The purpose of a whole-house ventilation system is to circulate outside air into the home so there’s good air quality. Four qualities that you should look for in a ventilation system include: 1) that it’s not intrusive on your lifestyle; 2) has simple controls; 3) creates good air distribution in your house; and 4) filters the air as it enters your house.
You should not notice when your home ventilation system is working, so have it installed someplace in the house where the noise won’t be bothersome. The ventilation system must also be sized properly for your house so it’s not wasting energy when it runs.
Your home’s ventilation system should have simple, accessible controls, ideally programmable. The controls could be a simple on/off switch that is located in the garage or a closet. Automatic controls are ideal because the airflow rate can be increased during times of the day when people are home. When the house is empty, the system can be set to decrease the airflow or stop.
A quality system will have a filtration component installed. This will filter the incoming air pollutants so they aren’t blown throughout your house. The filtration unit should be located where the filter can be easily maintained.
The three kinds of ventilation systems available are exhaust, supply and balanced.
- An exhaust system draws air through the house from the interior. This is a cost-efficient system but filtration may not be available.
- Supply filtration systems draw air from an uncontaminated location and do include filtration systems.
- A balanced filtration system uses two fans, one for air supply and one to exhaust the air. These include a filtration system and do not effect the air pressure in the house.
We can help you in the selection and installation of air ventilation systems. Contact us at Ernst Heating & Cooling. We serve many satisfied customers in Alton, Glen Carbon, Staunton and Bethalto, among other Metro-East communities.
Our goal is to help educate our customers in Hamel, Alton, Glen Carbon, Highland, Greenville, and Troy, Illinois and surrounding areas about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).