Achieving Healthy Air Quality in an Airtight Home

In our opinion, the most convincing reason to build a high performance home is to live in a healthy indoor environment free of harmful pollutants or excessive moisture. However, according to Home Innovation Research Labs, which conducts extensive research and surveys owners of green homes:

some homeowners have reported in surveys and focus groups that the air is “stuffier” in their new energy-efficient homes — a disappointment and counter-intuitive when they believed that green homes offered healthier indoor air. A deeper probe tends to implicate high indoor humidity or inadequate ventilation (or both). Occupant solutions to this problem include turning the AC thermostat lower or opening windows for fresh air — both of which can defeat the purpose of the energy-saving features of their homes. Properly designed whole-house dehumidification and energy-recovery ventilation systems are two builder options to solve these issues.

The solution is ventilation.

Your home needs the exchange of indoor air with outdoor air to reduce indoor pollutants, moisture, and odors. Buildings today are intentionally made increasingly airtight, which results in less ventilation. An ideal solution for tightly sealed homes, a heat recovery ventilator (HRV) system exchanges stale air from inside with fresher outdoor air. To ensure absolute comfort, the system also captures heat from contaminated air before it is moved outdoors.

Benefits of Heat Recovery Ventilators

• Constant supply of fresh air with higher comfort levels
• Overall air quality within the house is significantly increased which is of benefit to all occupants especially Asthma & Hay Fever sufferers
• No condensation
• No fungal growth in bathrooms
• Fresh smelling bathrooms (air is constantly being changed no need for air freshener)
• Less dust and fewer spiders as they feed on dust mites
• Extra security having all windows closed at all times
• Quieter house, less outside noise as windows are closed
• Lower heating bills. While the unit does use a small amount of electricity, the amount of energy saved greatly out-weighs the amount used.

Winsome builds high-performance and exquisitely crafted homes, employing advanced green building techniques and sustainable practices.

We’d love to discuss your home building plans, call us at 503-472-7402.