Whether you’re a homeowner or a business owner, maintaining consistent air quality in your space is essential from both a comfort and safety perspective, but it’s easy to forget how beneficial it is for us to breathe cleaner air. From odor elimination to the management of pollutants like pet dander and mold, the uses of prioritizing high indoor air quality in your home and office are numerous, and the downsides are almost nonexistent. It’s even more necessary if you have family members or employees with health conditions that make them vulnerable to the effects of poor air quality. If you’re looking to invest in ensuring your environment has breathable and clean air indoors, read on for three of the top reasons it’s worth the cost.
1. Keep yourself and your space safe.
The reality is that it’s easy for contaminated air to enter your home and the negative health effects of breathing in polluted air can be serious. The health problems that can develop from the inhalation of harmful substances can range from allergic reactions or headaches to more serious illnesses like lung cancer, depending on the type of contaminants that are present in the environment. That’s why it’s so important to make sure you have a quality HVAC system that addresses all of your air quality and ventilation needs. Without a system that filters air and promotes healthy airflow, it’s easy for allergens like animal dander and other pollutants to spread throughout the house or office, compounding the problem quickly.
If you want to avoid these risks entirely, the most effective way is to have a reliable HVAC system that is regularly maintained, so it can operate efficiently and effectively. That means the filter should be changed every one to three months, and it should be inspected annually. If the system is more than 15 years old, experts recommend that you replace it entirely.
2. Maintain productivity while working.
Believe it or not, green offices that don’t suffer from poor air quality are connected to improved cognitive function in almost all scenarios. Cognitive function is a broad term that encompasses our abilities to do things like reading, retain information, and maintain focus. The green offices studied had a cognitive score almost double that of a standard office environment, which further demonstrates the meaningful impact that employee conditions can have on their ability to be productive and efficient in their work.
Beyond the benefits for cognitive function, a safe environment minimizes the risk for disruptions due to issues with air quality or persistent employee health issues. There’s no more valuable resource than your employees, so protecting them is worth the effort. For business owners, it’s not just a health-conscious choice to invest in clean air, it’s a smart technical decision, too.
3. Help protect the environment.
While it is more of a societal benefit than a personal one, going green and keeping your air free of contaminants is also a benefit for the planet. It’s a good idea from a financial standpoint, too. Customers are more interested in patronizing businesses they perceive as environmentally friendly, and prospective homeowners now prioritize things like efficiency and their environmental concerns when shopping for a house. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has also found that there is an environmental justice component to air quality and that low-income Americans are more likely to be in environments where the air is contaminated. Addressing these issues of safety and sustainability will be necessary to secure our future as a country.
Whether your primary concern is safety, payroll, or the environment, prioritizing the indoor air quality of your home or business will help address your issues and improve your quality of life. Poor air quality and the presence of various contaminants in indoor air can also be especially difficult for anyone with allergies or conditions like asthma, increasing the risk of allergic reactions or an asthma attack. In addition to all of these practical benefits, it’s important to remember that eliminating pollutants and improving the efficiency of your house or office is good for the environment as well. The importance of clean air is easy to overlook, but the consequences of doing so can be serious for your health, comfort, and safety.
