Indoor Air Quality
The average air quality in a typical home is 5x to 10x more polluted than the air outside the home. This indoor air pollution is particularly aggravating to people who suffer from allergies.
ATB's advanced HVAC systems filter the air through a series of three separate systems each incorporating a range of filtration from Merv 12 through HEPA H13 air filters. ATB's HVAC system is painstakingly designed to be the best in whole house ventilation available, delivering clean, fresh and healthy air to your home while simultaneously avoiding significant loss of heating and cooling energy.
ATB's High Performance HVAC System coupled with our Net-Zero air tight building envelope create indoor air quality that is second to none.
Superior Indoor Air Quality
Air Sealing Matters
LEAKY HOMES ARE INEFFICIENT, UNCOMFORTABLE & UNHEALTHY!
Air sealing is vital to an efficient, durable, healthy home. It is one of the most important energy-efficiency measures.
Air leakage, or infiltration, occurs when outside air enters a house uncontrollably through cracks, gaps, and openings. Homes with higher air leakage are significantly less energy-efficient than well-sealed homes. They also require larger HVAC systems to keep the home comfortable. These larger systems must run more frequently to keep up with the temperature changes as the outside air leaks into the house.
The airtightness issue goes beyond how well a building’s HVAC system performs. Uncontrolled air leakage can also provide a vehicle for unwanted moisture to enter a building, which can become the reason for a building to fail, leading to costly building repairs. Because moisture is transferred predominantly by air currents — accounting for up to 98% of all water vapor movement in buildings — air sealing your home is essential. Leaky houses also allow dust, allergens, pollutants and other airborne particulates to enter the home, leading to poor indoor air quality.
Reducing the amount of air that leaks in and out of your home is a cost-effective way to cut heating and cooling costs, improve durability, increase overall comfort, and create a healthier indoor environment.
Why does that matter? Because air leakage…
1 Is typically the largest driver of energy use in the home, comprising 30% – 70% of energy wasted on heating and cooling
2 It is usually the biggest contributing factor for drafts, hot/cold spots, and other comfort issues in a home
3 Often the largest contributor to moisture problems, especially mold and mildew
Vapor Diffusion Management
Water vapor diffusion is the movement of water vapor through vapor-permeable materials. Vapor diffusion happens through a solid material even when the material has no holes. A typical example of vapor diffusion happens when a material, such as gypsum drywall installed on a wall, separates two zones. If the air on one side of the drywall is very damp, and the air on the other side of the drywall is very dry, diffusion will occur. The drywall will absorb moisture on the damp side and then evaporate it through the dry side.
Building Science Corporation paper RR-0412: Insulations, Sheathings and Vapor Retarders, displays the potential water intrusion from just a small air leak can be up to 90 times greater than the water that would normally diffuse through gypsum board into the enclosure.