Improving Indoor Air Quality
By: United Cool Air
Most air conditioners recirculate indoor air. While this saves energy, there is a very serious health cost to pay when people breathe indoor air instead of outdoor air! According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), indoor air is two to five times MORE TOXIC on average than outside air. This is true even in the most heavily polluted United States metropolitan areas! In fact, some inside air has been found to be as much as one hundred times more toxic than the outside air in metropolitan areas!
Why Is the Inside Air So Toxic?
It’s a combination of a great many factors, some of which we’ll discuss below. For now, just know that the toxins found in inside air are mostly all human made and are more heavily concentrated during seasons when we don’t open windows, such as the warmer seasons when we run air conditioning. Furthermore, newer buildings that are “better insulated” tend to have inside air that is more toxic than older “drafty” buildings.
Toxins that Diffuse Out of Common Indoor Items
Many buildings have carpet and furniture. The foam on the back of the carpet and in the stuffing of the furniture provides a constant source of volatile organic chemicals (VOCs), which are known carcinogens and irritants. These VOCs are found in many other indoor items too such as drapes and shower curtains. You know that funky “new odor” you smell when you hang the new shower curtain? That’s VOCs leaching out. They continue to leach out into the air even when you don’t smell them any more so your nose is not the best guide when it comes to toxins in inside air.
We Bring Other Nasty Chemicals Indoors That Contaminate Our Air
We use pesticides that emit toxins into the air we breathe. Popular industrial cleaners contain toxic chemicals like phthalates, erchloroethylene or “PERC), triclosan, ammonia, chlorine, and 2-Butoxyethanol. There’s paradicholorbenzene in mothballs. Flame-retardants found in mattresses, clothes, electronics, and are composed of polybrominated diphenyl and ethers–PBDEs, both highly toxic! These same nasty chemicals plus PCBs (phthalates) are found in many plastic products, including toys, plastic plant pots, food containers, lamps, picture frames, eyeglass frames, and plastic organizers. Particleboard furniture emits formaldehyde for as long as you have it in your space!
Does your carpet, furniture, clothes, or other products state they are “stain resistant?” Does your cookware say “non stick?” If so, these items contain perfluorinated acids (PFAs), which cause birth defects! Then there are all the nasty chemicals in our building supplies such as the methylene diphenyl diisocyanate found in spray foam insulation and the resins found in paint, varnishes, and tiles! There’s also radon gas from your flooring and toxins released from mold!
What Are Health Costs?
We’ve already mentioned cancer and birth defects but there are other health hazards that are also caused by toxic indoor air as well. For example, scientists now believe that toxic indoor air may be partially responsible for the soaring rates of autism and Asperger’s in children! It can also cause nervous conditions like ADD and general anxiety. Heart diseases has been linked to the many of the nasty chemicals found in toxic indoor air too. Asthma and allergies that have been on the rise are thought to be linked to toxic indoor air. In fact, many chronic illnesses are linked to or exacerbated by toxic indoor air. These include sinus issues, skin rashes, dizziness, runny nose, persistent cough, achy joints, digestive issues, irritated eyes, nausea, poor concentration, memory loss, weakened immune system, and general fatigue.
OmegaAir and Alpha Aire — DOAS That Pull 100% OUTDOOR Air
When it’s hot and or humid outside, it can be just miserable if you don’t run your air conditioner! However, since most air conditioners recirculate toxic inside air, it can be a difficult choice on what to do. Do you open your windows and just try to bear the hot sticky feel? Or do you close your windows and feel comfortable while knowing you’re breathing in all that toxic air?
The Alpha Aire and Omega Air 100% outdoor air systems like all UCA air conditioning equipment are designed for indoor installation! Air handlers and condensers require no exterior mounting space, which is critical in multi-floor, urban applications. Indoor unit mounting preserves the architectural integrity of the building by keeping the roof and perimeter free of obstructions. In addition to eliminating the roof loads, the installation and maintenance costs are lower, the equipment is protected from the elements and security is enhanced because of limited outdoor access.