Improving the indoor air quality of your home while improving the energy efficiency at the same time can be achieved through some very easy steps. You just have to know some basic guidelines in order to get started.

Improve Air Quality and Energy Efficiency by Eliminating Drafts

The first order of business is to eliminate as many drafts as possible. This will limit the quantity of airborne allergens that can enter your home from outside. Draft prevention can improve air quality inside our homes, and has the added benefit of improving the energy efficienc of our heating and cooling systems. The loss of heat in the winter and the loss of air conditioning in the summer adds up to high energy costs and wasted money and natural resources.

Reducing drafts helps reduce the outside irritants and toxic particles that can be found suspended in outdoor air and have less chance of getting into your home.

Air Circulation Improves Improve Air Quality and Energy Efficiency

Circulating the air inside becomes very important as it allows the air to move around and the rooms will not become stuffy, stale and full of odors. Using an air conditioner to control the humidity in your home will also reduce or eliminate humidity and reduce the need for a dehumidifier which is very expensive to operate.

Create a Save Haven in Your Home

Your ability to control your indoor air quality and energy efficiency will allow you to create a safe haven in your home, This will help protected from airborne microbes such as small pox, anthrax, botulism, toxic gas, and radio active particle that can be released by terrorists or by accident.

Improve Air Quality and Energy Efficiency by Leakage Testing

A simple air leakage test is your first step you need to do to improve your indoor air quality and energy efficiency. All that is needed is a fan set up near an outer doorway. After placing the fan in the outer doorway, you will observe that eh amount of air that flows through the fan is equal to the air that is flowing through any leaks in the outer shell of the building.

If you use white smoke while you perform the leakage test, you will see openings in windows or door that are allowing your air conditioning and heating to escape or toxins to enter. These cracks are also places where dust, insects, pollen and mold spores can enter the home.

You would expect older homes to have gaps, holes and cracks in its outer shell, but the fact is that even new homes can have as much as 300 square inches of these openings in their outer walls. If you have a ducted air circulation system in your home, these openings can create a significant level of pressure inside the home that will drive air through these openings. Don’t fall into the trap of thinking that since you have a new home, you don’t have any leakage problems.

Conclusion

One final caveat. Before you go rushing out to seal up your home in an effort to improve its air quality and energy efficiency, you must make a committment to reduce the amount of chemicalproducts that you use. More and more studies are showing that the air quality within our homes is often worse than the air we breathe outside. Carpeting that gives off toxic fumes, cleaning products, personal care products and electronic equipment are only a few of the products that we use indoors that is contributing to “sick house syndrome”. So before you tackle the job of improving your air quality and energy efficiency, use more natural products in your home to keep you and your family safe.

Beverly Saltonstall is an environmental writer who offers timely information on environmental issues. Her website, http://pollutionwebsite.com offers guides on topics such as air quality, air pollution, water pollution, biodiversity, waste management and more. Be sure and sign up for the free report “Easy Steps You Can Take to Reduce Air Pollution”, available on the website. Follow me on Twitter www.twitter.com/greenlady

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