How Air Pollution Affects Your Indoor Air Quality

How Air Pollution Affects Your Indoor Air Quality

By Ruth MacEachern

Product Manager

When asked about air pollution, most people immediately think about outdoor air quality – city smog and industrial fumes, but did you know that the air indoors can be up to 5 times more polluted than outdoors?

Air pollution can have a significant effect on respiratory health.  People in cities have a higher incidence of asthma and other breathing conditions due to traffic fumes and the other airborne pollution that is trapped in the city.

Air pollution can be affected by weather conditions – windy weather keeps air moving and reduces the concentration of pollutants in the environment improving local air quality.  By contrast, during the hot months of the summer, chemical smog can develop in cities making breathing more difficult.

Pollution and Indoor Air Quality

What You Can Do to Improve Indoor Air Quality

The key to preventing the build up of pollution indoors is to keep a constant supply of fresh, filtered air into the home

In the summer months, you can keep windows open most of the day to ensure that there is a ready supply of fresh air, however this isn’t always practical – particularly if you live in a noisier area, and during winter, it’s not advisable to leave windows open as your home will quickly lose heat.

Extractor fans  extract contaminated and moisture-laden air out of a building and help to prevent build up of condensation (and reduce the incidence of mould as a benefit), but in order to create a truly well ventilated environment and improve indoor air quality as much as possible, a Positive Input Ventilation (PIV) system is ideal.

PIVs dilute high levels of humidity and harmful household contaminants in the air to create a healthy, all-year-round living environment, which is free from condensation and mould. PIVs are quick and easy to install, energy efficient and can be installed by a professional with minimum disruption to your home – in most cases there is no need to redecorate after installation.

For more information about PIV and improving indoor air quality, please contact one of our local ventilation specialists who can provide you with guidance and advice.