If you are wondering why the air in your home during the cold winter months always smells stale throughout your home, it could be that you don’t want to open windows, letting out all that precious heat you pay so dearly for. The only thing older central heating systems do is heat your home.
Today’s home ventilation systems are developed so that they recover heat from the air being brought in and as an added benefit, that air is fresh, yet also warmed through heat exchange technology. Perhaps it’s time to explore the energy-efficient benefits of MVHR, Mechanical Ventilation with Heat Recovery, units that go beyond a basic home improvement project.
Growing Cause for Health-Related Concerns
Over the past couple of years, there has been a growing amount of information coming out about just how important home ventilation solutions truly are in terms of our health. What prompted so much interest was obviously the deadly, largely airborne pandemic, Covid-19. The first evidence of just how highly contagious this coronavirus truly was surfaced when it was circulating through residential buildings. There were documented cases where residents across the pond, in New York City, had been in their apartments during what would have been the incubation period.
They had no contact with anyone in the outside world yet got seriously ill. Upon inspection by public health officials, it was found that the housing authority ignored warnings that kept those microscopic particulates circulating through air in their common venting/ducting system. Evidence like this was a part of what led the UK to set new standards to new builds going forward. They found that fresh air brought in from the outside and ventilated out again helped to significantly reduce the level of contaminants in the home.
Addressing Common Queries
One question so many homeowners ask concerns whether or not that cold air being brought in during winter months will make an MVHR work harder, or will it, in fact, be able to exchange cold and hot air sufficiently to heat a home. Will it cost more to heat the home? Actually, it will cost less! MVHR systems take the warmth from the air being brought in and then exchange it with cold, stale air being vented out. This is all done without using costly heating elements or fossil fuels. The electricity needed is minimal in comparison. So then, newer MVHR technology is not only less expensive to operate but it is healthier as well!
Out with the Old – In with the New
As yet another New Year is celebrated and all those New Year’s resolutions are made, perhaps it’s time to take a more literal approach! From a different vantage point, it would be, “out with the old (stale air), in with the new (fresh air). Maybe it’s time to seriously consider how much healthier your family would be when subjected to far fewer contaminants, and happier as well. Added to that is the fact that you don’t need to don your coat, gloves and hat to enjoy the fresh air. It’s even warmed for you on its way in. What could be better than that?
