LAS VEGAS, Jan. 21-23, 2020 – With consumers increasingly aware of the perils of polluted indoor air, VELUX Skylights offers a whole-home natural ventilation solution designed to improve the health of indoor living spaces. Join VELUX for a learning session called “Using Skylights to Improve Indoor Air Quality” at 2:30 pm PST, Jan. 22 at the High Performance Building Zone (N135, N145).
According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), on average people spend 90% of their time indoors
1, while homes are built tighter for energy efficiency, trapping harmful pollutants inside. The result is that indoor air can be up to five times more polluted than outdoor air
2. Consumer awareness of this problem is growing, according to a survey by the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University
3: 42% of households ages 25–34 have healthy housing concerns, while 37% of families with children share the same sentiments. Nearly 75% of households surveyed listed indoor air quality as the factor that best describes their concern about the impact of their home on the household’s health.
“With a growing body of evidence about the health implications of poor indoor air quality, especially on asthma and allergy sufferers, natural home ventilation is gaining prominence as one part of a healthy home design strategy,” said Ross Vandermark, national product manager for VELUX America. “Many homeowners are unaware that standard HVAC systems recycle indoor air, rather than replacing it with fresh air. Adding ventilating skylights that open periodically throughout the day can improve indoor air quality.”
Rooms like bathrooms and kitchens are especially vulnerable. According to the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, “particle levels while cooking with an unvented stove can reach 10 times higher than our health-based limits for outdoor air pollution, and they can linger indoors for hours.”
Including skylights that open on construction and renovation plans allows for not only natural light but fresh air ventilation that helps rid indoor air of pollutants from daily activities, like cooking, cleaning and bathing.
VELUX No Leak Solar Powered “Fresh Air” Skylights equipped with a
VELUX ACTIVE with NETATMO automation system provide the natural ventilation needed to rid indoor air of bacteria, volatile organic compounds and CO2, and serve as part of an overall strategy to make indoor living environments healthier.