The importance of ventilation in your home

If we completely seal our house, only fresh air should enter when we open a door or window. We need ventilation to remove unwanted odors, water vapor, and pollution and replace them with fresh air, but we also need to control ventilation so we can turn it on and off when we need it and direct it where it’s needed. In this way we can avoid wasting heat in the same way that water is wasted by dripping taps. So we only lose the heat to the air that is allowed to escape for ventilation purposes.

Conventional wisdom has established that an average-sized room requires at least one air change per hour when occupied. However, this varies and depends on factors such as the number of occupants and the number and nature of the sources of contamination. Traditionally, ventilation was achieved through the use of air bricks and infiltration; however, as our energy conservation becomes more sophisticated, we need to develop a correspondingly more sophisticated ventilation strategy. Before listing the possible measures in a strategy, we will discuss ventilation for combustion and heat exchangers.

Permanent ventilation for combustion

It is a legal condition that heating appliances that require air from inside a room for safe operation must have a permanent fan. The danger is that the fuel will not burn efficiently without enough oxygen; if the toxic combustion products are not exhausted, they can accumulate in a room and possibly be fatal. In older homes, the original fans are often papered over and it’s obviously important to unblock them or find an alternate route for the incoming combustion air. One way to provide this alternate route is through a specially designed duct that delivers air directly to the appliance. Many modern appliances overcome this problem by having a balanced chimney that draws in air from outside and exhausts it through the same fitting.

heat exchangers

Is there a way to save heat lost through controlled ventilation? Heat exchangers are designed to do just this. They are a relatively new method of recovering heat from warm air before it escapes to the outside and are increasingly being used as part of an overall strategy for ventilation and energy conservation. The principle is simple: exhaust air is drawn through a matrix of hollow tubes and fins that heat the intake air contained within. In larger systems, warm air is collected through ductwork from various places in the house, such as bathrooms and kitchens, and warm fresh air is sent to living rooms. The heat exchanger can be placed anywhere in the house, but the ceiling space is the usual location. Expert advice is essential if you are considering installing a heat exchanger.

Your ventilation strategy

Once you’ve identified individual problems in each room of the house, such as a furnace that requires combustion venting or a room with excessive humidity, it is necessary to develop a ventilation strategy. Perhaps the most important decision you need to make early on is whether to install a ducted heat exchanger in various parts of your home. If you decide this, then the problem is solved more or less once. This should be the most energy efficient option. If not, consider all of the measurements below and try to balance the airflow in each room of the house so that you have an inlet and outlet. If this seems complicated, persevere and find ways to simplify the problem you have in mind: for example, if you install controllable drip fans in all your windows, leave gaps around internal doors, and install exhaust fans in the bathroom and kitchen, this will It’d be enough. Of course, you’ll always have the option to simply open windows as needed. It’s up to you how sophisticated the system you lemma is. Remember that in a tall house in very cold or windy weather, any systems you have will need to be shut down completely as pressure differences will force air through much smaller openings. Whatever you decide, it’s important to develop a ventilation strategy that fits the way you use it in your home. Here are the possibilities you should consider:

o Decide whether to install a heat exchange system.

o Install controllable drip fans in each room for cross ventilation (the ease with which they can be installed in existing windows varies by window type).

Breakout strategies.

o Install mechanical extractor fans in the kitchen and bathroom, controlled by a timer or hygrostat (humidity control switch).

o Install permanent vents for combustion appliances that rely on an indoor air supply.

o Use outdated chimneys as ventilation channels or ducts. This can be particularly helpful if it’s difficult to fit fans in windows. Also consider using your fireplaces to recirculate warm air to the upper floors or vice versa.

o Install air cleaning measures: whether mechanical or biological, ionizers or filters. If the main problem is humidity, consider using a dehumidifier, and if moisture is lacking, consider a misting humidifier or again the use of plants.

o Open and close windows as needed – If exterior doors are constantly in use, this can provide sufficient ventilation for much of the day.