Page 48 - Green Builder May-June 2017 Issue

Air Quality: Talk Is Cheap

Mothers, in particular, express concern about asthma and other air pollution

effects—but few seem willing to adjust their cooking habits in response.

T’S NOT LIKE THE TOOLS DON’T EXIST. It’s the lack of behavior
change that is making kids sick indoors. As I’ve reported in the
past, most people rarely use their range hoods by choice. In fact,
one major study found that “Only 8 percent of the participants
used their ventilation system whenever they cooked,” while 8
percent used ventilation “almost never,” and 15 percent used
I ventilation only “once
in a while.”
This flies in the face of all
the evidence about cooking
smoke, especially when foods
are cooked in vegetable oils.
Although there’s some debate
as to which oils are worse for
your health when they start
to smoke and give off free radicals, no cooking smoke is good for you.
Johns Manville did a study of Iowa homeowners, and found that
about a third of them think their indoor air is cleaner than outdoor
air. The reverse is generally true. And most people spend 90 percent
of their time indoors.
What does this mean for kitchen designers and builders? Range
hoods must include automatic sensors, or they will simply not be
used.

Use of Kitchen Ventilation Systems

Note: Participants could give more than one response,
so some figures don’t equal 100.

Reasons for Get Odors Out 47%
Using Ventilation Get Smoke Out 45%

Get Steam Out 23%
CREDIT: CENTER FOR REAL LIFE DESIGN, VIRGINIA TECH
Remove Heat 20%

Control Grease 14%
Clean the Air 11%
Reasons for NOT Too Noisy 48%
Using Ventilation Not Necessary 48%

Don’t Think About It 20% Jewelry or appliance? Although most new kitchen installations
Excuses, excuses. Homeowners typically blame unit noise as a feature range hoods, few occupants use them, other than for
major reason they don’t use range hoods. But newer products occasional extreme smoke issues. One of the most important uses,
make less noise, and many offer particle or heat sensors for for example, is during an oven’s self-cleaning mode, when large
automatic operation. amounts of toxins are released.

46 GREEN BUILDER May/June 2017 www.greenbuildermedia.com

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