system. Normally, if you allowed outdoor air into your home during a hot summer day, your AC would strain and cost more to run. But the ERV recovers the energy that would normally be lost from the exposure to fresh air, pre-conditioning it. The fresh air that reaches your AC will already have transferred most of its heat to the outgoing air, making the air conditioner’s job easier—and your bills lower. The process works the same during cold weather.
- More balanced humidity: An ERV transfers moisture between the incoming fresh air and the outgoing stale air along with heat, which will help keep indoor humidity balanced no matter the time of year.
You must have professionals select and install an energy recovery ventilator for your home to make sure that it works as it should. Don’t attempt this on your own, or entrust the work to amateurs.
If you think that an ERV is a good idea for your house, call JC Mechanical Inc. today and ask about our installation services. We have served Southern California homes since 1992.