Balanced air changes

Insulation · The Basics · printed page 233 (PDF page 234)

Original page Sign in to save

Book index entries

Air Changes – Balanced Balanced Air Changes Insulation – the Basics

Text in the illustration

house air out
outside air in
too few air changes
a well sealed, well insulated house can have too few air changes - leading to polluted, unhealthy indoor air
too many air changes
a drafty house will have lots of available fresh air, but lots of heat is lost and the inside air will be too dry to be comfortable

Generated explanation

Two schematic house sections compare insufficient and excessive air exchange through the building envelope. The left house has insulation shown around its walls, ceiling, and lowest floor, with small arrows indicating outside air entering low in the house and indoor air escaping above. Its annotations warn that a well-sealed, well-insulated house can have too few air changes, resulting in polluted, unhealthy indoor air. The right house has no insulation depicted and larger arrows showing greater incoming and outgoing airflow. Its annotations identify excessive air changes in a drafty house as a source of heat loss and overly dry indoor air.