Unhealthy air means an unhealthy home
Clean air is as important to your health as clean water, a whole-food-based diet, and exercise. However, according to the EPA, indoor air can be more polluted than outdoor air, with pollutant concentrations being as much as 100 times higher indoors. Some of the most common indoor air pollutants include:
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Dust, dander, and other allergens
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Insect and rodent debris
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Combustion gasses from gas appliances
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Mold and mildew
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Radon gas
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Formaldehyde and other VOCs
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Particulates from cooking
These contaminants can lead to a number of health concerns like asthma and respiratory problems, allergies and skin issues, cognitive dysfunction (also known as brain fog), frequent colds and other illnesses, headaches and dizziness, restless sleep and fatigue, and other sensitivity reactions.
Step 1: Create a tight house.
The first step in managing indoor air quality is creating a “tight home”. A tight home purposely keeps outside air from passively entering in through its construction. When air enters the home from unconditioned spaces like the outdoors, the crawlspace, or the attic, it brings with it a variety of unwanted contaminants and moisture. E3 offers air-sealing services as well as sealed crawlspace systems for new construction and existing homes to improve the tightness of the house.
Step 2: Add ventilation and filtration.
As your home becomes tighter, the need for proper ventilation becomes critical. Air contaminants are also generated indoors from humans, pets, activities like cooking and bathing, and off-gassing from household products and cleaners. Houses need a way to bring in fresh air and exhaust stale air.
Step 3: Customized ventilation & filtration for your home.
Your ventilation system acts as the lungs of your home. Good indoor air quality is achieved when you control where and when the air moves in and out of your house.
E3 INNOVATE helps homeowners in Nashville TN identify the source of their indoor air pollutants and designs proper ventilation strategies to exhaust stale indoor air while bringing in filtered and conditioned outdoor air. These automated systems are custom-tailored to work with your heating and cooling system to deliver the most efficient airflow to your whole home while using the least amount of energy.
Our energy recovery ventilators (ERVs) exchange filtered outside air with stale inside air without sacrificing comfort, meaning you get fresh outside air without uncomfortable outside temperatures. Plus, nothing says fresh air like proper air purification! E3 offers whole-home air filtration systems to minimize the particulates and odors generated inside the home. Our bathroom exhaust fan systems offer features that include auto on/off with humidity sensors, motion detectors, and professional installation that provide nearly silent operation.
With these integrated ventilation strategies, you can breathe easy knowing that the air inside your home is fresh, clean, and safe.
Goodbye allergies; hello fresh air.
Common Issues We Solve
Don’t houses need to “breathe?”
When you have a leaky home, you get plenty of air exchanges with the outdoors. The problem is, you don’t know how that air is getting into your house or what contaminants it brings along with it. If it comes up from your crawlspace, it could carry mold, radon, and odors. If it comes through your wall cavity, it could pull in VOCs, dust, and rodent or insect debris.
The goal of a tight, well-ventilated home is to make sure the air that is brought into the house is filtered and properly conditioned. Knowing where your air is coming from is a good thing! This ensures not only good air quality, but also comfort.
My bathrooms already have exhaust fans. Aren’t they good enough?
Unfortunately, most exhaust fans only extract a fraction of their claimed rating. This is in part due to the fan itself and in part due to improper ducting. Because of this, moisture issues still unnecessarily affect homes.
Furthermore, most bathroom fans are noisy and use a lot of electricity to run. Our fans, on the other hand, are energy efficient, whisper quiet, and include features such as auto on/off, motion detectors and moisture sensors.
My brother-in-law says that bathroom fan installation is easy. Shouldn’t I just let him do it?
Ah, yes, we run into your brother-in-law quite often. Incredibly, not only is he a bathroom fan expert, he also has the ability to foresee stock market trends, diagnose car engine noises, solve international diplomatic crises, and coach most professional sports teams. Even with his profound knowledge base, however, we would still recommend having the building science experts at E3 install your ventilation systems. There’s a lot more to it than one might think.
We generally think of indoor pollutants as either particulates coming from allergens or mold or from gasses like radon or VOCs.