Positive Pressure Ventilation Improves Air Quality

The air in your home or office can make you sick. Ventilation removes air, heat and gases from the room and replaces it with cooler air. Positive pressure ventilation obtains a cleaner supply of air from outside the home, filters and dries it and then gently distributes it this air throughout the house. It is can be referred to as 'forced air ventilation'. The drier air can be drawn into the house from the space above the roof or from outside the home. When the fresh air in introduced, by the positive pressure ventilation, it replaces stale air that can often contain impurities. The term is applied when the supply of air that is drawn in exceeds, the amount that is pushed out.

Poor quality of indoor is recognized for contributing to severe health concerns such as nose throat or eye irritations, dry or itchy skin, fatigue, dizziness, lack of energy and sensitivity to odours. The condition is often unexplained or undiagnosed, but relief only appears when the patients are removed from the premises. The sick building syndrome, as the condition is called, can often be found to be localized in a particular area or zone of the building or in extreme cases, it may be spread throughout the entire building. A related condition that appears when symptoms are diagnosed and identified as being caused by airborne contaminants is known as `Building Related Illness.

Positive pressure ventilation systems can be a cost effective solution to both Sick Building Syndrome and Building Related Illness as it relies on the clean incoming air to push the stale contaminated air out of the home through doors and windows. This type of system can suit almost all homes and budgets. The performance of ventilation systems will depend on a number of factors, that can include the type and age of the home, the type of system and quality of the installation, and the climate.

Positive pressure ventilation can also be used in heat recovery, as they often include heat controls to adjust the temperatures of the incoming air before it is distributed. An alternative method involves using the Air Handler Unit in the heating and cooling system. The volume of air that is transported through the ventilation ducts depend on the size and formation of the duct work, and how the dampers are set. The guidelines are usually set by the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air Conditioning Engineers.

The most important component of the system is the fan, which can be in various sizes. The size chosen may also depend on the size of the home. Other factors that can be critically important to the performance of the system include how and where the air vents are distributed in the building and how tightly the build is sealed from air transport.

The air entering the home is normally filtered with high quality filters, that should be cleaned periodically. Most systems will be equipped with pilot's lights or indicators that show when the filters should be replaced.