Indoor Air Quality: wellbeing has the shape of a home
Today, more than ever, we can understand how important the quality of the air we breathe is, and how this can affect our health, not only in outdoor spaces.
According to a study by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), indoor pollutant concentrations are two to five times higher than outdoor concentrations.
But how is it possible?
In order to understand we must start from the concept of “Indoor Air Quality”.
IAQ is the term used to define the quality of the air inside and around buildings, through the analysis of the presence of chemical, physical or biological pollutants which, added to the pollutants of outdoor air, make the air of closed environments even worse.
Buildings built in recent years have become increasingly energy efficient but proper ventilation of closed environments is still underestimated.
Despite the consciousness that bad ventilation can aggravate our state of health, awareness is still superficial. However, the pandemic period has helped to begin a change.
In order to start building awareness on the subject, you need to know the causes and reasons why the air in the house is less pure than outside air, and what you can start doing to act in favor of our well-being.
Polluting Agents: unwanted guests
Home is our safe place, but when it comes to air, we can do so much more.
Smog, fine dust and industrial waste are some of the main causes of breathing problems but taking refuge at home will not always prevent us from being exposed to harmful substances.
Inside the home there are irritating agents that are added to those of external pollution, such as volatile organic compounds, called VOCs, chemicals emitted by the paints of furniture and furnishings, but also by the detergents used for daily cleaning.
On top of these, levels of humidity and temperature of the environment that are too high, facilitate the proliferation of molds, bacteria and harmful fungi, often not visible to the eye. The humidity level in the house should not exceed 45-50%.
Furthermore, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide and fine dust also contribute negatively to the quality of air in the house and are inevitably generated by carrying out normal actions such as eating, opening a window or simply breathing.
These “intruders” cannot be hunted with daily cleaning alone. It is necessary to ask for help from domestic air purifiers that filter the air, eliminating the pollutants and allergens present, and relying on increasingly innovative devices that make the home “smart”.
Even hoods, like those in the Faber AIR range, are now made to be more and more intelligent: technological intelligence allows them to analyze the quality of the air in the home and to regulate humidity and temperature in case of need, helping people in managing the air quality in the home and maintaining a healthier home environment.
From the pandemic to the future: a new air
The need to study home air quality has increased significantly in the last decade but, the effect that the Covid-19 pandemic has had on our attention to our health, has led scholars to investigate the topic more deeply, allowing each of us to gain a greater sensitivity on the subject.
From the introduction of smart working, to new fitness habits and wellness rituals to be lived inside and outside the home, the global health crisis has led people to stay healthy with lifestyles and preventive wellness solutions, even within their homes.
The attitude of consumers towards the purchase of products related to health and well-being already assumes a key role for the future, where the demand for innovative products capable of also improving the quality of the air in the home will be increasingly present.
Today, people understand the importance of Internal Air Quality more and more quickly, as well as the search for well-being in general, increasing their purchasing habits to measure indoor air quality and products intended for air purification.
While moving cautiously towards what will be the new normal, all this has inevitably led us to rethink the home as a safe place from every point of view, hoping that in the future thanks to digitization, innovation and a smarter vision, everyone can finally enjoy a new air of home: a clean one.
