People with health conditions often overlook the environmental factors within their homes that could serve as triggers. Particularly, the air quality in a house can indicate the quality of the HVAC system. With a better HVAC setup in your home, the entire household may see significant health benefits. Here is a look at some of the most common health benefits tied to having a good HVAC system.
Fewer Chronic Respiratory Issues
Many of the folks who end up turning to our HVAC technicians for help because of health issues tend to be people who have chronic respiratory problems. A classic example of air quality colliding with respiratory health is allergy season. Even if you hunker down in your house during the peak of allergy season, pollen can still get into your home. Fortunately, an HVAC with sufficient filtration can significantly reduce the amount of pollen that travels into a house.
Another common health issue related to the HVAC is asthma. In the same way that pollen can get into a home, irritants and pollutants can also. If a person has asthma, even a small exposure to irritants can be enough to trigger an attack. Once more, a high-quality filtration system may reduce irritants.
Notably, adding filtration is often not as simple as swapping out the existing filters. HVAC systems need air to be able to flow freely through them, and the chosen filter has to be right for your HVAC. Some filters can restrict airflow, making your system work harder than necessary. This can cause problems and even shorten your system’s lifespan. However, there usually is a way to add greater filtration somewhere in the system to reduce pollen, pollution and other irritants. In extreme cases, customers may need to consider installing an all-new system to maximize indoor air quality.
Cardiac Health
HVAC offers benefits on two related fronts. Similar to the previous mention of respiratory issues, people with conditions like COPD benefit from HVAC. Likewise, the reduced physical stress that comes with access to air conditioning on the hottest and most humid days also provides benefits.
COPD is a condition that involves a series of problems. The issues start at the respiratory level, but they hit the heart as the lungs strain to deal with a worsening situation. While a high-quality HVAC won’t fix COPD, it can mitigate the worst factors. Better indoor air quality along with controlled temperatures and humidity serve to keep COPD suffers’ lungs working better. In turn, this reduces the strain on their hearts.
The benefits of air conditioning are more straightforward. By helping people cool off, air conditioning keeps the body’s temperature down. When the body is hot, it has to circulate blood harder to keep up the cooling cycle. This places a stress on the heart. Drier air also helps the body cool faster through sweating. Consequently, getting or staying indoors in an HVAC-controlled home significantly reduces cardiac risks during hot weather.
Rhinitis and Sinusitis
Some people make the mistake of believing that they’re just more susceptible to having a runny nose or sinus pressure. Especially if a doctor has never diagnosed these individuals with a chronic respiratory issue, they might think they’re otherwise healthy. They could be overlooking how poor air quality irritates the nasal passages and sinuses, though.
The benefits of HVAC are several in these cases. First, a good HVAC system should cycle less often. The air is less disturbed in these situations, and that discourages rhinitis and sinusitis. Second, changing indoor temperatures can aggravate the nasal and sinus passages. Third, filtration once more is a factor by reducing irritants. Finally, keeping the humidity at a steady level can reduce irritation from drying in the nasal and sinus passages.
Skin Problems
Many of the same irritations that drive nasal and sinus issues also can aggravate skin conditions. An HVAC that excessively dries a house can particularly cause problems during the winter. Maintaining the right humidity level, which tends to be between 30 and 50%, can keep a person’s skin from drying out too much. Many skin conditions react to the heat and humidity levels in a house, including eczema, psoriasis, rosacea, contact dermatitis and keratosis.
Mold
A high-quality HVAC system should minimize or eliminate the presence of mold in a house. Controlling mold is a big deal because it can trigger many of the previously noted health issues. Even if someone has never had asthma before, for example, they can develop asthma due to mold exposure.
Fortunately, keeping the humidity level in a house below 50% is sufficient in most cases to prevent health problems. However, you do need to be sure that the humidity level is consistently controlled throughout the house. Just because the reading is good near the lone thermostat in a house doesn’t mean it is good everywhere. The basement could be mustier, and the HVAC might even start blasting mold to other parts of the house. An HVAC system needs to control humidity everywhere in a home for you to be sure.
Discouraging Insects and Other Pests
Humid and hot conditions can attract bugs and other pests. Worse, droppings from these pests can be as bad as or worse than mold when it comes to encouraging problems like asthma and allergies. Again, keeping the humidity level at or below 50% throughout the entire house will make a huge difference.
Sleep Improvement
Temperature regulation is a critical part of maintaining your sleep cycle. If the temperature in your home changes a lot or stays either hot or cold, your body may respond with poor sleep. Overheating or chilling can disrupt your body’s internal clock and throw you into weird sleep patterns. Anyone who has ever had fussy sleep on a hot night in a warm house can tell you how bad the experience is. Compound this over the years, and you can expect significant detrimental effects on your cognitive, emotional and physical health.
Keeping the humidity level between 30% and 50% also tends to keep the throat’s moisture levels at the right level. A dry mouth or throat is a common sleep disruptor, as evidenced by the many people who sleep with a drink of water on their nightstand.
Your Reliable HVAC Experts
Darias Heating & Air Conditioning is a service company that does work for residents of Victoria, BC and the surrounding areas. The BBB provides our business an A+ rating, and we’re part of the Home Performance Contractors Network. We work on all kinds of heating and cooling systems, including heat pumps. You are also welcome to discuss projects ranging from installations to repairs with our knowledgeable technicians. We even help our customers address indoor air quality problems in their homes.
Financing plans are available for qualified customers. There may be rebates available for your project, too. You also should talk with us about setting up a maintenance schedule for your home’s HVAC. If you need help with your household’s HVAC setup, call Darias Heating & Air Conditioning today to request a free assessment and estimate.
