All about ventilation
Always ventilate
Even if you think the outside air is more polluted than the air inside your home, you need to ventilate. This is because indoor air is almost always more polluted than outdoor air. Do you live on a busy road or near an industrial area? Then only open the windows and doors that are as far away from these as possible. This will ensure that the cleanest air can enter your home. In addition, it is important to ventilate throughout the year. It is important to ventilate in the winter because windows and doors are closed, the heating is higher and we are home more. In summer, it is smart to turn off the ventilation system on hot days during the day, as it is not pleasant to get warm air inside. When you turn the system on again in the evening you bring fresh cold air into the house.
Why is ventilation so important?
An awful lot of moisture is produced daily in a home by the occupants, pets and plants, among others. Cooking smells, smoke and dust mites also contribute to air pollution in the home. Ventilation removes this moist and polluted air from the home. Especially if your home is well insulated, good ventilation is essential! The polluted indoor air will otherwise linger in your home, causing you to suffer from various health complaints such as headaches, fatigue and dizziness.
Are you wondering if you ventilate enough and have enough clean air in your home? You can measure this with a CO2 monitor. A CO2 monitor measures the CO2 concentration in the indoor air so you know when extra ventilation is needed. Not only is this good for your health, you can also save money and energy by ventilating only when necessary.
The consequences of poor ventilation
Lack of ventilation or inadequate ventilation can cause mold and dust mites in your home, which can cause you to suffer from health complaints. Complaints that can occur as a result of inadequate ventilation include shortness of breath, coughing, fatigue, headaches and chronic colds. If you suffer from asthma or other allergies, proper ventilation is also incredibly important. Are you suffering from these symptoms and think it is due to poor ventilation? If so, contact your doctor as soon as possible and get advice on improving the indoor environment in your home.
As a result of your complaints, do you need advice on ventilating your home? If so, please feel free to contact the Ventilation Land team.
What can you do yourself to achieve a healthy indoor environment?
Proper ventilation is, of course, the beginning of optimizing the indoor environment in your home. To ensure that your health does not deteriorate in your own home, you can take the following steps:
- Installing proper sun protection
- Ensuring proper maintenance of your geyser, boiler and ventilation system
- Having old open geyser (if any) replaced with a new central heating boiler
- Keep carpets and curtains well dusted and clean
- Provide extra ventilation after and during cooking and showering
- Do not smoke in your home
- Address moisture problems if they bother you
Always ventilate
Even if you think the outside air is more polluted than the air inside your home, you need to ventilate. This is because indoor air is almost always more polluted than outdoor air. Do you live on a busy road or near an industrial area? Then only open the windows and doors that are as far away from these as possible. This will ensure that the cleanest air can enter your home.
Windows do close in the event of a disaster!
Is there a disaster or chemicals hanging outdoors near you? If so, close your windows and doors immediately! However, outside air can enter your home not only through open windows and doors, but also through vents and any mechanical ventilation system present. Therefore, during a disaster, make sure that all ventilation grills are closed and that the mechanical ventilation system is turned off. If there is a collective mechanical ventilation system that you cannot turn off, set it to the lowest possible setting so that as little harmful air as possible can enter your home.
Ventilation and my health
Poorly ventilated spaces and homes can quickly create an unhealthy living environment. Because people live in these spaces, indoor air is polluted as people breathe, cook, heat, wash and shower, among other things. An average family creates an average of 14 to 20 liters of moisture per day in this way. In most skin holdings, a variety of unhealthy substances are also often released from clothing, bedding, carpet, parquet, newspapers and cigarettes. In these poorly ventilated situations, mold and dust mites are given a free hand to develop and reproduce. Also, unpleasant odors linger for a long time.
Health complaints caused by dust mites
Poorly ventilated rooms are also particularly harmful for people with allergies or sensitivity to certain substances. The pollutants present in indoor air can then cause all sorts of different health problems. Asthma sufferers, for example, suffer much more from asthma complaints in poorly ventilated rooms. Especially in homes of people with allergies, asthma or hypersensitivity to certain substances, good ventilation is therefore indispensable!
For more information on ventilation and the need for ventilation, visit our ventilation blog. Need help or want to know more? Feel free to call us at +44 1753 260000 or email us at info@ventilationland.co.uk
Frequently asked questions about ventilation
Am I not wasting energy ventilating?
A big misunderstanding is that ventilation is a waste of energy because the cold incoming air has to be heated every time. Not only is dry and clean air easier and faster to heat, so it costs less energy, but ventilation is also extremely important for your health. With a new fan such as an Itho cve ecofan box, you can actually save energy. Is there still an old ventilation unit in your home? Then you can save over €50 per year with a new energy-efficient direct current Itho extraction fan. In case you have a MVHR unit in your home, the fresh air coming in is already heated through the heat exchanger, so it takes less energy to heat this fresh air. All in all, absolutely no waste of energy, if you do it right, you can even save energy! For more information on energy efficient ventilation, you can read articles on our ventilation blog.
Am I not polluting my home by bringing polluted outside air into the house?
Outdoor air is indeed often polluted, especially near busy (highways) or industrial areas. What people often do not know, however, is that pollution inside the home is often higher than outside. Because people live in a home (often also by several people), the air pollution in the home increases enormously. Also, due to the presence of pets, plants, curtains and rugs, for example, moisture, fine dust and other polluted substances enter the indoor air. Letting in so-called polluted outside air is then actually a relief for the internal living environment. Are you still concerned that you are bringing too much polluted air into your home? Then make sure that you place ventilation grilles on the sides of the house that do not face the road or an industrial area, i.e. the side where there is the least chance of air pollution. It is also best to open windows and doors on this side of the house to get fresh air into the house through natural ventilation. For more information, please visit our ventilation blog , where you can find everything you need to know about ventilation!
What kind of ventilation system do I actually have in my house?
Most old homes do not have a mechanical ventilation system at all, but use natural ventilation inside the home through cracks and holes in the homes. Old homes, mainly built before 1970 are often poorly insulated, so outside air can easily enter the home. Homes built after 1970 do tend to have a mechanical ventilation system in the home (about 30%). Mechanical ventilation allows fresh air to enter the home naturally, through vents, doors and windows, while polluted air is removed mechanically. A small part of the houses even uses balanced ventilation by means of a heat exchanger. With a WTW unit, both the incoming air and the exhaust air are controlled mechanically. A WTW unit also uses heat recovery, which extracts heat from the exhaust air and releases it to the incoming air. Want a clearer picture of the type of ventilation system you have in your home? Then read the article "What ventilation system do I have?"
Why do I need to ventilate?
Many people think that ventilation is unnecessary, but a poorly ventilated home can cause serious health problems. For example, people who frequently stay in poorly ventilated rooms can suffer from headaches, fatigue and chronic colds. People with sensitivity to polluted particulate matter, allergies or asthma also benefit immensely from a well-ventilated home. For good health, ventilation is indispensable! Not only is ventilation necessary for your health, but you can also save energy and therefore money. Because clean and dry air is faster and easier to heat, it costs less energy and less money. Want to learn more about ventilation and its necessity? Then read the articles on our ventilation blog!
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