If you are experiencing air quality issues in your home, or your energy bills seem higher than those of your neighbors, the culprit may be your home’s ventilation. Understanding ventilation strategies that will help get the air moving properly in your home is as important as knowing about the different types of circulation systems available. In fact, understanding how the air flows, or doesn’t flow, through the rooms in your home has a big impact on which system or systems to employ.
All homes must have adequate ventilation – that is, the replacement of indoor air with outdoor air – to prevent a buildup of humidity in the home and toxic substances such as radon, formaldehyde and mold. The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) has determined that 15 cubic feet of air per person p
er minute needs to be exchanged within a home’s living space to meet adequate ventilation standards. There are three ventilation strategies that will help your home meet this standard.
The first is natural ventilation, the free and uncontrolled flow of air through open windows and screen doors, or cracks, holes, window sills and such. If your home is old, you might have excessive amounts of natural ventilation, creating inefficient heating and cooling, along with the wasted energy that goes with it. If your home is airtight, as many newer homes are today, you will not get sufficient natural ventilation to meet the ASHRAE standard, and you might experience moisture problems due to poor air circulation.
The second ventilation strategy is spot ventilation, such as exhaust fans, used to quickly remove pollutants and moisture from a specific problem area. This is an inefficient, stop-gap solution usually employed to augment the first strategy.
The third strategy is whole-house ventilation involving a complete HVAC system using ducts, vents and fans for air circulation.
Only a whole-house ventilation system will provide controlled, uniform air circulation throughout the home. Natural and spot ventilation strategies won’t guarantee an energy-efficient, comprehensive solution to your home’s air circulation issues. For more information about ventilation strategies and the different types of whole-house ventilation systems available in the Twin Cities area, contact Marsh Heating & Air Conditioning.
Our goal is to help educate our customers about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about ventilation strategies and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.
Marsh Heating and Air Conditioning services Minnesota’s Twin Cities. Visit our website to see our special offers and get started today!