All homes breathe during the extreme weather conditions of the region. When outdoor temperatures are low and the wind is blowing, most homes get enough fresh air to be “healthy.” However, it is more accidental than controlled. Here are some guidelines for helping customers achieve the kind of IAQ they want, in a controlled way.

The problem is a common one: A smell like dirty socks emanates from HVAC ducts. When the people in one facility complained, Warren Lowe, an HVAC maintenance mechanic for a major Midwest electric utility, packed up his tools and headed for the site.

Steve Lauten, president of Total Air & Heat in the suburban Dallas area, seems to focus the company primarily on energy conservation measures such as home efficiency and energy conservation. But intertwined with the company’s systems-based approach is a belief that good IAQ must be part of the result.

For some time, energy efficiency and IAQ were thought to be mutually exclusive HVAC goals. They actually can have negative or positive effects on each other that can be mitigated by contractors in a number of ways: coil care, duct repair, and the judicious use of specific equipment among them. A recent trend has been linking the impacts IAQ and efficiency can have on each other.

With increasing numbers of customers making green and energy-efficient decisions, it’s becoming even more important for HVAC contractors to pay attention to their customers’ air quality. “Adequate fresh air should be an equal priority to energy savings,” said Allen Rathey, president of the Healthy House Institute (HHI).

In one sense, it’s almost comforting to think of radiation as an IAQ problem - a very big one - but whose first line of defense could be a HEPA filter. In another sense, it’s disconcerting to think of its likelihood due to the number of existing nuclear plants. The earthquake-tsunami events in Japan have drawn attention to defense against radiation.

Contractors have looked forward to attending the Indoor Air Expo, a collaboration between the Air Conditioning Contractors of America (ACCA) and the Indoor Air Quality Association (IAQA), for several years. This year, a new partner has been added - the Radiant Professionals Alliance (RPA).

Developers of the Turtle River Montessori School wanted students to have the best possible IAQ, and they wanted to provide it in an energy-efficient manner. Looking for suggestions on how to make this new school’s HVAC system green, Brad Brown of KAMM Consulting approached Charles Eno, sales engineer for Florida Air Conditioning Distributors.

In celebration of its 40th anniversary as a non-profit center, the Edward Hopper House will exhibit some of the painter’s early works, which are on loan from the Whitney Museum of American Art. But before the exhibition could take place, the home first had to meet the stringent climate control requirements of the Whitney Museum.

The moisture content in a school’s building envelope can provide the medium that mold needs for incubation and growth. Whether a school is under construction or unoccupied during the summer break, it likely is without an HVAC system to help control moisture. Without humidity control, school buildings can become a breeding ground for mold and mildew.