How to Ventilate Your House Properly?

Insulating your home well is good for your finances, and for the environment. However, it is important not to forget to ventilate! Here is some information you should know about choosing the right ventilation system, even before starting the work.

Why ventilate your home?

It is no longer a matter of course: indoor air quality is a real public health issue. Without ventilation, we accumulate dust, pollutants, microbes and mould in our homes, all of which are toxic to living beings. Though insulation protects us from the cold in winter and from the heat in summer, it also prevents natural ventilation in our homes. Fortunately, there are solutions to renew the air efficiently.

Single flow CMV

Single flow controlled mechanical ventilation (CMV) is one of the most widely used systems. It is not very expensive and it is easy to install. It allows indoor air to be evacuated to the outside, using extract units and a motor. Air inlets are mounted under the windows to bring in outside air. However, this system can sometimes be noisy and leads to significant heat loss. In addition, it can cause draughts, which can be uncomfortable.

Humidity-controlled CMV

Humidity-controlled CMV is not a system very well known to the general public. However, it is a very interesting one, especially for humid rooms: it makes it possible to regulate the airflow according to the measured humidity level. This adjustment of air flow allows limiting energy losses. Humidity sensitive CMV can be installed as a single flow or double flow. However, in order to prevent heat loss as much as possible, choosing the second one is highly recommended.

Dual flow CMV

Double flow CMV is without doubt the most efficient ventilation solution. It allows the evacuation of stale indoor air to import healthy air from the outside. It filters pollutants and dust, thus guaranteeing optimal indoor air quality.

The thermodynamic double flow CMV combines the double flow CMV with a heat pump. The aim? To link the ventilation system and the heating system to optimize heat exchange.

Good ventilation in a nutshell...

With or without CMV, it is essential to keep in mind the importance of properly ventilating all the rooms of your house. A simple but effective alternative is to open the windows wide at least 15 minutes a day. This is not a very attractive solution in winter, but it limits the risk of accumulating toxic compounds from painting, from the kitchen, or simply from our own microbes. In any case, if at the moment it is too complicated for you to opt for mechanical ventilation, you can always install ventilation grilles.