Whole-House Ventilation – What is It?

Home-building technology has come a long way over the last several decades.

One of the biggest improvements introduced during this time is total envelope airtightness. It’s not a new idea; for as long as humans have been building homes, we’ve been trying to reduce drafts. But until recently we didn’t yet have the technology needed to make this a complete reality.

Fortunately, some of the emerging technologies in airtight construction have helped to make modern homes warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer. Not only are these high performance homes more comfortable, they also consume less energy and they cost less month-to-month. A lot less…

The question is, are they friendly to your health?

A Healthy, Airtight Modern Home

The answer is – yes, if. The key to ensuring a healthy environment in your airtight home is whole-house ventilation.

Obviously it’s important to plan where your fresh air will come from in an airtight home. Your builder should demonstrate just as much diligence in creating an effective air delivery system as they did in sealing your home from leaks and drafts.

You may be asking “Why?”

The truth is that since the advent of the airtight home about 30 years ago, the American Lung Association has seen an upswell of respiratory problems. That’s due to the fact that many homes contain particulates that can hurt us, and in an enclosed space indoor air pollution poses a serious health concern.

So how can you promote health in your modern, airtight home? Mechanical ventilation is a must. Your builder should be able to quantify exactly how much fresh air your ventilation system will deliver per square foot. Check their answer against the standards provided by the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE).

How to Deliver Whole-House Ventilation

At Clarum Homes, we intentionally pursue whole-house ventilation with planning and foresight, because we understand how it affects the health and comfort of those living in the home, day in, day out.

Our ventilation strategy involves three main pieces:

• Fresh air delivery. Our modern homes are equipped to deliver a constant supply of fresh air, replacing all the air throughout your entire home nine times every day.
• Air filtration. We go above and beyond the norm for residential filtration by using a Merv 13 filter, able to protect your family from pollutants association with pollen, hair spray, even the airborne droplets of a sneeze.
• Heat recovery. Before the air in your modern home is exhausted to the outdoors, it passes through a heat recovery system to extract its warmth – conserving energy and minimizing the cost of comfortably operating your high performance home.

Heat Recovery Ventilators (HRVs)

The Bottom Line

When building your modern home, it’s imperative that your builder does not cut corners with whole-house ventilation. The same technological advancements that gave us airtight building – lowering our HVAC bills, reducing our energy consumption and enhancing our comfort – must be paired with an effective ventilation system to promote a healthy environment in your home.

After all, what is comfort without health? At Clarum, we make sure your home delivers both.

To learn more about Clarum’s approach to building healthy, high performance homes, click here to download our modern home building guidebook or give us a call at 650.322.7069.