If you aren’t currently using ventilating fans, there’s no way for you to control the amount of fresh air that enters your home. Although it may be surprising, the fact stands that the air inside homes with inadequate ventilation is typically of poorer quality than the air outdoors. In order to ensure optimum health conditions and indoor air quality, here are a few tips for choosing ventilating fans.
Why is home ventilation so important?
In addition to making your home feel less stuffy and more comfortable, using ventilating fans is also an important part of promoting healthful living. Poorly ventilated homes create ideal conditions for mold and mildew to grow. This can create or significantly aggravate respiratory issues and other illnesses.
What are my options for a ventilation system?
Three common home ventilation options include:
- Heat Recovery Ventilation Systems – HRV systems work to replace all of the “stale” air in your home with fresh air over a three-hour period. Typically, HRV systems are equipped with humidity sensors that can automatically increase ventilation in areas of high moisture content like bathrooms and kitchen areas. These systems can be connected to a home’s heating system ductwork (in households that employ forced-air heating). Although this requires the furnace fan to continuously run, the benefit of improved air quality outweighs the operating costs. Another option is to connect the HRV to a specially installed network of fresh-air ducts.
- Ventilating Fans – Venting or exhaust fans are a great way to “spot remove” objectionable air from inside your home to the outdoors – usually through the wall or ceiling. These types of fan are most often utilized to control moisture and odor from kitchens (e.g., range hood vents) or bathrooms. Your HVAC contractor can help you determine the right-sized vent based upon room size and the volume of air that will need to be evacuated.
- Ceiling Fans – Although unable to exhaust air directly outdoors, ceiling fans are ideal for improving air circulation and reducing stagnant, stale conditions.
For more information on choosing and using ventilating fans, contact us at Arpi’s Industries Ltd. We proudly serve Calgary homeowners.
Our goal is to help educate our customers in Calgary, Alberta about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about ventilating fans and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.
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