My friend’s son was having nosebleeds at home quite often. There didn’t seem to be any pattern except that, on some occassions, it seemed to occur if candles were burning. She naturally concluded the nosebleeds must have been due to the dryness of the air but, on a hunch, arranged for a qualified Air Quality Test to be completed by a reputable contractor. The process was simple – a small monitor was placed in her home for a period of 5 days during which time it collected data about the quality of the air including temperature, humidity, dust and chemical levels. At the end of the period she was provided with an easy to read report.
The results were totally unexpected.
It turned out that the humidity level was perfect (so much for that theory - time to cancel that humidifier installation). Dust levels were normal, temperatures were within range. Everything seemed fine EXCEPT the chemical levels. They were way too high. The only time the levels went down was when the window was open. The report provided by the Air Quality Analysis included an hour by hour graph of the levels, so this pattern was easy to identify.
Still, she was at a loss. During the winter it wouldn’t make sense to keep the windows open because heat would escape and her heating bill would skyrocket. After consultation with the same air quality contractor she found out about the benefits of an HRV to solve her problem. An HRV (aka Heat Recovery Ventilator) is a small unit which attaches to the house ductwork – its purpose is to expel stale polluted air and bring in fresh air from the outside. This fresh air circulates throughout the home via the existing ductwork. An HRV qualifies for energy saving because because it utilizes the heat from the air being expelled to heat the incoming air. The end result is that fresh air would be circulated throughout her whole home and the chemicals would be safely vented out. She would breathe better and so would her son.
Sidenote: My friend had an ecoENERGY* assessment performed on her home so her new HRV was eligible for a $600 Rebate (roughly 1/3 of the cost of her new HRV).
* ecoENERGY is a program run by the Federal Government to encourage homeowners to purchase energy efficient equipment for their homes. These rebates are matched by the Ontario Government’s Home Retrofit program. The combined rebates range from $1000 for a new furnace to $500 for a tankless water heater to $60 for replacing a door.
