Lone Star Cooling and Heating
Get help with Ventilation & Fresh Air
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Call (325) 219-0005Planned fresh air for buildings sealed tightly enough that stale air has no easy way out, through fresh air intakes and heat or energy recovery ventilators, set up so the air coming in does not bring unwanted humidity with it.
01Ventilation
Too little fresh air rarely announces itself directly. It shows up as stuffiness, smells and moisture.
Air that feels close and heavy after a night with the doors shut means little outdoor air is getting in. It is common in newer or recently sealed buildings, and planned ventilation brings in a steady supply rather than relying on leaks.
Odors that last well after cooking or cleaning show that indoor air is not being exchanged. Exhaust fans that vent outdoors, and a ventilation system that runs on its own schedule, carry those smells and the moisture with them out of the building.
Moisture from showers, cooking and the people inside builds up in a tight building with nowhere to go, and appears on cold windows and in the corners of outside walls. Steady ventilation carries it out before it condenses.
A strong kitchen hood or several fans running at once can leave a tight building short of air. It shows as whistling at doors or fans that barely move air, and a technician checks it because it can draw exhaust back down a gas appliance's flue.
Clogged filters, a dirty core or a blocked outdoor hood cut a ventilator's airflow and can throw its two air streams out of balance. In very cold weather some units frost up and rely on a defrost cycle, and one that stays iced needs attention.
02Recovery ventilators
Both are balanced ventilators that exhaust and supply matching amounts of air. They differ in whether moisture crosses between the streams.
Its core passes heat from the warmer air stream to the cooler one but keeps moisture on its own side, so damp indoor air leaves and drier outdoor air replaces it. That suits cold climates where buildings tend to hold too much moisture through the winter.
Its core passes heat and part of the moisture between the streams. In humid weather it limits how much water the fresh air carries in, and in dry winters it holds back some indoor moisture. It eases the humidity load, but it is not a dehumidifier and cannot dry out a damp building.
Ventilation & Fresh Air
Serving Abilene, TX.
03Why plan it
Sealing a building and ventilating it are two halves of the same job.
Every building produces moisture, odors and pollutants from cooking, bathing, cleaning and the materials inside it. In a leaky building, air seeping through gaps carries much of that away, though unevenly and at the expense of heating and cooling. Air sealing, better windows and well-insulated attics cut that leakage, and with it the accidental supply of fresh air.
Planned ventilation replaces it on purpose. The simplest setups rely on exhaust fans or add a fresh air intake with a damper and control to the heating and cooling system, while balanced ventilators exhaust and supply together and recover energy. Whatever the approach, the new air arrives carrying outdoor humidity, so in muggy climates it is paired with enough moisture removal to keep rooms from turning clammy.
04What changes the setup
The right amount and kind of fresh air depends on the building and what is already in it.
A newer or heavily sealed building gets little air on its own and benefits most. A drafty older one may need sealing before added ventilation makes sense.
Powerful exhaust fans can lower the pressure in a tight building enough to pull flue gases back down the vent of a gas water heater or furnace. Balanced ventilation or planned make-up air keeps that from happening.
Where summers are humid, incoming air adds moisture the system must remove, which favors an ERV or added dehumidifying. In cold regions the question becomes whether the building runs too damp or too dry in winter.
Ventilators have their own filters, and their cores and outdoor intake hoods collect dust, leaves and insects. When those clog, the air exchange falls off without anyone noticing.
05Questions
Both swap stale indoor air for fresh outdoor air and pass heat between the two streams. An ERV also moves some moisture across, which keeps humid summer air or very dry winter air from swinging the indoor humidity as much. Which suits depends on the climate and whether the building tends to run damp or dry.
Opening windows works when the weather allows, but it is uncontrolled: too much air on a windy day, almost none on a still one, and all of the outdoor heat, cold or humidity comes in with it. Mechanical ventilation delivers a steady amount and, with a recovery ventilator, keeps much of the energy.
Some energy always goes into conditioning outdoor air brought inside. A recovery ventilator captures a good share of the heating or cooling from the outgoing air and hands it to the incoming air, which is why they are common in tight, efficient buildings.
What the system is doing, when it started, what the thermostat is set to and what it reads, and whether the outdoor unit is running. The age of the equipment and a photo of its label help a technician arrive prepared.
Lone Star Cooling and Heating
Call Lone Star Cooling and Heating, have us call you, or describe the issue.
Prefer to talk?
Call (325) 219-0005