Does Indoor Air Quality Affect Your Child's Ability To Learn?

It’s the back-to-school season! And parents are doing everything they can to ensure their children are set up for success.

Every backpack holds the best writing tools, the healthiest snacks and the most educational resources. So students have everything they need to learn, grow and excel in the coming school year!

But setting your child up for success is about more than what’s in their backpacks as they walk to the bus stop.

The health of their learning environment also plays a huge role!

Poor indoor air quality can cause many health issues - including allergy symptoms, asthma, coughing, headaches etc.

And each of these hinders your child’s learning environment.

Improving indoor air quality can actually help improve a student's:

• Concentration,
• Productivity and
• Performance!

As kids prepare to return to school this fall, let’s prepare their learning spaces for a healthy academic year ahead!

Why Is Indoor Air Quality at School Important To Consider?

Did you know that according to Ontario Regulations (#298), children ages 7-13 spend roughly 940 hours in school each year?

There are 188 school days and 5 compulsory hours of instruction within each of these days.

And while that’s not the entirety of your child’s life, it is at least 10% of it (annually).

With that amount of time spent in a classroom, it’s obvious why we need to start focusing more on the health of our children's learning environments.

In fact, we saw just how impactful school indoor air quality became during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Ontario schools actually closed down to prevent children from direct virus exposure.

And before reopening, many schools first set out to improve their indoor air quality. Their goal was to create healthy spaces for children to learn during the ongoing pandemic.

As schools open again this fall, many are rushing to improve indoor air quality. In hopes that they can improve not only the health of their indoor air quality but the impact that healthy air has on students’ learning abilities.

How Does Poor Air Quality Affect Your Child’s Focus, Productivity and Academic Performance?

Not only is indoor air quality detrimental to our children’s health, but it’s also crucial in supporting their academic success!

What are some of the factors that can affect a child’s focus, productivity and performance at school?

Rising CO2 Levels

The dangerous chemical compound, CO2 (carbon dioxide), can harm humans physically and mentally.

And with overcrowded, overheated and poorly ventilated classrooms, high concentrations of CO2 are more likely to arise.

High levels of carbon dioxide can cause:

• Headaches
• Restlessness
• Drowsiness
• A lack of concentration

The Solution:

1. Install a ventilation system.
2. Control CO2 sources.

High Temperature

Temperature also plays an impactful role in your child’s ability to learn.

Recent research has proven that high temperatures affect our ability to process information. And this fact is relevant in both work and schooling environments.

If your surroundings are hot and stuffy, cognitive abilities can deteriorate - making it difficult for you to focus, engage and relate.

As you can imagine, this can affect a child’s,

• Attendance,
• Focus and
• Learning capacity.

The Solution:

1. Install/Repair your furnace and air conditioning system.

Lack of Humidity Control

Humidity tells our bodies that temperatures are higher than they actually are. This misconception causes the moisture on our skin to remain - resulting in our bodies breaking out in sweat.

Some of the physical effects of uncontrolled humidity include:

• Overheating (i.e. heat stroke or exhaustion)
• Increased asthma and allergy symptoms
• Skin and eye irritation
• Dehydration
• Muscle cramping
• Vulnerability to infection

And while your body struggles to combat these physical effects, your mind works double time to focus on external factors (i.e. your classes).

This results in low energy, lethargy and a lack of concentration and engagement.

The Solution:

1. Install a dehumidifier.
2. Control humidity sources.

Poor Ventilation

Poor ventilation prevents fresh air from replacing stale air! This results in higher pollution, humidity, temperature and quality. Which can then increase stress and lethargy - causing you to feel sluggish, anxious and fowl.

That’s why proper airflow and circulation are vital for healthy indoor air quality. 

With constant fresh air, your brain can feel calmer, sharper and happier - creating the ideal inner learning environment!

We discussed the importance of ventilation in one of our recent blog posts. But to sum it up, ventilation can help:

• Improve your physical health
• Improve your mental health
• Manage humidity levels
• And lower indoor air pollution

The Solution:

1. Use ceiling fans.
2. Install a ventilation system.

Poor HVAC Maintenance

If you’ve been a customer of Campeau Heating for quite some time, then you already know how we feel about proper HVAC maintenance. It’s one of the easiest and most effective ways to boost indoor air quality.

And while we typically mention this to homeowners, it’s equally as vital for public locations: like schools and workplaces.

An HVAC maintenance visit ensures your systems are running at peak performance and efficiency. While also ensuring proper airflow and circulation.

HVAC systems are tough. But with enough dirt and grime, they can quickly become ineffective and dangerous for your health.

Regular, professional HVAC maintenance can help prevent and reduce potential respiratory issues! Thus improving your child’s learning experience.

During an HVAC maintenance appointment, your service technician will,

• Clean all necessary components of your HVAC system.
• Replace dirty air filters.
• Identify and repair leaks, corrosion and other damages.
• Lubricate all moving parts.
• Tighten all electrical connections
• Test all controls.
• And more!

The Solution:

1. Schedule an HVAC maintenance appointment.

Improve Your Child’s Learning Experience With An Indoor Air Quality Boost

Set your child up for success this fall!

You can help ensure their learning environment is healthy and impactful with improved indoor air quality.

Contact your Campeau Heating IAQ expert at (705) 650-2441 or message us online for more information!
 

