Adequate ventilation in your Sarasota home is essential for improving indoor air quality and helping to lower energy bills. Ventilation brings in fresh air from outdoors and sends out stale air from inside, and it’s especially important in newer, tightly sealed homes.
Signs of Poor Home Ventilation
Do you have inadequate ventilation in your home? Look for these telltale signs:
- Odors near the kitchen garbage can
- Musty smells near walls and in closets
- Visible mold growth on interior and exterior walls
- Condensation on windows
- Eye and sinus irritation that improve when you’re away from home
Even if there are no signs of poor ventilation, improving the airflow in your home will lead to healthier air in general.
Home Ventilation Strategies to Put to Use Today
While installing a mechanical ventilation system with heat and energy recovery capabilities is the best way to ventilate a tightly sealed home, these systems can cost a pretty penny. These four ventilation strategies are far less expensive, but still effective, ways to ventilate.
- Open windows and skylights. On nice days, open windows on the upwind and downwind sides of your home to create a cross breeze that cools your home and refreshes the air.
- Use ceiling fans in the summer to create a breeze that will move air around and make you feel cooler at higher thermostat settings. In the winter, reverse the direction of the blades to push down warm air near the ceiling for more even distribution.
- Install a whole-house fan in the ceiling between the highest floor in your home and the attic. The fan will exhaust hot air from the upper floor into the attic and will help draw in fresh, cooler air through open windows.
- Make sure kitchen and bathroom exhaust vents send air outside rather than into the attic. Turn them on while cooking or showering to remove moisture and chemicals from the air.
For more expert tips on home ventilation for better indoor air quality, please feel free to contact us in the Sarasota area at All American Heating & Cooling.
