Quantifiable Air Quality

By combining new sensors and mechanicals with online tools, homeowners can control IAQ much more accurately.

Is the front door locked? How about the back door or the windows? Is the back gate open? These are the kinds of questions people ask before they go to bed at night. They run through a small checklist of security measures as a matter of common sense. But there are more, less-considered questions: Is there mold in the air? What about nitrogen dioxide? Radon? Formaldehyde? 

These days, making a home safe doesn’t stop at a camera for the front door. The same quality air that’s documented on a smartphone’s weather app is what makes its way into a home, and it may even be further contaminated by local particles. 

Fortunately, there are a variety of products designed to ensure the air in the home is fresh and clean. Furthermore, some of these items can even lower a house’s energy costs, saving not just the owner’s lungs, but their wallet as well. Here are five air-cleaning devices and processes that can help everyone breathe easier.

Indoor Air Quality Monitors

Before moving into overhauling a home’s HVAC setup, it might be good to know exactly what needs to change. That’s where indoor air quality (IAQ) monitors come in.

These handy little sensors can be set up just about anywhere in a home, whereupon they’ll keep track of multiple aspects of the air in real time. Depending on the model, a homeowner can learn where their home’s air sits on the standard U.S. Air Quality Index (AQI), as well as the amount of CO2, particulate matter, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), or other contaminants they may be breathing in along with all of that life-giving oxygen.

While this eldritch knowledge may come with the cost of never being able to unlearn what an owner now knows about a living space, IAQ monitors are nonetheless essential in determining just what steps need to be taken to make a house’s air the best it can be.

Indoor air quality units such as the AirVisual Pro Monitor and the Awair Element measure air pollution caused by actions such as cooking, cleaning, wood burning, interior decoration, and smoking. Real-time and historic air quality data can be viewed via free apps from the manufacturers.

Air Purifiers

When anyone starts questioning how to improve their home’s air quality, typically their first idea will be to purchase an air purifier. This is a good impulse—air purifiers, as the name might imply, take in air that’s loaded with pollen, pet dander, VOCs, mold, and other contaminants, and pass it through a series of filters, until only clean air remains. Several of them also have High-Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) filters, which can capture particulate matter as fine as 0.3 microns in size; others use carbon filters for deodorization, or UV light to sterilize the air as it passes through them.

All-purpose air purifiers often specialize in one type of cleansing. Alen’s BreatheSmart 75i is known for its effectiveness with removing allergens, while Rabbit Air’s A3 model diligently takes on pet dander.

Smart Thermostats

Arguably the most easily acquired method to adjusting a home’s air quality and energy efficiency, new household thermostats come packed with additional features and improvements over the classic mercury tube or battery-powered “hot or cold” temperature adjuster.

Many of them have dedicated “low-energy” modes that you can switch on while a homeowner is asleep or away. Several also come pre-loaded with IAQ monitors, which can be set up to automatically adjust their settings based on allergen or humidity levels, ensuring the owner only uses the extra energy to deep-clean the air when it is actually needed.

Lastly, nearly all of them can connect to a smartphone, allowing an owner to interact with them from anywhere.

ecobee’s Smart Thermostat Premium quality monitor alerts the homeowner when air quality is poor and offer tips on how to improve it. Nest’s new 4th Generation Learning Thermostat includes an algorithm that automatically adjusts a homeowner’s heating and cooling schedule based on how the thermostat is used.

Humidifiers

Humidifiers—and their cousins, dehumidifiers—do what one would expect of them: They take the air in a given space and adjust the level of moisture present within it. Humidifiers add to the moisture level, while dehumidifiers take away from it.

Both options have their own merits. Humidifiers tend to be more useful in colder climates, when cold, dry air can cause cracked skin, sore throats, nosebleeds and respiratory issues. Dehumidifiers, meanwhile, are usually used more in warmer environs or summer months, where they can help prevent odors, or the growth of mold or mildew. 

In both cases, there are portable options to only change a smaller space, or larger HVAC installations to provide more optimal control over an entire house. Several models also include built-in hygrometers that monitor the current moisture level of the space, allowing them, like the aforementioned smart thermostats, to turn themselves on only when they’re needed.

Smart humidifiers keep the air smelling and feeling fresh, while also being extremely easy to operate. Levoit’s LV600S Smart Hybrid Ultrasonic Humidifier provides a choice between warm and cool mist, while the Wi-Fi-enabled BlueAir InvisibleMist Humidifier H35i offers smart controls and a self-cleaning, self-drying water tank. 

Ventilators

If a homeowner is looking to make a big change, redoing the house’s HVAC setup can help improve indoor air quality and lower energy bills—especially if the home is newer. Modern, energy-efficient homes are more tightly sealed than their progenitors. While this is technically better for energy efficiency, it can dramatically affect air quality.

Fresh air ventilators are necessary to allow the air to properly circulate between the inside and outside of the house. Once upon a time, this would have been something of a no-win scenario: Someone could have effective circulation or an energy-efficient home. 

These days, however, both options are possible, thanks to energy recovery ventilators (ERVs). ERVs take fresh but unconditioned air from outside and pass it over a cooling (or heating) medium before it enters the house, resulting in “new” air that’s already close to a preferred household temperature. This simple process can drastically lower energy costs, while also preventing the air in the house from growing too stale.

Energy recovery ventilators (ERVs) such as the Broan ONE Interior Ready Energy Recovery Ventilator and Panasonic’s BalancedHome ERV adjust incoming air and balance indoor moisture levels to create a healthier, more-comfortable environment throughout the year. They can also lower a home’s HERS scores by several points if installed correctly.

Unconventional Air Quality

Here are two more lesser-known factors to consider when trying to improve indoor air quality:

Houseplants

For a smaller-scale, cheaper, and more-natural solution, simply add a little greenery to the living space. Plants remain one of the most readily available solutions for improving air quality. They’re easy to find, cheap to maintain, and they look great. Bamboo palms, Boston ferns, peace lilies, and dragon trees are just a few examples of plants that are known to substantially reduce pollutants, toxins, and CO2 levels—with no energy usage required—while simultaneously functioning as pleasant, relaxing decor for a living space.

Carpets

Many carpets are made from some variation of synthetic, petroleum-based material. This material is often treated with other chemicals to improve stain resistance, wear or color retention. Also, many are installed over highly toxic rubberized pads, and they may be glued to the floor with pungent adhesives.
The result of this noxious combination—often referred to as “off-gassing,” or the release of VOCs (volatile organic compounds) into the air—usually dissipates within 72 hours of carpet installation when accompanied by good ventilation. But the Environmental Protection Agency (EPS) suggests selecting a product with low or no VOCs, no toxic dyes, is made from recycled content and is recyclable, and has a minimum 10-year warranty. After installation, the product will actually help absorb particles from the air, so cleaning it regularly is a necessity.