Whole House Ventilation Systems
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Tight, well insulated homes tend to trap pollutants indoors. It becomes important to provide a mechanism, or system to prevent indoor pollutants from concentrating AND to introduce fresh air from the outdoors into the living space. Recently - a new standard has been proposed by ASHRAE ( American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers) to set guidelines for ventilation in residiental structures. ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 62.2, Ventilation and Acceptable Indoor Air Quality in Low-Rise Residential Buildings, is the only nationally recognized indoor air quality standard developed solely for residences.
The primary requirements of this 62.2 standard include whole-house ventilation, local exhaust fans and pollutant source control.
According to the standard, a residence must have a mechanical ventilation system as laid out in Table 1 below. The average house will require the equivalent of between 45 and 75 cubic feet per minute (cfm) of mechanical ventilation.
The 62.2 standard is not necessarily part of building code everywhere - but homeowners may be looking for products to help them acheive something close to the standard in terms of mechanical ventilation.
We have recently started to sell a product built by Thermastor, LLC of Madison, WI called QUIET-VENT. This is a reasonably-priced product that offers a single fan unit with multiple ventiation inlets and a single exhaust penetration to the outside. It is for sale on www.iaqsource.com.
This innovative product allows the homeowner to provide a ventilation solution to multiple areas in the home (bathrooms, kitchen, living rooms, workshops) with just one, powerful fan.
The Quiet-Vent™ is a central exhaust ventilation system that replaces noisy, low output and unreliable bath fans. With today’s tight homes, Quiet-Vent™ presents one of the best ways to eliminate pollutants (i.e. normal household chemicals, outgasing from construction materials, furniture and carpeting) by exhausting them out of the home. Quiet-Vent also can reduce humidity levels that otherwise lead to mildew in closets, condensation on windows, insulation and walls which, over just a few years, can cause costly damage.
As with any inline ventilation solution - the main blower is located away from the exhaust points. This means one thing - QUIET ventilation. Quiet-Vent™ is best located in a basement, utility room, or other conditioned space. If Quiet-Vent™ and its ducting must be located in a unheated space in a cold climate, they should be insulated to prevent condensation from forming in the system.
The fan in the Quiet-Vent™ can operate at 2 speeds. The low speed is activated by a 7-Day programmable timer. This allows for continuous, low CFM ventilation at strategic times during the day / week.
The fan can be boosted to high speed operation using any single pole switch (timer, dehumidistat, motion sensor, etc.).
(0.4" W.G. high speed 295 CFM / 0.3" W.G. low speed 165 CFM)
Features:
(3) 4" Ventilation Inlets
(1) 6" Ventilation Inlet
(1) 6" Exhaust Port
(1) 7 Day Timer - allows you to run fan on low speed on a programmed basis (in 2 hour increments) for continuous ventilation
(4) Vibration-absorbing rubber straps for hanging from joists
Unit can be boosted to high speed by any single pole switch (timer recommended) for spot ventilation in bathrooms, kitchens, etc.
Multiple switches can be located throughout the home and wired in parallel for high speed switching from multiple locations
Convenient service ports for access to wiring and blower screen (for cleaning)
As with any ventilation system - there must be a provision made for "make-up" air. Air being moved out of the house without fresh, make-up air coming in can cause a dangerous negative pressure scenario inside the home where flue gases or other combustion by-products could be backdrafted into the living area. Passive inlets can be used as ports for fresh make-up air from the outdoors.
