Tips to reduce your energy bills with good ventilation
Energy prices are skyrocketing, and decesion have to be made between eating or heating. It is time to make our homes more sustainable and thus save energy. In summer, our homes use less energy than in winter. In summer you are outside more often and the heating does not have to be switched on. In winter, we often keep the windows closed to keep the heat in, but unfortunately that is when the problems arise. There is no fresh air coming into our well insulated houses. The lack of fresh air leads to high CO2 levels, which in turn leads to various health complaints.
• Ventilation as a way to save money
• Tips to save energy in the house
• Save money with a controlled ventilation system
• Estimated calculation and savings of energy costs
Ventilation as a way to save money
Many people do not think of ventilation when they think of energy-saving measures, although ventilation can indeed make a significant contribution to saving your energy costs. Ventilation ensures clean and dry air in the house, which means the house can be heated faster. This is because dry air is heated faster than humid air. Especially in winter, high humidity arises in the house because we keep the windows closed. High humidity results from cooking and showering, but also from simply breathing and moving around. In addition to high humidity causing mould in the home, it also causes your home to have to use more energy to heat air. When the heating is on, it can also actually cause too low humidity in your home, which is not good for your health.
Tips to save energy in the house
We have listed a number of tips you can already get started with to save money if you do not have a ventilation system. Make sure that the cold and moisture do not flow through to the rest of the house, when opening windows to ventilate your home. Ventilation systems can automate this process and nowadays they are sustainable and save energy costs compared to heating. Would you like to know which ventilation solutions are possible in your home?
- In one night your body and breath emit moisture roughly equivalent to a large glass of water. So leave your bedroom window ajar at night. After waking up, open the windows and curtains to refresh the air inside the room. After 20 minutes, close the windows again to avoid wasting too much energy during the day by having to heat up the now cold room.
- Always hang your laundry in a warm place to dry it faster. Be sure to ventilate the room to remove humidity. Also, close the door to this room so that the cold air does not spread throughout the house.
- Make sure that the fine dust and humidity from cooking can be removed, for instance by using extractor hoods or kitchen extractor fans.
- Don't shower with the bathroom door open, dry the shower after showering and ventilate the bathroom with a bathroom fan. This will ensure that humidity does not linger and has no chance of spreading.
- Insulate the crawl space under the house. This space is often damp and the air inside enters your home through cracks and seams.
Save money with a controlled ventilation system
In addition to the tips we have described above, you can also save money by using energy-efficient ventilation systems. We have listed a number of possibilities and tips for you with which you can create a healthy living environment and expect a lower energy bill:
Tip 1: First of all, mechanical extract ventilation helps to remove contaminated and humid air from a room or house, making it easier to heat.
Tip 2: CO2 controlled mechanical ventilation runs standard on a low setting. When Carbon Dioxide levels meet a certain threshold, the unit will ventilate more in this room. This way you are always assured of healthy air.
Tip 3: A heat recovery system provides you with a healthy living environment and no heat loss in the home, this is very sustainable. You can buy this either as a ventilation system or as a decentralised unit that can be used in one room and does not require major changes in the house. Find out what a MVHR unit is here.
Tip 4: To save even more energy, you can buy a CO2-controlled MVHR system. This system works the same as a mechanical extract ventilation (MEV) system, only it also saves heat. This system assures you of a responsible and energy efficient living environment.
Tip 5: Install a CO2 detector. These will continuously show the stats regarding your indoor climate and if necessary you can respond instantly by ventilating until it the indoor air quality is good once again.
Tip 6: A non-return valve behind the bathroom extractor fan or a grille with a non-return valve instead of a normal grille can quickly save energy. This is a very simple and cheap application and you will benefit from it immediately!
Tip 7: There are many people with outdated non-energy efficient (AC) mechanical fans in their homes. Using an energy-efficient (DC) fan saves a lot of energy and therefore money. This is easy to replace and the investment is quickly recouped.
Tip 8: Do you have a MEV system, but would you prefer to convert it to a MVHR? This is possible with the Brink Indoor Mixfan!
Immediate ventilation with heat recovery with a single room MVHR
Estimated calculation and savings of energy costs
The difference in energy costs per year between an (obsolete) AC ventilation unit and a newer DC unit is very large. We have made a sample calculation to make this difference in energy consumption clear. We have compared the units with the following assumptions about the consumption of such ventilation systems:
- 8 hours a day the unit ventilates in the low setting, for example when you are sleeping or no one is at home.
- 14 hours a day it ventilates in medium mode, when people are present (people naturally emit moisture and CO2 and so ventilation will be required).
- 2 hours in high mode, at times when, for example, cooking or showering is taking place and the ventilation unit senses that extra ventilation is needed.
The average AC ventilation unit under such condititions consumes 343 kWh per year, while the average DC ventilation system uses only 60 kWh each year. In this case, you save 83% (283 kWh) with a direct current ventilator. Assuming 19 pence per kWh, as described by the government, an AC fan will cost you around £65 per year in energy costs, while a DC fan will cost you £12. With a DC fan, you can save an average of £53 in energy costs per year.
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