Home Ventilation Systems

There are various types of home ventilation systems, which range from mechanical ventilation with heat recovery down to simple trickle vents. Many people question the need for ventilation within homes before even contemplating an entire home ventilation system. However, ventilation within properties is essential. Homes without ventilation suffer from “stale” air which often has an unpleasant odour.

In the past good ventilation was never a problem in homes due to poor fitting sash and case windows, gaps in doors and open fires with chimneys resulting in excellent ventilation throughout without the need to open a window, because of this continual ventilation, dust mites, smells from pets, cooking and water vapour were dealt with as your property had good ventilation and environment for you to live in.

The negative side of having these draughts throughout your property was that they were harder to heat, resulting in high heating costs. Around 40 years ago we began to fit windows and doors with gaskets to prevent draughts and heat loss as well as insulating lofts and cavities to a much higher standard. These changes came with obvious benefits, however, one of the downsides was that the amount of ventilation in properties declined. Boilers using less energy as a result of properties maintaining heat levels for longer periods of time made property owners happy, but unfortunately due to the lack of natural ventilation there was an increase in stale smells, condensation and black mould.

Many people believe that opening windows in properties for short periods of time helps avoid these issues arising, to some extent this is true, but this must be carried out on a regular basis and for a reasonable time period. The downside to this is that you will require to be in your property when ventilating for security reasons.

Whole House Ventilation Systems

Bathrooms and Kitchens in many properties are fitted with extractor fans, however, whole house ventilation, as the name suggests, deals with air changes throughout your property.

While construction materials and building techniques have improved, buildings have become considerably better at retaining air within them. Obviously, this has numerous benefits as previously mentioned such as preventing heat loss, but this has severely restricted the amount of fresh air entering the property and therefore has created a significant increase in the amount of moisture and pollutants within the atmosphere.

By installing a whole home ventilation system, you can have “fresh” air within your property 24 hours a day without the need to open windows.There are two types of unit available dependant on whither you have a loft space or not. The units draw air from the loft space or externally and passes this through filters before dispersing into the property at a low rate. Both units have small heaters which will heat any air below 10 degrees before allowing this to enter the property. This changes the air pressure within the property from negative to a slight positive pressure. This process is called dilution and dispersion. Think of the air in your house as a glass of milk and the unit as a cold tap, when you put the glass of milk under the cold running tap you will end up with a glass of water. Similarly, stale air + a Positive input Ventilation system = Clean fresh air.

The Benefits of Whole-House Ventilation

There are various benefits to be had from introducing whole house ventilation into your property, these are listed below.

1. Constant Maintenance Not Required

The units are guaranteed for five years and this can be extended following the five-year service. Between services the only maintenance the unit may require would be the external filter cleaned by removing and washing, this is dependent on the amount of dust within your loft space.

2. Consistent Air Quality

Every room in your property is benefitting from fresh air 24 hours a day.

3. Fresh Air Provided with normal moisture levels

Positive input home ventilation systems make sure that fresh air is always consistently provided throughout your building. The moisture within the air is reduced to normal levels and this can control condensation issues. This will enhance the overall air quality within your property without the need to open windows.

4. Lowered Costs

The air brought into your property by the positive input ventilation system recirculates the hot air in your home which rises to ceiling level so property owners will be able to reduce the level of the room thermostat and save money on heating.

5. Controlling Dust Mites

Dust mites are far too small for the human eye to identify but they can occasionally be found in large quantities within pillows, mattresses and soft furnishings. The faeces from dust mites can become present in the air of rooms when you walk over a rug where they have settled or if you shake bed sheets. Inhaling this allergen can result in attacks occurring within asthmatics. Detailed clinical research has shown that whole home ventilation can play a considerable role in the controlling of dust mites and the loft unit is approved by the asthma council.If you would like to discuss how positive input home ventilation systems could benefit you and your home, then please contact your local branch and one of our team will be happy to help you.