ENTBED Indoor Air Quality
Entbed | entbedteam@gmail.com
When most people think of health hazards in their local environment the air they breathe while relaxing on the couch or in their child breathes in their bedroom is the least of their concerns. Many people are surprised to discover that the air they and their families are exposed to at home is usually filled with 25% - 75% more pollutants than the outdoor air. These levels of pollutants and irritants can sometimes reach up to 1000% of ambient levels without proper ventilation and building material selection.
Mold can grow in the home from the accumulation of any source of water including steam from showers and cooking, leaks from the outdoors, or even the moisture in the air. Mold spores in the indoor environment can be allergenic, asthma inducing, or cause respiratory infection when inhaled chronically.
Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are accumulated in the indoor environment from a variety of sources including synthetic and composite building materials, paints, glues, household chemicals, and attached garages. These VOCs can cause short term problems such as eye/nose and throat irritation, headaches, and nausea and dizziness. Prolonged exposure to VOCs has been linked to increased risks of cancer and damages the liver, kidney, and the central nervous system.
Still, the most insidious threat to the air quality in your home can be a heavy odorless, colorless, radioactive gas called radon. Radon is formed from the radioactive decay of radium which is found in natural rock formations and certain building materials. There are no symptoms associated with excessive radon exposure, but this gas damages the sensitive lining of the lungs. Levels in a home can exceed 50 times the average outdoor levels. Radon exposure is the second leading cause of lung cancer and causes thousands of deaths yearly.
With the increased concern over energy efficiency in the home, building walls and exterior envelopes are being constructed tighter and tighter each year. Although this construction methodology does lower heating and cooling costs by trapping the conditioned air inside the home, it has the added adverse effect of trapping airborne contaminants. Older homes with less insulation and more gaps in the construction will pull in warm air during the day and expel that air at night. With newer and tighter construction techniques along with the prevalence of noxious glues and adhesives in newer building materials, healthy building practices and an acute concern for building ventilation and material selection is more important now than it ever has been.
All of these air quality issues can be mitigated with healthy building design principles that we use in all of our Entbed designs. These include providing comprehensive natural ventilation to all building areas, non-toxic building material selection, radon mitigation fans, and mechanical ventilation. Most design professionals are concerned with satisfying the minimum building code requirements when it comes to the indoor air quality and ventilation standards. Our design team, on the other hand, will design your building with your health as their primary concern so you can rest and breathe easily with your family while living in a custom designed Entbed home.