The “V” in HVAC stands for “ventilation!” Not everyone knows this, and most homeowners aren’t very concerned about it. After all, heating systems and air conditioners are usually the stars of the show. Of course, neither of those are possible without a working knowledge of ventilation.
Taking ventilation a step further, it’s important to realize that principles of ventilation will come into play when dealing with efficiency. Simply put, you need to keep cooled or heated air inside the home! It’s a little more complicated than that, though. We’ll explain further down below.
Prevents Good Air From Escaping
There’s a constant battle between indoor air and outdoor air. Namely, in keeping the indoor air from escaping into the outdoors!
One of the reasons this might happen is due to a drafty home. Rooms with significant air leaks can allow outdoor pollutants to enter your air circulation, as well as introduce too much moisture and contribute to higher humidity levels.
Plus, this is terrible for efficiency. The only solution is to introduce more ventilation—which requires that your conditioned or heated air is released into the outdoors. You’d be actively releasing air that you just had treated by your HVAC system. Of course, that means having to run your HVAC system again to retain those temperatures.
Air sealing is a technique that can prevent this by sealing up the various cracks and leaks around your home, such as at the window frames and door frames. However, too much air sealing can have adverse effects, so make sure you work with an indoor air quality expert in Brandon, MS.
Stabilizes Temperatures
One of the reasons for high energy bills is due to the temperatures shifting too much indoors. And why would this happen? One reason is due to a lack of proper insulation.
Insulation is great at creating a barrier between indoor and outdoor temperatures. In the summer, it prevents heat from entering the home. During the winter, it prevents heat from leaving the home. Depending on your home’s current level of insulation and the climate, different levels of insulation are needed.
Proper insulation will keep temperatures more consistent, so your HVAC system won’t need to work as frequently to bring temperatures back to what’s set on the thermostat.
Reduces the Need to Open Windows
You know when you step into a bedroom that’s been closed all day? It might have a musty or stale smell to it. Well, this can happen to your home if there’s too much air sealing and not enough ventilation.
Normally, the only way to solve this is by opening a window and letting the bad air out. But as we said earlier, that’s not very efficient—all that lost air will need to be recreated through your HVAC system.
One way to solve this is through heat and energy recovery ventilators. They essentially allow you to run your heater or AC without any consequences of “stale” air. These devices actively take in air from outdoors, put it through an exchanger, and bring it into the indoors. It does this without changing the temperature or bringing in more moisture.
