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Passive House Ventilation
Effective ventilation is one of the five foundational passive house principles. It’s the key to comfort, providing fresh air 24/7 without losing the heat or cool of your home. And it’s the Mechanical Ventilation Heat Recovery system that makes it all happen. An MVHR ensures superior air quality by completely replacing the air in your home with fresh, filtered, clean air every three hours.
Controls temperature and humidity in all seasons
A ventilation unit with heat recovery is important for temperature control in ALL seasons. Really.
In winter, it ensures that the warmth carried by the exhaust air is not wasted. It is instead transferred to the incoming fresh air, without the two air streams ever physically mixing. Thus, the fresh air coming into your home is heated – free!
In the summer, this process works in reverse so that the heat carried by the incoming fresh air is transferred to the exhaust air and pre-cooled before entering the rooms of your home.
The passive house certified ventilation system even allows incoming air to bypass this process during seasonal changes. For example, at night-time when the days are still warm, but the nights are cool.
It saves energy
A good MVHR can recover up to 90% of energy lost through standard window ventilation, reducing or eliminating the need for heating.
Any ventilation system without heat recovery will cause your passive house to waste more energy each year than your home actually uses for heat.
It saves money
Your MVHR is a truly impressive air filter, keeping dust, pollen and other allergens out of your home.
And it also does the work of pre-heating and cooling the air, so you don’t need to pay extra for additional climate control bling.
It prevents mould, mildew and condensation
Passive houses are well sealed. The continuous fresh air provided by your MVHR balances humidity and temperatures throughout your home and protects your home against mould and mildew, giving you a healthy environment to live in.
Effective ventilation also prevents dust, smoke, pollens and other allergens from entering your home. Continuous fresh air also means fewer shared illnesses.
It is quiet and unobtrusive
Since a passive house promises a quiet environment, the heat recovery ventilation system must not surpass the acoustic load of 25 decibels. Your designer will account for this factor in your design and locate pipes and valves with this in mind. Silencers can also be used to keep the acoustic load to a minimum.
There’s no point in investing in noise reducing materials elsewhere in your passive house if your ventilation system is roaring in the background.
Are you ready…
…to live well in a passive house? Turn your dream of a healthy, comfortable home – that’s built to last – into a reality. Contact the Passivhaus Design & Construct team today.