My Air Conditioner Won't Stop Running 24/7! Is That Normal?

To put it simply, the answer is no.

Your air conditioner should never run all the time. Even in the dead of summer, when temperatures reach over 30 degrees Celsius, your A/C should still cycle off. 

It may run more frequently in hot, sticky weather. But if it never clicks off, you could have a much bigger problem on your hands!

And what if your AC isn't even effectively cooling your home while it's on? This could cause you to waste hundreds of dollars in cooling costs without reaping any benefits.

In this article, find out when it's normal for your A/C to run more frequently and when it's not. We also explore 8 potential issues that may cause your A/C to behave like this.

Here’s When It’s Normal

You might notice a slightly higher energy bill during an August heat wave in Ontario.

Don’t freak out if this happens! It’s actually expected.

Your air conditioner needs to work extra hard to keep your house cool during hot and humid days.

So in this particular case, it’s normal for your air conditioner to run more frequently.

Usually, your air conditioner cycles on for about 15-20 minutes each cycle. But during a hotter day, this could extend to a few hours at a time.

Here’s When It’s NOT Normal

Are summer temperatures pretty average, yet your air conditioner is not taking the hint to chill out (pun intended)? That’s when you know you have a problem on your hands.

Here are some common A/C warning signs you should look out for:

• Skyrocketing electricity bills.
• Ineffective cooling.
• 24/7 Operation.

Not only is your air conditioner wasting your hard-earned cash, but it’s also making your home practically unliveable.

Here’s Why Your Air Conditioner Might Run Nonstop

Now that we know how to recognize when it's normal and when it's not, we can start narrowing down exactly what’s wrong with your A/C unit.

After all, you don’t want to keep spending money on ineffective cooling all summer!

1. Your Thermostat is not working.

The very first thing you should check is your thermostat settings.

In fact, this could be the easiest fix in the book!

First, ensure your thermostat is set to “auto”. This allows it to cycle on and off as needed. If set to “on”, your air conditioner will continue to run no matter what. And if set to “off”, it won’t run at all!

Second, ensure the temperature settings are reasonable (around 25 degrees C). If you set your thermostat too cool during a heat wave, it’ll work overtime just trying to keep up.

2. Your A/C system is too small for your home.

During the initial installation, your HVAC technician must ensure the A/C unit and duct system are correctly sized.

A/C Unit

If your air conditioner is too small for your home, it will have to work extra hard to keep it cool. That means CONSTANT operation. And an EXTENSIVE energy bill!

Ductwork

If your ductwork is too small, air won’t be able to efficiently flow through it. This causes weak airflow as air cannot distribute evenly throughout your entire home.

3. The evaporator coils are dirty or clogged.

Dirty evaporator coils make it difficult for your air conditioner to pull hot air outside.

As a result, it has to work overtime to effectively pull enough heat and humidity out of your indoor air.

This causes it to run more frequently. Or even consistently.

4. The air filter needs replacing.

We’ve mentioned the importance of changing your air filter multiple times before. And for good reason!

Not only does a regularly changed air filter provide cleaner, healthier indoor air quality. But it also makes it way easier for your air conditioner to operate!

If your air filter becomes clogged, air can’t pass through it as easily. This, in turn, causes your air conditioner to operate more frequently in an attempt to push enough cool air out.

When was the last time you changed your air filter? If you can’t remember, we suggest heading to your local home & hardware store right away.

Typically, we recommend changing your air filter every 90 days. However, if you have pets in your home, we recommend upping that to every 60 days. And if you have family members with allergies and/or respiratory issues, we up that even higher to every 30 days!

5. Ductwork needs cleaning.

Having your ductwork cleaned is an easy and affordable way to improve the airflow of your A/C, while also improving your indoor air quality.

Over time, your ductwork can start leaking - causing cool air to seep out while on route to your home.

As a result, the attic and inside of your walls might be nice and cool. But the rooms in your home will not be.

6. Your home is improperly insulated.

Cooling a poorly insulated home is like filling a bathtub without a drain plug.

In other words, pretty much useless!

The air conditioner will continue to run 24/7 to cool your home. And no matter how hard it works, it will fail to bring in enough cool air to effectively cool the home for more than a few seconds.

Plus, poor insulation can cause outdoor humidity to start seeping through to your home as well - making your air conditioner's job even harder!

7. There’s a refrigerant leak.

Here’s the thing… refrigerant should never run out. So if your refrigerant levels are running low, it's obvious that there’s a problem.

Telltale signs of a refrigerant leak:

• Ice on your evaporator coils
• Bubbling or hissing sounds
• High electricity bills
• Ongoing cooling cycles
• High humidity
• Ineffective cooling

While some refrigerant leaks come from environmental damage, others come from poor A/C maintenance, which leads us to our next point!

8. Your A/C unit needs maintenance.

Most of the above issues are solvable with a simple A/C maintenance visit.

In fact, a quick check-up is one of the surest ways to ensure your air conditioner stays in great shape all season long!

Get Expert A/C Services at Campeau Heating in Sudbury, Ontario

Your Campeau HVAC technician will inspect, test, repair and replace any equipment necessary in your air conditioner. So you can start SAVING money on your energy, instead of losing it!

Give us a call at (705) 560-2441 or contact us online!