Do Air Conditioning Units Ventilate Air?

Air conditioning units are very effective at cooling down the home when the air temperature outside is high. During hot summers and heat waves, you may rely on your air conditioning for relief from the hot outside air. Sometimes, you may find that there are several weeks in a row of continuous unbearable temperatures.

Therefore, some people keep their AC running nonstop and their windows shut. Not only does this result in high electricity bills, but it can also overwhelm the power grid when many people are running their ACs nonstop. Not to mention, air conditioners use up a lot of electricity that contribute to global warming.

Another downside to continuing to run your air conditioning is that your windows are closed throughout this time. And if you think your AC is ventilating the air in your home, you’re wrong. ACs do not ventilate air.

ACs and Ventilation
Ventilation is when fresh air is pulled into a room or home from an outside source and pushes out the old air that’s inside. ACs are not designed to replace the inside air with outside air. Air conditioning units pull in the air from the room and cool it down before exhausting it back into the room. It is circulating the air inside the room, not replacing it, meaning that it is merely recycling the old air to make it cooler, not ventilating the room at all.

Why is Ventilation Important?
You may think “who cares if I’m breathing the same air? air is air, right?”. As it turns out, ventilation is very important for a number of reasons, the most important of which is your health. Indoor air pollution is a serious problem that can affect anybody, regardless of whether or not they’re aware of it. Dust, pet hair, dander, particulate matter, bacteria, excess moisture, and toxic chemicals are abundant in practically every home. When the air inside a home is not properly ventilated, these pollutants build up in the air and can negatively impact our health by causing breathing problems or creating allergies.

Other problems with poor or no ventilation include lingering smells and increased humidity. Keeping your windows closed and AC on for extended periods of time makes all of these problems worse, which is why ventilation is so important.

How Can You Improve Air Ventilation?
The best way to improve air ventilation in your home is by using a whole house fan. Whole house fans suck in fresh, outdoor air and push out the stale, polluted air trapped inside the home.

Plus, whole house fans don’t need to be on all day to be effective. If it’s extremely hot during the daytime, running your whole house fan each night for only an hour can not only cool your home, but drastically improve the air quality inside the home and improve your ventilation.