Often relegated to the shadows of Energy Efficiency, (the best known characteristic of a green building), Indoor Air Quality is slowing coming into its own as a leading feature of green-built homes. My experience shows that when asked what green building means to them, health concerns about allergies and indoor pollutants, second only to energy efficiency, are the leading concerns our clients have when defining green building features most important to them.
For the most part we understand saving energy in our homes is beneficial and we pretty much know the big three items required to get it done: more insulation, higher quality double pane windows and more efficient heating and air conditioning systems. But now, seeping into everyday conversation about “green homes” is a convergence to what we call “high performance” or better yet “healthy, high performance” homes. That means we have moved beyond basic code requirements and redefining what the base line specifications of a 21st Century home look like and that house looks a lot greener. And that green house, unlike a green house at the end of the 20th Century, is more than just energy efficient. It is a healthy home.
The focus of a healthy home is on the quality of the air we breathe when we live in the home. The four most important steps you need to learn to help you achieve and maintain a healthy air environment in your home: eliminate, separate, filtrate and ventilate. That is how to eliminate the toxins from ever being built into the home, how to separate those toxins from the occupants when they can’t be eliminated and finally how to filtrate and ventilate the air into our homes so those toxins do not cause us harm.
Building a healthy high performance home can be easier and less expensive than just building a home focused on energy efficiency.
To answer your questions on how to improve your family’s indoor air quality, you can contact me at Michael@BrothersStrong.com.
