Improving Indoor Air Quality in the Winter

With all the snow and the ice we’ve seen lately, it’s tempting to shut the doors and windows and cocoon ourselves inside. It’s also an energy-saving measure since heat that escapes an open window means more energy used to heat your home. But, shutting our homes tightly against the elements can affect indoor air quality, which often deteriorates in the winter months.

These are the signs of an unhealthy indoor environment:

• Constant condensation on windows, especially if it results in water pooling around the windowsill
• Mold – either visible or a persistent musty odour
• Worsening allergies, asthma or other respiratory symptoms

Too much humidity and moisture creates an unhealthy environment.

What’s the Solution?
Ventilation is key to maintaining indoor air quality, but how to achieve that in winter – especially with the severe weather we’ve had? Open windows mean turning the heat up – and losing out on heating costs. A heat recovery ventilator (HRV) is a great answer.

It’s a system that brings fresh air inside without losing heat and may also be called a heat exchanger or air exchanger. They can be installed as stand alone devices or added to an existing HVAC system and use a heat exchanger to bring fresh air in and release it into your home at ambient temperatures. Essentially they transfer heat and humidity from one stream of air (coming from inside the home) to the other (coming from outside).

An Earth-to-air heat exchanger (or ‘earth tubes’ system) takes the concept one step further by using piping buried beneath the frostline underground where the temperature is nearly always between 4 and 6 degrees Celsius. It brings that 5 degree Celsius air into your home to cool it in the summer and jump start heating it in the winter, providing energy savings since all you need is a blower fan to operate the system. They’re very popular in Germany and Austria.

Feeling Closed In – Musty Odours?
A heat exchanger system can be a great solution and preventive measure. But – you need to clean house first. We can help with a variety of services, including:

• Indoor Air Quality Testing
• Mold Inspection, Testing and Mold Removal

Environmental issues can be solved – let us show you how. Let us give you peace of mind – call the Environmental Services Group for a quote. We’re your asbestos removal experts serving Toronto and the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) – at (416) 575-6111.

In The News and on TV:
ESG has been featured on CTV and Global news and we’re the official supplier to HGTV’s Income Properties with Scott McGillivray and Leave It To Bryan.

Environmental Services Group is a cutting edge environmental consulting firm based in Toronto and servicing both the Greater Toronto Area and Ontario. We provide state-of-the-art, industry-leading expertise in remedying environmental hazards such as mold, lead, asbestos and much more. Call 416-575-6111 or visit our website today for a pressure-free initial consultation. You’ll be glad you did!