I'm Carla, proud mom, homeowner, IEQ believer

According to University of California at Berkeley, on a typical day, we spend roughly 94% of our time inside enclosed spaces;  that's just over eighty minutes outside, and inside nearly 23 hours each day. Annually, that's over 494,000 minutes indoors;  our kids spend over 300,000 minutes inside of our homes.

I'm concerned, according to CBC summary of PISA report, our kids are falling behind their international peers (link: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/canadian-students-pandemic-learning-match-science-reading-study-1.7049681)

What is IEQ and why is it important ?  Indoor Environment Quality describes the conditions inside of our homes, including air quality, acoustic conditions, and occupant control over lighting and thermal comfort.  Simply put, great IEQ helps improve our mental performance, and overall wellbeing.  Your entire family's.

Ever hear "open the door, need some fresh air"?   Well, according to Harvard University School of Public Health, increasing ventilation in your home can improve cognitive performance by a factor of three.  Tough to keep your windows open when its +/- 40degC !

Make yourself a great day,

Carla @ Alberta Indoor Comfort, CSM, CAPS, Co-owner

INDOOR AIR Quality

WHAT IS IN THE AIR THAT I AM BREATHING ?

Air is essential to our existence, great clean air is key for wellbeing, vitality and performance.  Many of us struggle to appreciate that the air that we breathe is polluted with contaminants that are harmful to our wellbeing. Historically, we perceived the need to see smog or smoke before acknowledging pollutants.  Yet this invisible Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) has profound effects on our families. Covid demonstrated just that; the tiny virus not visible to our naked eyes, shut down our world and demonstrated that the "empty" air we breathe is contaminated. Forest fires also reminded us about the tiny particulates that make it hard to breathe, especially for the developing lungs of the young.  

Harvard's T.H.Chan school of public health demonstrated that increasing ventilation to displace carbon dioxide increases brain performance over three-fold; not to mention other pollutants like VOCs, low level CO, etc. Industry has shown that IAQ capture and kill technologies can also protect us from organics.

Homeowners now have the knowledge and solutions to meaningfully improve their IAQ, enabling their families to excel and improve health and wellbeing reducing illness and respiratory issues while improving frame of mind, concentration and cognitive performance.  

Solutions:  UV, EAC, CO2/CO, (de)Humi, Radon, HRV, Aeroseal, chronic CO, duct cleaning, hyper filtration, CIRS systems

THERMAL Comfort

HOW COLD OR HOT AM I ?

Thermal comfort for a homeowner means ensuring that the temperature and conditions inside your home make you feel comfortably warm or cool, at whatever time of day that you desire. It involves balancing the indoor temperature, humidity, and air movement so that you feel neither too hot nor too cold.  Our productivity suffers by 2% for every 5°C over ideal comfort level, according to Buildings Performance Institute Europe.

Your Desired Temperature Continually Changes

Did you know that the best temperature to study or work differs from the temperature that your body desires to best sleep in?  It may surprise you that your optimum sleeping temperature changes throughout the night as it is driven by the circadian rhythm oscillating as much as 1.5°C.  Adjusting your bedroom temperature accordingly helps improve your restful sleep.

Solutions:  furnaces, heatpump, AC, ductless, fireplace, HRV, space heaters, zone control, booster fan,  Aeroseal, (de)humi, hydronics

Appropriate LIGHT to perform

IS THE LIGHT CORRECT FOR THE TASK I AM DOING ?

Proper intensity and antiglare light increases our concentration and reading speed by 30%, according to Buildings Performance Institute Europe.  

Adequate lighting levels are necessary to perform various types of visual activities efficiently and accurately. Lighting in a building should allow building users to move safely, to conduct working tasks productively and create a pleasant appearance of the space.

Biologically optimized lighting aligns with the human body's natural biological rhythms and needs. This is based on the understanding that light, particularly its intensity and color temperature, can significantly influence human biology, behavior, and health.  

Interestingly while on sight, adding presence of nature into our learning spaces has been shown to increase productivity 6-12%.

Solutions:  bio lights, LEDs, ambient, mood, task, work and accent lighting, automated and adaptive, safety and security systems

ACOUSTICS for Concentration

IS NOISE DISRUPTING MY TASK FOCUS ?

The human brains expends tremendous energy processing, filtering and blocking out noise.  Remember last time you were tired and every noise was a struggle ?

Space occupants are affected by internal and external noise.  While road traffic and neighbourhood areas can generate increased levels of noise, internal background noise from heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems and computer equipment or even occupant conversations can be disruptive and obstruct occupant abilities in performing simple and complex tasks like studying.

While repeat exposure to noise at levels of just 70 decibels can cause permanent hearing issues, the World Health Organisation (WHO) suggests a ceiling of 35 decibels for effective learning to take place. How is your study or work space ?

Solutions:  dampening and absorbing materials, accoustic covers, insulation, disconnects, film, shutters, glazing, modern HVAC and plumbing equipment