What are we breathing? Have you ever wondered why you cough or sneeze so much, have headaches, feel fatigue or have trouble breathing, even in your own home? Have you tried to figure out why one room is so much more uncomfortable than the other rooms in your house? Indoor air pollution and uncomfortable homes can be irritating to everyone. The air quality in our homes is a major contributor to our health and comfort. The good news is Peak Energy can help improve the indoor air quality and comfort in your home. Find out below what you may be breathing and how we can eliminate problems in your home.

Indoor air pollution can pose a serious health threat. Levels of many air pollutants are significantly higher in indoor air than outdoor air and Americans are spending as much as over 90% of their time indoors. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention indicates that more than 1 out of 10 Americans suffer from Asthma. Some of the guilty culprits for harming your air include: allergens such as pollen, dust mites, pet dander, tobacco smoke, gas, radon, carbon monoxide, vapors, moisture and mold.

The main cause of poor indoor air quality in homes comes from indoor sources that release gases or tiny particles into the air we breathe. Poor ventilation can cause the concentration of these pollutants to rise to dangerous levels. Improper humidity levels can also contribute to an increase in levels of some pollutants including mold and dust mites.

Various sources providing different levels of pollutants in our homes include: combustion appliances such as stoves and ovens, furnaces, water heaters, fire places, gas containers or equipment stored in the garage, basement or crawlspace, water leaks and moisture problems typically found in bathrooms, kitchens and crawlspaces, mold and mildew spores, dust, insulation fibers, formaldehyde and exhaust from vehicles. Some sources of pollutants that may come from outside our homes include: insecticides, pollen, dust, smoke and insects.

Many pollutants can be drawn into your home through hidden air leaks (which may occur in your HVAC systems air ducts, around doors and windows, penetrations in walls, ceilings and floors, crawlspaces, basements, attics or leaky exhaust fans). Temperature and pressure differences between inside and outside air cause these leaks to continuously be pulling pollutants and irritants into your home while conditioned air is being forced out. These air leaks not only affect the air quality in your home, by allowing outside pollutants to sneak their way into your home, they also affect your comfort by creating unwanted drafts and your wallet by causing your cooling and heating system to work longer and harder.

High humidity levels from outside can promote the growth of mold and mildew spores and become detrimental to the structure of your home if allowed inside. Identifying and sealing the air leaks that lead to these problems in your home will not only improve your indoor air quality but will significantly increase the comfort level and energy efficiency of your home.

We use specialty diagnostic equipment like a duct blaster, blower door and thermal imager to help us determine sources of air pollutants in your home and pinpoint any areas of leaky air that are contributing to health and comfort problems within your home. After these leaks are indentified we utilize cost effective air sealing and duct sealing techniques that will improve the energy efficiency and indoor air quality of your home. 

Homes need to have an indoor/outdoor exchange of air to replenish oxygen used by the occupants and to remove indoor air pollutants. We perform a blower door test to measure the natural air exchanges in your home and then make recommendations on mechanical ventilation based on the results. Several different types of mechanical ventilation systems that continuously remove indoor air and supply filtered and conditioned air throughout your home are available. Please visit our section on mechanical ventilation for more information on this topic.

Testing your home for backdrafting of combustion appliances after any work is performed that may effect the air supply in your home is very important. Breathing carbon monoxide that is created from combustion appliances can be very harmful to your health and even deadly.

If you are concerned about health and comfort in your home, please contact us and we will discuss your concerns with you and help identify the solutions.