Ventilation Systems 

Breathe fresher air!

   Today's houses are built tighter for energy efficiency.  However, a tighter home allows only a small amount of fresh air to enter and old stale air to exit. Why is that a concern? All homes need proper ventilation.  Ventilation is the exchange of indoor air with outdoor air. This process helps to reduce moisture, odors, stale air and pollutants in your home. A tight home will allow odors to hang in the air longer. Excess moisture can become trapped inside and can cause damage to wood items like cabinets or windows by condensing on them. High levels of humidity can increase mildew growth that cause damage or aggravate allergies. Honeywell recommends a fresh air exchange every 3 hours. A new tight home can take up to 10 hours.

 So why not open a window for fresh air?

   You spend a lot of money heating and cooling your home. If you open the window you may as well have thrown that money out of it.  When you close the window, it will cost you more money to remove the humidity and cool your home back to a comfortable temperature than if you had left your system running and used a ventilation system. Also when you open your windows, you leave your home at risk of burglary.  Living in Florida means a long season of hot humid weather. It is not practical to open your windows during this season.

 So how do you get fresh air into your home?

   Energy Recovery Ventilators, or ERV’s, take the old, stale, polluted air and replace it with fresh air from outdoors. ERV’s can recover up to 80% of the energy used to cool your home. ERV's also help reduce the levels of humidity during the cooling season and retain humidity in the heating season. By controlling humidity you will find you are more comfortable at a slightly higher temperature inside your home. This will help to lower your cooling bill. The energy an ERV uses is comparable to a 100 watt light bulb so it doesn't cost a lot to operate.

Call a Comfort Care Representative and find out how you can breathe more easily.