14 - Friday, February 3, 1989 - North Shore News

UNTIL RECENTLY, horneowners gave little thought to the quality of the air in their homes.

That indifference is quickly changing with the construction of More airtight homes across Canada.

Homes built even a decade or two ago had numerous cracks, holes and seams that allowed stale indoor air to escape to the out- doors, at the same time permitting fresh air to enter the home. Unfor- tunately, these openings in the house’s shell also allowed for significant heat foss.

Following the oil crisis of the 1970s, home buyers are now more aware of the benefits of energy ef- ficiency, and builders are respon- ding by constructing tightly-sealed, well-insulated homes in which air leakage is reduced to a minimum. In many cases, however, ventila- tion has not been increased cor- respondingly, resulting in air qual- ity problems.

Indoor air pollution may be caused by humidity from cooking, washing and plants; formaldehyde from furniture and carpeting; household chemicals from cleaning products and solvents; tobacco smoke; viruses; and bacteria. In severe cases, these pollutants can lead to headaches, nausea and

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allergic reactions for the home's occupants.

Increased ventilation is often the simplest and only available solu- tion for air quality problems. There are three main types of whole-house ventilation:

© mechanical ventilation using fans and ductwork;

© natural ventilation using natu- ral forces and intentional openings (such as windows); and air leakage through uninten-

tional holes in the building envelope. The third option has been

eliminated ag a viable means of ventilating a home, since it carries a significant energy penalty (researchers estimate that air leak- age from a conventional house can be responsible for as much as half of the house’s total heat loss). Natural ventilation is also difficult to control and measure.

In fact, only a niechanical ven- tilation system can provide a homeowner with complete and precise control over ventilation.

Mechanical ventilation systems can be effectively installed in most conventional homes. In super energy-efficient R-2000 homes, they are a standard feature.

R-2000 homes are built to strict requirements which ensure virtual

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airtightness. Without a mechanical ventilation system, daily air pollu- tion would build up, producing a musty, potentially unhealthy en- vironment.

In an R-2000 Home, the mechanical ventilation system con- tinuously draws in fresh air, filters it and distributes it evenly throughout the house, all the while exhausting the stale, indoor air from kitchens, bathrooms, laundry and work areas. Most R-2000 homes also feature a heat recovery ventilator, which can extract as much as 75 per cent of the heat from exhaust air and use it to pre-warm the incoming stream of fresh air.

In addition to providing uniform temperatures throughout a house with virtually no drafts, mechanical ventilation systems also control humidity and remove dust, smoke and other allergens. They are exceptionally quiet and provide superior indoor air quality.

As more and more builders move toward the R-2000 standard for air leakage, the mechanical ventilation system, which delivers fresh air to all the rooms in the house, will likely become a com- mon and welcome feature in Ca- nadian homes.

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