Indoor Air Quality Introduction

Indoor Air Quality Business

Indoor Air Quality Introduction

Indoor Air Quality Business

Understanding Indoor Air Quality Basics

And The Business Opportunity It Represents

This is the first in a series of articles about Indoor Air Quality (IAQ).

Many contractors think of IAQ in terms of selling humidifiers and various filter products accessories or cleaning ductwork. This does represent some of the products and services used for Indoor Air Quality, but may not represent the solutions needed for many indoor air pollution problems. Other products and services may be needed to solve most indoor air problems. Contractors such as you can provide many of the services needed to provide these indoor air solutions. This represents a huge growth opportunity. Other articles will address the IAQ process, the IAQ business model, the IAQ selling process, the IAQ marketing plan to support the business plan and sales goals, choosing IAQ & sales best practices and IAQ legal issues.

This article has two objectives. The first is to introduce IAQ fundamentals. Whether you’re planning to actively pursue IAQ sales opportunities or not, this information is important for contractors to know. Here are a few quick examples:

  • Over sizing air conditioning equipment can cause humidity problems in the home. This in turn can cause mold problems that even a good method of filtration cannot solve.
  • Leaky supply and return ducts can cause indoor air pollution.
  • Pressure problems within the home can also cause indoor air pollution problems and can interfere with the combustion process in gas appliances. This can cause very serious health problems.

And these are only three issues. Our industry has positioned itself to be able to solve indoor air comfort problems. Comfort goes way beyond just heating or cooling a home. Our customers expect their indoor air to be healthy as well. When we do not meet those expectations, we face unhappy customers. That’s one of the reasons why many contractors have had or are facing litigation problems over IAQ issues with their customers. That can be a painful way to get educated on indoor air quality.

The following article is very comprehensive about indoor air quality problems and its consequent health problems. It also introduces HVAC practices that contribute to these problems as well as possible solutions to these problems. A future article will focus on the products available to solve indoor air problems.

This article is an excellent introduction to IAQ basics. You may want to share it with your staff and employees to help educate them on IAQ issues. It can help understand the importance of applying and installing HVAC systems correctly. The information is also important from a sales perspective. The knowledge can help build credibility and confidence with customers.

Not all the solutions to indoor air problems hinge on the heating and air conditioning system. There are many things a homeowner can do for themselves to improve the quality of the indoor air. This information can help your employees communicate IAQ issues with customers.

The second objective of this article is to show the state of the IAQ industry and the huge potential it offers in terms of revenue growth. A future article will introduce the IAQ business model to make sure it is profitable growth.

Introduction to Indoor Air Quality

According to the American Lung Association, Americans spend an average of 65 percent of their time in home in what is usually viewed to be a safe haven. However, growing evidence shows that some homes may be detrimental to the health of those living there. According to the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), indoor air pollution may be two to five times higher than outdoor levels. In some cases indoor air pollution can be as much as 100 times higher. As a result, the EPA has recognized indoor air pollution as one of the top five urgent environmental risks to public health.

Exposure to indoor air pollutants such as smoke, dust, pet dander, radon, mold and other pollutants can pose serious health risks and contribute to respiratory disease, asthma, and even lung cancer. Home pollutants such as dust mites, pet dander, and mold travel through the air undetected and are known triggers for asthma. These allergens can be inhaled and enter the respiratory system Pollen and other indoor air pollutants cause allergy and sinusitis (inflammation of the sinuses). High accumulations of carbon monoxide, formaldehyde and radon in inadequately ventilated homes pose serious health hazards as well. In addition, various biological agents found in a home can cause infectious and non-infectious diseases.

Indoor air quality is more of an issue with today’s home construction than what it was in the past. In days when homes were built fairly loose, fresh air was continually introduced into the home through infiltration. This diluted any indoor air contaminants so there was less concentration. Construction practices have changed over the last 30 years to make homes more energy efficient. Homes are built much tighter than in the past to eliminate infiltration as much as possible and the need to heat or cool that air brought in from outside. Homes have become considerably tighter resulting in poor ventilation and a marked increase in pollutants.

Most homes have more than one source of indoor air pollution. For example, pollutants come from tobacco smoke, building materials, decorating products, home furnishings, and activities such as cooking, and cleaning. Living in areas with high outdoor levels of pollutants usually results in high indoor levels.

Fortunately, there are solutions to these indoor air pollution problems that let people live in a healthier environment within their homes. These solutions present business opportunities to contractors.

Respiratory Health

Let’s take a closer at indoor air quality in terms of health.

