The airflow in your home is an integral aspect of your overall health and wellness. Beyond optimizing heating and cooling distribution, it also impacts air quality, humidity control, and the management of microbes and allergens. Yet, airflow often gets overlooked.
Here are five tips for improving your home’s airflow for improved efficiency, sustainability, and health.
Invest In HVAC Maintenance
Many homeowners take a reactive stance toward HVAC maintenance rather than a proactive stance. The latter, however, is the appropriate method for improving airflow, air quality, and the lifespan of your home’s central systems.
Ensuring proper airflow starts with installation. According to Dallas TX air conditioning installation experts, choosing the right size system will help improve airflow and air quality. An oversized system will result in hot or cold spots, while an undersized system will be insufficient for balance throughout the home.
Scheduling seasonal HVAC maintenance for your air conditioner and furnace will also improve airflow. During a maintenance visit, the HVAC expert will clean out filters, remove dust and debris from the blowers, and ensure everything is in good working order.
If you notice hot or cold spots in your home, call an HVAC expert to inspect your systems to determine what’s impacting your airflow.
Clean Your Vents And Ducts
Taking the time to clean your vents and ducts is another effective way to improve the airflow and air quality in your home—schedule time at least once per month to vacuum out vent covers and visible portions of your vents.
Consider hiring a professional service to deep clean your vents once every year. If you’re hesitant to engage in this service, schedule a consultation with a cleaning specialist who uses a camera during the inspection process. Once you see how much dust and dirt is built up in your ductwork, you’ll quickly change your mind.
Catch A Cross Breeze
The unfortunate aspect of relying on air conditioning is that the windows must stay closed during the hotter periods of the day. If you live in a humid area, you might even choose to keep them closed at night.
However, it’s essential to take advantage of temperate days to catch a cross breeze. Take advantage of the mild days to open your windows and get rid of stale air. If humidity isn’t an issue during the evenings, turn off the air conditioner and leave the windows open at night during the summer.
During the winter months, take advantage of warmer days and open your windows for 10-15 minutes with the furnace shut off. This exercise will provide a quick blast of fresh air without seriously diminishing the warmth in your home.
Rethink Your Feng Shui
We tend to think of furniture organization as an interior design consideration, but it also impacts the airflow in our homes. Be sure to organize your furniture so it isn’t blocking the air from any vents.
If you have no other choice but to place furniture near a vent, position it away from the wall to improve the airflow. Add legs to bulky sofas to increase the clearance underneath, allowing air to travel more freely.
Use Kitchen And Bathroom Fans
Don’t forget to use exhaust fans wisely. You should always have a fan on when showering to help offset the humidity and prevent mold growth in the bathroom. If you don’t have a fan in the bathroom, invest in one immediately. If you have a fan already, ensure it doesn’t vent directly into the attic. An HVAC specialist can help you with this inspection.
Keep in mind that your exhaust fans are beneficial to a point. Remember to turn them off for better temperature control or install timers.
These simple considerations can help you improve the airflow in your home for better cost-efficiency and health.
