Understanding IAQ Testing | Ask This Old House

In this video, This Old House home technology expert Ross Trethewey teaches host Kevin O’Connor what he needs to know about indoor air quality testing.

Kevin O'Connor and home technology expert Ross Trethewey meet back at the shop to talk about air quality. With today's homes becoming more airtight, Ross explains it's important that the air inside the home is safe and healthy. Ross shows Kevin some handy devices to check air quality, allowing homeowners to better evaluate their own living space.

Houses are Getting More Air-Tight
With a focus on energy efficiency and comfort, today’s homes are becoming more and more airtight. The trade-off for energy savings and efficient insulation is that these homes now trap contaminants and chemicals inside the building. For this reason, IAQ (indoor air quality) requires attention.

While the Homes are Air-Tight, They’re Anything But Static Inside
Most people believe that homes and their interior conditions are static, but that is the opposite of the truth. The interior of a home is dynamic, with ever-changing conditions based on the residents and the outdoor climate. Acts like cooking, showering, heat adjustments, number of guests, warm spells, cold spells, and more affect the conditions in the home.

Dynamic Interiors Require Monitoring
Since the interior of the home is prone to change, it requires monitoring to ensure that the air quality is healthy and safe. Indoor air quality tests check for proxies like temperature, humidity, CO2, Radon, particulate matter, pressure, and volatile organic compounds. Monitoring helps detail the conditions inside the home.

These readings are important because they can change dramatically over time. For example, a home might pass a Radon test when new or uninhabited, but with dynamic changes due to occupancy or changing conditions, Radon can reach unsafe levels. Monitoring can catch this.

There are Devices Available for DIY Monitoring
There are devices that homeowners can purchase to monitor the IAQ levels. These devices are about the size of a standard thermostat and can measure all of the necessary indicators. This data then translates to a computer or tablet for easy tracking over time.

While these devices don’t help the homeowner pinpoint the causes of the issue, they can indicate when the homeowner should call an expert for testing.

Where to find it?
With an air quality monitor, Ross demonstrates how a few simple changes can change the air
quality in a home. If interested in testing your home’s air quality, Ross suggests selecting a
monitor with multiple sensors. Some of the most common proxies tracked for indoor air quality
include carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, Total VOCs (volatile organic compounds), particulate
matter, temperature, humidity, and radon.

About Ask This Old House TV:
From the makers of This Old House, America’s first and most trusted home improvement show, Ask This Old House answers the steady stream of home improvement questions asked by viewers across the United States. Covering topics from landscaping to electrical to HVAC and plumbing to painting and more. Ask This Old House features the experts from This Old House, including general contractor Tom Silva, plumbing and heating expert Richard Trethewey, landscape contractor Jenn Nawada, master carpenter Norm Abram, and host Kevin O’Connor. ASK This Old House helps you protect and preserve your greatest investment—your home.

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Understanding IAQ Testing | Ask This Old House

[dtemp]

If you are cheap and you want to remove VOCs, carbon filters are the way to go. My VOC levels were high, and putting a carbon filter in cleaned my indoor air up in days.

[BertCyril-mb]

Martin Angela Walker Robert Hernandez Lisa

[EricWalstrom]

If you use a gas stove, you should really have a range hood or exhaust. The first thing we settled on when remodeling our kitchen was a proper range hood. Keeps the chemicals and gasses out of the room, and also stops you from stinking up and heating up the whole house while cooking.
You can usually add one relatively cheaply by putting a microwave above the stove which vents to outside.

[Allen-equf]

One of the worst contaminants (dust particles from synthetic materials) isn’t mentioned.

[mikegrimaldi]

Ross is a great educator saw him at the JLC live event. For me an older home that is leaky and healthier in a way compared to today’s tight homes. The tighter the home the more critical is to bring in conditioned outside air to replace the purged inside stale air. Good to see there are smarter sensor/controls for ERVs to balance IAQ and energy efficiency.

[KJSvitko]

An energy efficient home or business is more comfortable and saves money in the long run.
Solar energy on your roof combined with battery storage can make people more independent from the grid and natural gas supplies. Add solar and supplemental electric heating or a heat pump for home heating..
Added insulation, triple glaze windows, energy efficient doors, energy efficient heating and cooling systems, energy efficient appliances, LED lighting, smart thermostats, solar panels combined with battery storage and a electric vehicle charger in the garage or car park. People are too focused on the short term costs and miss out on long term savings and comfort. Blower door testing and air sealing are under appreciated tools.Even if you have money to burn you should not waste it. Climate Change will impact everyone. Leave a better future for your children and grandchildren. Join in and speak up for the future of the planet.

[XzTS-Roostro]

Got a JCi Glas® smart thermostat several years ago, and it has IAQ monitoring.
Unfortunately, Johnson Controls has discontinued the product and its platform entirely.

[montanaspring]

WOW Best camera quality I've seen! I'm blown Away..

[Brown]

Are Ikea Air Quality sensors reliable?

[ronbennett]

All this expensive tech that presumably shares data with others. Easier to occasionally open some windows and let in fresh air. For those seeking to save energy costs, getting a whole house air exchanger. TOH already did an episode about them.

[saulgoodman]

And what's the point of measuring all that data for? What can you actually do with that?

[user.A]

Data to be shared with govt agencies so they can micro-manage us in our homes.

[No-Channel]

For people that wear three masks inside their house when they're home alone.

[avalon]

COOKING! GAS!! STOVES!!!
OMG! Let’s get rid of the gas stoves
Stay tuned for next episode…….

[brian-nzjg]

Should have asked me this is my speciality had training for it also