Ensuring Indoor Air Quality

My little house in Northeast Alabama is going to be very tight so I'm looking at options to make sure my air quality stays good. Since I live in an area with excellent air quality, I only have to worry about air quality 6 months out of the year since I leave my windows open the rest of the time.  I'm considering an energy recovery ventilation system or an air purifier. What do you use and why?

Paul Ladendorf wrote:My little house in Northeast Alabama is going to be very tight so I'm looking at options to make sure my air quality stays good. Since I live in an area with excellent air quality, I only have to worry about air quality 6 months out of the year since I leave my windows open the rest of the time.  I'm considering an energy recovery ventilation system or an air purifier. What do you use and why?

in my part of the World (Ontario) an :HRV is a must due to a very demanding building code so very tight houses. The difference between an erv and an HRV is An HRV can better remove moisture which tends to build up in the air in a tight house.ine is set to run 12 minutes an hour to circulate and exchange a portion of the air  works great.

Residential air filter corporate shill here,

I think if you are in a 'tight' space, that you are the perfect candidate for an air purifier because of the fact you are in such a small space it should be relatively affordable to have excellent filtration.

I'd look into a multi-step filter air purifier to know you are capturing the whole gambit of what could be lurking in your air even if you have excellent air quality. I view it as insurance. Filtration should be able to be had to such a level that it can handle wildfire smoke without being too awfully expensive. Just look at square footage and the units handling ability to be sure.

The problem with filtration only is that most filters do not filter out gases only particulate. there are some that have a carbon layer but even that is not enough. In a tight house all the surfaces including the humans will be off gassing. The human body emits quite a range of chemicals that should be flushed from the home let alone all the cooking gases, paints, finishes detergents etc...

David Baillie wrote:The problem with filtration only is that most filters do not filter out gases only particulate. there are some that have a carbon layer but even that is not enough. In a tight house all the surfaces including the humans will be off gassing. The human body emits quite a range of chemicals that should be flushed from the home let alone all the cooking gases, paints, finishes detergents etc...

How do you know that "a carbon layer" is not enough?

My house has indoor plants that help with air quality. They don't help much with particulates like wildfire smoke, but they're good with many gases. A combo of a filter for particulates and plants for gases should cover your bases.

Paul Ladendorf wrote:

David Baillie wrote:The problem with filtration only is that most filters do not filter out gases only particulate. there are some that have a carbon layer but even that is not enough. In a tight house all the surfaces including the humans will be off gassing. The human body emits quite a range of chemicals that should be flushed from the home let alone all the cooking gases, paints, finishes detergents etc...

How do you know that "a carbon layer" is not enough?

because most gases are not absorbed by a carbon layer. It would filter out volatiles but not things like carbon dioxide or methane to name two common gases. as mentioned above plants would for sure help.

How do you know that "a carbon layer" is not enough?

I think some people have used cheap one-stage air purifiers and are not impressed at air filtering. Makes it get a bad rap. I think it is up to the due diligence of the owner to research the product they are purchasing when they get an air purifier.

There are plenty of options that include a carbon filter that would be reliable to handle VOCs within the expected life of the filter but knock-off aftermarket filters can skimp on compounds. Filters can be an expense but it is insurance to good quality air in my mind and worth the yearly cost. A multi-filter air purifier utilizing HEPA, active carbon, pre-filter and maybe a pleated layer is ideal. I hear some systems are utilizing UV light filtering as well.

My house is old and on a boiler system, I wish I could get whole house air filtration but I settle on bedrooms getting running machines.