Healthy Homes

Due to the increased awareness of the importance of “Healthy” indoor air quality, we wanted to dedicate a discussion on this topic. 

In the Net-Zero Energy Home description you’ve read how Wright Jenkins Home Plans are designed to have the entire mechanical system within the conditioned space and the various benefits. Healthier indoor air is also a benefit to building a hi-performance, energy efficient home. Prior to homes being heated and cooled mechanically, they were built to “breathe.” Makes sense doesn’t it? The more fresh air the better, right? There is something to be said for fresh air for sure, but in a hi-performance home, one that’s built as tight as possible, fresh air is introduced but is also controlled and we mean more than just opening a window!

Homes that breathe are by definition, leaky and negatively pressurized, allowing into the home unwanted moisture which can result in dangerous mold & mildew. The leaky home also introduces unwanted pollen, pesticides and other pathogens. 

A “tight” home on the other hand is positively pressurized, or inside pushing out, which reduces the presence of unwanted pathogens inside the home. But homes constructed with a tight building envelope often require a “fresh air” intake, something a 3rd party building scientist designs into a hi-performance home’s mechanical system. Now, outside air is filtered and even purified before being introduced inside the home.
But customers aware of their chemical sensitivities ask, “What about all the chemicals prevalent in construction materials?”

Many building materials indeed have chemical additives, which will necessarily be inside the building envelope. Builders and homeowners can seek to reduce pathogens by identifying their sources. Remember the Chinese drywall issues? Certain chemicals, like formaldehyde present in roof trusses, floor joists and other engineered woods is a fact. However, homes designed with Ducts in Conditioned Space, (none in the attic) a properly designed mechanical system and fresh air intake greatly reduces the presence of formaldehyde, air born fiberglass and other off gassed materials in the living space and the air we breathe.

And then there is the ever popular wood burning fireplace. If healthy indoor air quality is of importance, simply don’t have one, at least not in conditioned space. The combination of the smoke and other toxins present in burning wood inside the home plus the negative pressurization a flue creates adds to the unlikelihood of a healthy, hi-performance home. We like wood burning fireplaces too and often suggest that a “must have” wood burning fireplace be a feature on the rear patio or lanai.

We’ve only scratched the surface here and there are far better resources to learn more details about indoor air quality and hi-performance home building in general. We suggest researching Dr. Allison Bailes’s Energy Vanguard website and blog series. https://www.energyvanguard.com