The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Indoor airPLUS program was designed to go hand in hand with the agency’s ENERGY STAR program—a joint effort to help builders meet the growing consumer preference for homes with improved indoor air quality and energy efficiency.
Just what is Indoor airPLUS? According to its webinar positioning, Indoor airPLUS is an EPA label that brings additional indoor air quality protections to your ENERGY STAR value proposition. Together the two programs provide comprehensive indoor air quality protections. ENERGY STAR + airPLUS = complete IAQ (Indoor Air Quality) protection.
What are the specifics of the Indoor airPLUS program and how do they actually benefit a buyer? With Indoor airPLUS, look for these healthy home enhancements:
• Moisture-resistant backing material behind tub and shower enclosures plus a corrosion-resistant drain pan. With Indoor airPLUS, only water-resistant hard-surface flooring—in kitchens, bathrooms, entryways, laundry areas, and utility rooms—is installed. In addition, water supply pipes in exterior walls are insulated with pipe wraps.
• All floors above unconditioned spaces are insulated. Crawlspace and basement perimeter walls are also insulated and sealed.
• A drain or sump in basement and crawlspace floors is installed. All heating and cooling equipment is properly sized and, in warm-humid climates, equipment is installed with sufficient latent capacity to maintain an indoor relative humidity (RH) at or below 60 percent.
• In every Indoor airPLUS home, all duct systems are ensured to be airtight and properly balanced. All duct openings throughout construction are covered or the ducts are vacuumed out prior to in- stalling registers.
• Corrosion-proof rodent/bird screens are installed for all building openings that cannot be fully sealed and caulked.
• Verification can be completed during the ENERGY STAR inspection process. Both programs are reported simultaneously.
Give your family better health, with an Indoor airPLUS certified home. R.E.A. Homes—we’re your St. Louis area ENERGY STAR and Indoor airPLUS builder, creating luxury homes with superior energy efficiency. We Build Sustainable Luxury. The Building Beyond the Code series is brought to you in collaboration with SmartHouse Home Performance Experts. SmartHouse is one of our premier partners and provides complete Home Performance Services that focus on using building science testing to make homes as comfortable and energy efficient as possible. If you are not planning on building a new home soon, but are interested in making your current home perform better, we highly recommend giving SmartHouse a call to schedule one of their Energy Audits, or learn about energy efficient heating and cooling systems.
