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Totally air-tight houses can be a danger as well; in my home (which is old and "breathes"), a heater once malfunctioned; when I noticed the malfunction (black a

Totally air-tight houses can be a danger as well; in my home (which is old and "breathes"), a heater once malfunctioned; when I noticed the malfunction (black accumulant around the vents) and called a technician to come check it out, the technician said that if the house had been air-tight I would likely be either severely hospitalized or dead, so sometimes a little non-air-tightness can be good, especially since it encourages you to open the windows and doors and get some fresh air instead of relying on the air conditioner all year round.

adestefan 16y ago
A home that can breath is also more comfortable. It keeps moisture in check and helps with stale air transfer.
- roel_v 16y ago
  No it's not! That was thought 30 years ago, but building technology has advanced. Ventilation needs to be controlled. Having cracks and leaking windows is very inefficient in keeping an optimal indoor climate, not to mention very energy inefficient. An airtight, very well insulated house with active ventilation (an indoor climate control system, not to be confused with airco) is the best way to get an optimal indoor living climate all year round.
  - adestefan 16y ago
    I wasn't talking about leaking windows. You can't seal a house up and think it's going to be a nice place to live. You need a way for the house to breath. Which is exactly what you've said.
    - wlievens 16y ago
      I suspect Roel is Belgian. "Breathing" would in his context refer to euphimism for a leaky house.
    - roel_v 16y ago
      Sorry, I thought you were agreeing with the person you were replying to. Like adestefan says, I consider 'breathing' (like 'organic ventilation') a euphemism for 'crappy air control'. But if we use 'breathing' as 'well-ventilated, in a controlled way', then I guess we agree.
roel_v 16y ago
That's why you need ventilation! The house itself needs to be airtight, for energy preservation. The heat-recuperating system and natural ventilation takes care of taking out the dirty air. Of course when renovating a house (a renovation will never get it airtight) with antiquated dangerous heating systems that can exhaust fumes when malfunctioning, those need to be removed. Modern building standards (I don't mean building codes, I mean state of the art in building engineering) says to make houses 100% air tight, but with proper ventilation systems, of course. Opening the windows and doors is not enough! CO levels will get back to 80% of their old levels in 30 minutes after closing them! Modern houses need to be continuously ventilated to achieve the highest levels of living comfort. (PS I'm a real estate developer)

adestefan 16y ago

A home that can breath is also more comfortable. It keeps moisture in check and helps with stale air transfer.

roel_v 16y ago
No it's not! That was thought 30 years ago, but building technology has advanced. Ventilation needs to be controlled. Having cracks and leaking windows is very inefficient in keeping an optimal indoor climate, not to mention very energy inefficient. An airtight, very well insulated house with active ventilation (an indoor climate control system, not to be confused with airco) is the best way to get an optimal indoor living climate all year round.
- adestefan 16y ago
  I wasn't talking about leaking windows. You can't seal a house up and think it's going to be a nice place to live. You need a way for the house to breath. Which is exactly what you've said.
  - wlievens 16y ago
    I suspect Roel is Belgian. "Breathing" would in his context refer to euphimism for a leaky house.
  - roel_v 16y ago
    Sorry, I thought you were agreeing with the person you were replying to. Like adestefan says, I consider 'breathing' (like 'organic ventilation') a euphemism for 'crappy air control'. But if we use 'breathing' as 'well-ventilated, in a controlled way', then I guess we agree.

roel_v 16y ago

That's why you need ventilation! The house itself needs to be airtight, for energy preservation. The heat-recuperating system and natural ventilation takes care of taking out the dirty air. Of course when renovating a house (a renovation will never get it airtight) with antiquated dangerous heating systems that can exhaust fumes when malfunctioning, those need to be removed. Modern building standards (I don't mean building codes, I mean state of the art in building engineering) says to make houses 100% air tight, but with proper ventilation systems, of course. Opening the windows and doors is not enough! CO levels will get back to 80% of their old levels in 30 minutes after closing them! Modern houses need to be continuously ventilated to achieve the highest levels of living comfort. (PS I'm a real estate developer)