Whole House Ventilation Saves on Energy Bills

The Importance of Whole House Ventilation

During the summer periods, air conditioners are often used extensively. This does nothing to reduce your energy bills, in fact, it may even increase. However, there are some methods and systems that can be used to reduce your energy bills. Both new and previously constructed homes require some mechanical ventilation in order to maintain the quality of the indoor air, and Whole house ventilation is critical in maintaining adequate indoor air quality in an energy-efficient home.

Types of Home Ventilation

Ventilation exchanges indoor air for outdoor air, and the two main types of home ventilation include mechanical and natural ventilation.

Natural Ventilation

With natural ventilation, the external air enters the house through opened windows and doors.

Mechanical Ventilation

With mechanical ventilation, mechanical devices, such as fans and motors and electronics are used to remove air from a single room. They also include whole house ventilation systems that can remove contaminated indoor air, replacing it with cleaner, filtered, and conditioned air that is brought in from outside and distributed throughout the house.

Addressing Poor Indoor Air Quality

According to the EPA, problems of poor indoor air quality are caused when gases or other pollutants are released in the homes. The problem is aggravated when inadequate amounts of fresh outdoor air cannot dilute the concentration of the pollutants, and not enough of unhealthy air is removed. It may not always be possible to ventilate the home by opening doors or windows due to concerns with security or adverse weather conditions. However, mechanical ventilation is an energy-efficient method to exchange polluted and sometimes toxic indoor air for clean external air throughout your entire home.

Types of Mechanical Whole House Ventilation Systems

Mechanical whole house ventilation systems come in four basic formations. They are the exhaust, balanced, supply, and energy recovery modes, and there are disadvantages and advantages to using each mode.

Exhaust Ventilation Systems

Exhaust ventilation systems are suitable for colder climates. They are inexpensive and relatively easy to install. Basically, it is not much more than a single fan that is installed at a single exhaust point, centrally located in the house. An improved design will include connecting the fan to the ducting so that the pollutants from different rooms can be removed. Vents in the walls can be used to introduce the fresh air. However, there should be internal pressure differences for the system to work.

Supply Ventilation Systems

Supply systems use a fan that pressurizes your home. External air is forced into the building, while polluted air is forced out through holes, ducts, or any vents.

Balanced Ventilation Systems

Balanced ventilation systems are pressure neutral when properly designed and installed. They exchange equal quantities of fresh external air and the polluted internal air.

Energy Recovery Systems

Energy recovery systems are an efficient mode of whole house ventilation. It is a controlled way of ventilating a home, while heat loss is minimized. The costs of heating in the winter are reduced when the heat is transferred from the warm internal air to the fresh, but colder external supply air.

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