Why is natural ventilation important at home?
Ventilation is not enough to renew the air inside the house
Constant air renewal in the house keeps the air healthy, natural ventilation limits the presence of pollutants and thus protects your health. Ventilating for a few minutes in the morning and evening is essential, but not sufficient to keep indoor air pollution out. Ventilating inside a building is quite different from ventilating it.
Humidity, steam, pollutants, allergens… indoor air is even more polluted than outdoor air: yes, it may seem surprising but breathing the air in your home is less beneficial than breathing in the street!
That is why good natural ventilation is a prerequisite for healthy indoor air. Air quality monitor.
How does natural ventilation work?
Natural ventilation is based on a basic physical principle. This is the phenomenon that occurs when warm air (lighter than cold) rises and then creates a natural draft. This constant movement of air is called natural ventilation.
As a result, the outside air enters the main rooms of the house and travels towards the humid and warm rooms: the bathroom, toilet, and kitchen, raising the humidity level. In these parts of the building, the air is then exhausted through the exhaust duct or humidity sensing bathroom fan.
The great advantages of natural ventilation for your home
Natural ventilation means no motors and therefore no energy consumption. It also means lower running costs and no noise pollution to fight indoor air pollution.
A natural ventilation system also requires very little maintenance. We discuss this below, but you just have to make sure that the air vents are free.
Natural ventilation systems are very affordable to install. Air grilles and extract units are sold at attractive prices and can be found everywhere, in DIY stores, in specialist shops, on the web, etc
So how do you set up natural ventilation in your home?
To know if your natural ventilation is working well, the Netatmo Smart Weather Station helps you measure the key factors of your home's indoor environment. Its sensors leave nothing to chance: humidity, pollutants, general quality… you know when to ventilate and if the ventilation is sufficient.
Provide natural ventilation from the start or call a specialist
Provide natural ventilation from the start or call a specialist
Thermal draft or "chimney effect”
Another effective solution for good natural ventilation is based on the natural ventilation principle mentioned above. Thermal draught is therefore the installation of upper and lower ventilation grilles so that stale indoor air is exhausted through the upper grilles, while fresh air enters the house through the lower grilles.
This chimney effect can also be achieved by installing extract units connected to a vertical duct to let the warm air out through the roof.
Unblock fresh air inlets and exhaust air outlets
In summer as well as in winter, it is important to keep the air inlets and outlets of your building free of polluted air. If they are blocked, natural ventilation will not work properly. To prevent them from becoming clogged and no longer allowing natural air renewal, remember to clean them regularly, every month if possible to avoid indoor air pollution.
Through-ventilation, when the wind creates a fresh air current
Make use of the wind with a natural ventilation system to enjoy fresh, healthy, and clean indoor air at all times. Plan air inlets and outlets in the house with the help of a professional. You will need to install air inlets facing the prevailing wind and air outlets facing away from it, to take full advantage of the wind.
The Netatmo Smart Weather Station includes a module that measures key data about your home's comfort. You receive real-time alerts when your natural ventilation is poor and you need to ventilate to reduce indoor pollution. Discover all your data directly on your smartphone!
CMV, a quality natural assisted ventilation system
When you want to improve the indoor air quality of your home, you quickly come to the most classic solution: the controlled mechanical ventilation system or CMV. How does this compare to natural ventilation?
Unlike natural ventilation mentioned above, CMV is an energy-consuming system. But it is also a more efficient way to ensure excellent indoor air quality.
The CMV renews your indoor air pollution by evacuating the polluted air thanks to an extractor creating a vacuum. Clean air from outside then enters through the air vents in the main rooms.
This ventilation allows humidity, water vapour, and pollution associated with the occupation of your house to be effectively removed. It, therefore, guarantees good hygiene in your home and, consequently, healthy air.
Comfort, energy savings… the advantages of CMV are numerous. But are they worth it?
**Natural ventilation is a very useful addition to the ventilation of your home. Fortunately, as you have seen, there is no shortage of solutions, from the CMV system that ventilates your building to thermal draught and through ventilation. Which solution do you prefer for the natural renewal of the indoor air in your home?