The Lungs

If something hazardous is ingested into the human stomach, acids and other chemicals can destroy them. This is not the case for the lungs. The lungs contain some of the most sensitive tissue in the human body. There are no acids or other chemicals to break down potential hazards taken into the lungs.

The air-sack tissue of the lungs and blood capillaries are meshed closely together in order to efficiently absorb oxygen into the bloodstream. Airborne pollutants can likewise easily be absorbed into the lung tissue.

In the nasal area there are the cilia (hairs) and mucus membranes designed to capture airborne particles before they reach the lungs. This will get larger particles, but smaller particles such as bacteria, viruses and molds move in and out of the lungs with little impediment. Toxins infiltrate freely.

Another problem with the lungs that relates to pollutants is volume. The greater the volume of contamination over time, the greater the potential damage. The typical person breathes 22,000 times a day. This constitutes an enormous volume of air passing through the lungs.

Airborne Allergens

The immune system protects people from diseases by fighting germs like bacteria and viruses. A properly functioning immune system is designed to identify and destroy many foreign invaders within the body. Allergies are the result of a hypersensitive immune system. The immune system misidentifies an otherwise innocuous substance as being harmful and then attacks the substance with ferocity far greater than required. These substances that trigger allergic reactions are called allergens. An allergy is the body’s immune reaction to allergens. Allergic diseases are the sixth leading cause of chronic illness in the United States.

Every person has an individual threshold to allergens. This refers to the load the body can resist allergens. Loads differ depending on genetics, nutrition, etc.

Allergens can be classified into three broad sources: (a) plant pollen, (b) fungi & mold spores and mycelia fragments, and (c) indoor insect and vertebrate debris that become part of house dust.

Pollens give off a rapid release of proteins when they strike a moist, warm surface like the nasal cavity. These pollen proteins provoke an immediate immune response. Pollens are seasonal in nature and mainly come from outdoors. This type of allergic reaction comes usually once a year.

It’s been estimated that 60% of all allergies are caused by molds. A Mayo Clinic study identified nearly all the chronic sinus infections in 37 million Americans were caused by molds. The tripling of asthma in the last 20 years has been tied to molds.

About 6 % of the U.S. population has developed allergic reactions to cats. The primary allergen generated by cats is a protein produced in glands in the skin of the animal. This same protein is in the saliva of the cat. The protein accumulates in the hair of the animal. As this protein becomes stirred-up, it goes airborne to react with the nose and lungs of those people who are allergic to cats.

Dust mites produce thousands of airborne fecal pellets each day. These particles include a digestive enzyme that can set off a rather severe allergic reaction for those who are sensitive.

Cockroaches produce digestive enzymes and salivary proteins that are allergens. These accumulate in house dust and go airborne whenever the dust in the house is disturbed.

There are three different allergic reactions, each depending on the location of the allergic inflammation: (a) Allergic Rhinitis (nasal and upper respiratory inflammation), (b) Sinusitis (inflammation of the sinus cavities) and (c) Asthma (inflammation of the air bronchial tubes).

Allergens can also causes diseases such as hypersensitivity pneumonitis.

Allergic Rhinitis

About 50 million Americans suffer from rhinitis. People generally develop allergic rhinitis after repeated exposure over time to an airborne allergen. Allergic rhinitis inflammation can be either seasonal or year-around. The year-around rhinitis usually comes from indoor allergens (molds, dust mites, etc.) in the air. Pollens given off by outdoor seasonal plants normally cause the seasonal allergic rhinitis.

Here are some of the symptoms that people with rhinitis experience:

  • Less energy and high fatigue factor.
  • Altered mental capacity.
  • Lower social functioning.
  • Higher emotional and physical limitations.
  • Sleep problems and fatigue.
  • Loss of concentration.

Sinusitis

The sinuses are four sets of air cells located on both sides of the nose. These air cells can become infected and inflamed. When they do, the problem is called sinusitis. By definition, sinusitis is the bacterial infection of the paranasal sinuses. These sinus cavities are attached to the nose by very small openings. These tiny openings can easily be blocked by inflamed tissue or thick secretions caused by allergies or viral infections. Such conditions become ideal for bacteria to flourish in the warm, moist mucus secretions in the sinuses. This infection usually leads to nasal congestion, headache, cough, post-nasal drip and fatigue.

