Indoor Air Quality Compliance

The quality of indoor air for homes, offices, schools, and other commercial or residential buildings is essential for both the comfort and safety of the occupants. Without proper temperature control and ventilation, the air inside a building can become several times more polluted than outside air.

Our professional mechanical engineer team can help prevent and fix IAQ problems with HVAC maintenance and building care.

What Is Indoor Air Quality?

Good indoor air quality includes comfortable temperature and humidity, adequate ventilation, and pollution control. It is required for employers to obey occupational safety and health standards to prevent workplace hazards.

What Causes Poor Indoor Air Quality?

Common causes of poor indoor air quality include:

• Poor ventilation caused by a lack of fresh outdoor air or by contaminated air
• High or low humidity or moisture damage from leaks and flooding
• Recent remodeling or construction releasing mold, pesticides, and chemicals into the air
• Improper storage of products for household cleaning and maintenance
• Unmaintained heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems

These issues can lead to headaches, fatigue, eye, nose, and throat irritation for building occupants. Over time, exposure to pollutants can cause asthma and other respiratory health issues. While symptoms of poor indoor air quality may appear to look like a cold, it could signal a problem with inadequate heating, cooling, and ventilation if it only occurs in a specific area.

To improve indoor air quality, some sources can be adjusted to decrease the number of emissions. For example, a gas-burning stove or other fuel-burning appliances may emit significant amounts of carbon monoxide and might need to be replaced with a cleaner fixture.

Without proper ventilation, humidity control, and temperature settings, pollutants can become dangerously concentrated.

Major pollutants affecting indoor air include:

• Radon
• Mold
• Volatile Organic Compounds
• Carbon Monoxide
• Dust Particles

Most issues with indoor air quality can be solved by HVAC maintenance, proper storage of chemicals, and routine building cleaning.

How Does Ventilation Improve Indoor Air Quality?

Fresh outdoor air may enter a home or building in several ways, including:

• Natural ventilation by opening windows and doors.
• Mechanical ventilation through an HVAC system

It is important to have proper ventilation to reduce the level of contaminants in the air. If too little outside air enters the indoors, pollutants can accumulate to dangerous levels. Without an HVAC system to mechanically bring outdoor air into the home, natural ventilation can also moderate pollutant levels.

If you are concerned about your home or work environment’s indoor air quality, contact us to inspect your HVAC system. Depending on your building, the outdoor environment, and outdoor air quality, there may be different steps to improve the IAQ.

We recommend evaluating and monitoring your indoor air quality to:

• Pinpoint issues that need correcting
• Stay within desirable IAQ parameters in the future
• Reassure occupants that IAQ is safe and maintained

For more information on how we can help improve your indoor air quality or HVAC performance, call Peterson Mechanical Inc at (707) 938-8481 today.