Understanding Ventilation: How to Design, Select, and Install Residential Ventilation Systems - Hardcover

Bower, John

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0963715658 ISBN 13: 9780963715654

Publisher: Healthy House Inst, 1995

Synopsis

At last...a book that takes all the mystery out of ventilation! Understanding Ventilation is the only book that covers all aspects of exchanging the air in houses: infiltration, equipment selection, design, heat-recovery ventilators, sizing, costs, controls, whole-house filters, distribution, and possible problems that a ventilation system can cause--all in easy-to-understand language.

About this title

About the Author

John Bower (BS Purdue University, MA Ball State University) has been involved with healthy house construction since 1984. He has written extensively on the subject in several books (The Healthy House, Healthy House Building, and The Healthy House Answer Book) as well as in articles for such publications as Custom Builder, The Journal of Light Construction, and Mother Earth News. In addition, he has been an invited speaker at builders' conferences throughout the U.S. and Canada sponsored by such organizations as the National Association of Home Builders, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and the American Institute of Architects. In 1991, he was honored with a Professional Achievement Award for "healthy house advocacy" from Professional Builder magazine. He is currently serving on the Editorial Advisory Board of Indoor Environment Review.

From the Back Cover

In recent years, many ways have been developed to ventilate houses--from simple, low-cost methods to high-tech, complex systems. Because there is so much misinformation about all these "correct" approaches, it is easy to become confused. This is unfortunate because understanding ventilation is not difficult--if you have the right information. Understanding Ventilation explains all aspects of the subject, and does so in readable, easy-to-understand language. With this book as your guide, you will learn: What natural ventilation is and why it is often inadequate. What simple laws of physics apply to ventilation systems. How a fireplace or a clothes dryer can ventilate (accidentally) or even kill the occupants. How a kitchen range hood can cause radon to enter a house from the surrounding soil. How an incorrectly designed ventilation system might cause serious moisture problems. Why tight houses are actually part of the solution to clean indoor air. What strategies are better than air filters at maintaining clean air. Why heat-recovery ventilators aren't always cost-effective. For a healthy and comfortable indoor environment, a house needs a ventilation system specifically designed to bring in fresh air and, at the same time, remove stale, moisture-laden, and polluted air. Today, most houses--new and old--don't have such a system. Instead, they get fresh air occasionally and haphazardly. Architects, builders, and homeowners alike are realizing that this "ventilation-by-chance" just isn't enough. To learn how to ventilate houses correctly, you will find Understanding Ventilation an indispensable resource.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

From the Introduction. Which house would you rather have: Mary's energy-efficient, comfortable, draft-free, odor-free, healthy house, or Jim's drafty, moldy, smelly, energy-hog-of-a-house, where runny noses and headaches are common?

No doubt about it, we all want houses that are energy efficient, affordable, comfortable, and healthy. Yet, many houses feel stuffy due to lingering odors and too much humidity; condensation on windows leads to mold growth and decay; and many of us suffer health effects due to polluted indoor air. All these issues interact in a variety of ways, and ventilation is a major piece of the puzzle.

There are two primary reasons for ventilating houses: 1) to provide the necessary fresh air for the occupants to breathe and 2) to dilute indoor air pollutants and excess moisture. Complaints of stuffiness, unpleasant odors, and illness are common in houses that contain too little fresh air.

To feel comfortable and healthy, people simply need clean air. While breathing is something few of us consciously think about, each of us breathes every minute of every hour of every day of every year of our lives. We breathe primarily to take the oxygen into our bodies that we need to survive, but we also exhale moisture, carbon dioxide (CO2) and a variety of other by-products of metabolism. We take air in, we use it, then we expel it, and even though we do this unconsciously most of the time, our bodies are specially designed to provide this service to us continuously.

But, don't houses breathe also? Yes, but in many cases they don't do it very well. A ventilation system should be as reliable and predictable as our own lungs. Houses without ventilation systems get their air quite by chance--the air moving into and out of them is totally uncontrolled. For example, air may infiltrate indoors only when the wind is blowing. We deserve to have control over the air we breathe, we deserve more than "ventilation-by-chance," we deserve "ventilation-on-purpose."

What about the fact that most houses have never had ventilation systems? Why do we need them now? Part of the answer lies in the fact that we expect more out of our houses than our grandparents did. We aren't willing to accept drafty, uncomfortable, unhealthy, energy-wasting houses. At the same time, considering all of the various synthetic materials and cleaning products we bring indoors, our houses have more and different sources of indoor pollution today. We spend more of our time indoors than our parents or grandparents did, and we generate more indoor moisture with steaming-hot showers, washing machines, dishwashers, and hot tubs. Today's houses are also more energy-efficient, are more tightly constructed, and have smaller furnaces--all of which lead to less "natural" ventilation.

Why not just build looser houses? People really don't want to live in loose houses--they are drafty, uncomfortable, and consume too much energy. We can't afford to waste energy heating and cooling our houses any more than we can continue to waste it in gas-guzzling automobiles. And, just because a house is loosely constructed doesn't mean the occupants are getting enough fresh air--loose houses can be unhealthy, too.

What about air filters? Filters are one of several ways of improving the air quality in houses. But filters can't supply us with oxygen and they can't remove moisture from the air. So, if you use an air filter in your house, you still need ventilation--although you might not need quite as much.

If ventilation is so important, why don't building codes require it? Some codes do require ventilation. In fact, Canada, Sweden, and France have specific ventilation requirements in their national building codes. In the U.S., the state of Washington has incorporated ventilation into its building code. But most local, regional, and national building codes in the U.S. have only token ventilation provisions, such as requiring either a small exhaust fan or an operable window in the bathroom. However, building codes are continually being revised, and as code officials learn more about the issues involved, ventilation will, no doubt, be a requirement throughout the U.S. in the near future.

How much does ventilation cost? Houses are expensive enough already and now we have to spend more on a ventilation system? Yes, ventilation costs money. But then, so does everything else. Bathtubs cost money, as does furniture , newspapers, television sets, and almost everything! Having clean air to breathe is far more important to our health and well-being than any of these "things," yet ventilation is often rejected because of its cost. Surprisingly, as you will learn, the cost is often quite reasonable. And besides, can a price tag be placed on fresh, healthy air.

Without a doubt, each and every one of us could benefit from a ventilation system in our home. In fact, a ventilation system should be as important as air conditioning, electric lighting, closets, kitchen cabinets, and indoor plumbing. Ventilation is not a mysterious high-tech process; it is very simple once you understand the basics. In fact, it is no more complicated than the electrical, plumbing, and heating/cooling systems we already take for granted in our homes. But, ventilation is frequently misunderstood, so it is a subject that is often ignored. We tend to spend far more time selecting the color of curtains wallpaper, paint, and cabinets than we do on ventilation. Yet, in comparison, proper ventilation is vital.

Fresh air is not something to be left to mere chance. We simply cannot continue to pollute our indoor environment, then expect Mother Nature to keep it healthy for us. Natural ventilation just doesn't assure that the air in a house will be kept clean--especially if that house is filled with polluting materials. The bottom line is this: ventilation isn't an option; it is fundamental to a well-built house.

Edition details

• Publisher: Healthy House Inst
• Publication date: 1995
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0963715658
• ISBN 13: 9780963715654
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 428