Asthma

Asthma is an obstructive lung disease caused by restriction of the airways trigger by various airborne particulate. It is a chronic condition that can be a life threatening for some if not properly managed. It’s estimated that 20.3 million people in the United States currently have asthma. Of these an estimated 12 million people have an asthma attack episode at least once a year. It’s estimated that 6.3 million children under the age of 18 have asthma of which 4 million suffered from an asthma attack in the past year. Here are some other facts about asthma:

  • Asthma breathing problems usually happen in ‘episodes’, but the inflammation underlying asthma is continuous. An asthma episode is a series of events that result in narrowed airways. These include swelling of the lining, tightening of the muscle and increased secretion of mucus in the airway. The narrowed airway is responsible for the difficulty in breathing with the familiar ‘wheeze’.
  • Close to 2 million emergency room visits per year are attributed to asthma.
  • It’s estimated that 6.3 million children under the age of 18 years of age have asthma; of which, 4 million suffer from an asthma attack or episode in the past year. The disease is the most common chronic childhood malady in America.
  • Only about a quarter of the children with asthma become symptom-free when their airways reach adult size. The condition persists beyond childhood in 85% of women and in 72 % of men.
  • Asthma is characterized by excessive sensitivity of the lungs to various stimuli. Triggers range from viral infections to allergies, to irritating gases and particles in the air. Here are different types of triggers:
  • Respiratory infections, colds.
  • Cigarette smoke.
  • Allergic reactions to pollen, mold, animal dander, feather, dust, food.
  • Indoor and outdoor air pollutants including ozone.
  • Exposure to cold air or sudden temperature change.
  • Excitement/stress.

There are three stages in asthmatic reaction.

  1. In the first stage the bronchial tubes become inflamed and start producing thick mucus. If the inflammation is persistent over time, the air tube walls can become permanently thick and restrictive.
  2. In the next stage, the muscles surrounding the bronchial tubes begin to contract causing the air passages to narrow.
  3. In the final stage, the inflamed bronchial tubes become hyper-reactive to allergens or an infection, which in turn continues the process of inflammation and constriction within the air tubes. This can become severe and even life threatening.

Chronic asthma is generally triggered by allergens or irritants (such as smoke, fumes and odors) or infections (cold and flu).

Hypersensitivity Pneumonitis

Hypersensitivity pneumonitis is an inflammation in the lungs caused by exposure to an allergen, usually organic dust from animal dander, molds or plants. The microorganisms associated with hypersensitivity pneumonitis are fungi, bacteria and protozoa.

Hypersensitivity pneumonitis can be an acute, recurrent pneumonia with fever, cough, chest tightness and fluids entering the lungs. Or, it can be a cough that progresses to shortness of breath, fatigue, weight loss and thickening and scarring of the lungs.

If exposure is eliminated early, there can be improvement or complete recovery. If the allergen exposure is repeated over time, this can cause permanent lung damage.

Indoors Air Pollutants and Their Health Effects

Combustion Pollutants

The health effects of combustion pollutants range from headaches and breathing difficulties to death. The health effects may show up immediately after exposure or occur after being exposed to the pollutants for a long time. The effects depend upon the type and amount of pollutants and the length of exposure.

These pollutants include carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, particulates and sulfur dioxide. Carbon monoxide can kill within a short time. The health effects of the other pollutants are generally subtler and are more likely to affect susceptible people.

Combustion always produces water vapor. Water vapor is not usually considered a pollutant, but it can act as one. It can result in high humidity and wet surfaces. These conditions encourage the growth biological pollutants such as mold and bacteria.

Combustion pollutants found indoors include: outdoor air, tobacco smoke, exhaust fumes from cars or lawn mowers. Some hobby activities such as welding, wood burning and soldering also produce combustion pollutants. Combustion pollutants can also come from vented or unvented combustion appliances. These appliances include space heaters, gas ranges, gas water heaters, furnaces, gas clothes dryer, wood or coal burning stoves and fireplaces.

Gaseous Pollutants

Gaseous pollutants include combustion gases and organic chemicals. Hundreds of different gaseous pollutants have been detected in indoor air. Gaseous organic components may enter the air from sources such as cigarette smoke, building materials and furnishings, and the use of products such as paints, adhesives, dyes, solvents, caulks, cleaners, deodorizers, hobby & craft materials and pesticides.

Health effects vary widely depending on the types and concentrations of the chemicals present. Adverse effects may include eye & respiratory irritation, and allergic reactions. It can also affect the respiratory system, immune system, cardiovascular system, reproductive system, and nervous system. Gaseous pollutants can also cause cancer.

Radon

Radon is a radioactive pollutant, which originates from natural sources such as rock, soil, groundwater and mineral building materials. Radon itself is a gas, which produce progeny in the form of small particles that attach to larger particles. Radon progeny can be breathed into the lungs where it may deposit. This represents the main health hazard from radon.