Cost to build, prioritizing air quality

[Euro_Trash]

Does anyone have an idea of the premium one would have to pay to build a home with air quality in mind? I am mainly thinking low VOC materials (building materials, paint, glue, flooring, etc). Is this mainstream enough now that the cost increase is minimal or would it be 10-20% more? TIA

[mazdavirgin]

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Does anyone have an idea of the premium one would have to pay to build a home with air quality in mind? I am mainly thinking low VOC materials (building materials, paint, glue, flooring, etc). Is this mainstream enough now that the cost increase is minimal or would it be 10-20% more? TIA

Most important thing for air quality is actually your heating/cooling system... Central air is not so ideal in that front. You're far better off with some form of radiant heating such as infloor or radiators. Not having carpets in your house is another big one. Having screens on the windows which are fine enough to filter out pollen is another big one. VOC's are pretty overblown and you can address most of them by simply picking paints appropriately.

[ExtraSlow]

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Most important thing for air quality is actually your heating/cooling system... Central air is not so ideal in that front. You're far better off with some form of radiant heating such as infloor or radiators. Not having carpets in your house is another big one. Having screens on the windows which are fine enough to filter out pollen is another big one. VOC's are pretty overblown and you can address most of them by simply picking paints appropriately.

So, by not having forced air HVAC, you don't introduce any impurities, but then again, you also can't remove any impurities that may be in the air. I would have thought hella-serious(tm) filtration on the forced air system would be the way to go.

[Ca_Silvia13]

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So, by not having forced air HVAC, you don't introduce any impurities, but then again, you also can't remove any impurities that may be in the air. I would have thought hella-serious(tm) filtration on the forced air system would be the way to go.

Proper exhaust wired in to humidity and even temp sensors can flush a house pretty quickly.

[mazdavirgin]

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So, by not having forced air HVAC, you don't introduce any impurities, but then again, you also can't remove any impurities that may be in the air. I would have thought hella-serious(tm) filtration on the forced air system would be the way to go.

Primary concern is the accumulation of dust in your ducts which gets blown all over the place along with forced air disturbing any dust found on the floors every time the furnace kicks in. It's one of the first things they tell people with severe allergies or asthma to avoid if possible. There's also the problem that furnaces dry out the air and require humidifiers which are mold growing machines.

https://asthma.ca/wp-content/uploads...eehome_eng.pdf

[ExtraSlow]

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Primary concern is the accumulation of dust in your ducts which gets blown all over the place along with forced air disturbing any dust found on the floors every time the furnace kicks in. It's one of the first things they tell people with severe allergies or asthma to avoid if possible. There's also the problem that furnaces dry out the air and require humidifiers which are mold growing machines.

https://asthma.ca/wp-content/uploads...eehome_eng.pdf

thanks!

[tirebob]

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So, by not having forced air HVAC, you don't introduce any impurities, but then again, you also can't remove any impurities that may be in the air. I would have thought hella-serious(tm) filtration on the forced air system would be the way to go.

I would think one could get some kind of air filtration system separate from a central air system, no? If I was building a new home I think I would be looking at more of a boiler in floor heat rather than central air. Seems like it would be the way to go for air quality.