Shopping for a Whole Ventilation System? Tips for Breezing Through the Purchase Process
Whole-house ventilation systems are mechanical systems that help to improve air quality by balancing indoor and outdoor air. As homes in Delaware, Pennsylvania, Maryland, New Jersey, and other states have become more air-tight for energy efficiency, indoor air suffers and moisture problems can crop up. Whole home ventilation can help with both issues much more than a single exhaust vent or a few fans can.
Buying a whole-house ventilation system can be daunting, but these tips can help you get through the process. Understand the different systems. You can choose from supply, exhaust, balanced, and energy recovery systems. Exhaust systems depressurize the home by pushing air from the house, allowing outdoor air inside. Supply systems pressurize the home with a fan, sucking outside air into the house so that indoor air gets pushed out.
Balanced systems bring in and exhaust similar amounts of air, neither pressurizing not depressurizing the home. Energy recovery systems use supply air to cool or warm exhaust air so that customers enjoy better energy savings. Consider noise levels. Noise levels of ventilation fans are ranked in sones and fans with rankings under 1 sone will create the least noise. Look at where ventilation fans and other filtration will go.
Fans should be easy to access so that filters can be replaced and need to be the right size so that the air can be pushed through the filter correctly. Make sure that fresh air will be vented adequately to all rooms. You may need a combination of ceiling fans and remote in-line fans, but it is important to test to ensure that outdoor air provides good air quality all over the house. Take a look at energy costs and the potential for drafts. A whole-house ventilation system should improve comfort, not create drafts. It is also important to consider the long-term and energy costs.
At Sobieski Services, Inc., our goal is to help our customers in Delaware, Pennsylvania, Maryland and New Jersey learn more about energy and home comfort issues – especially HVAC and plumbing issues – so that they can save money and live in healthier, more comfortable homes.
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