4 ms·

This is an amazing read, and something I might do some day. A thing I've learned recently living in Japan's tiny places, is that good insulation helps you keepi

This is an amazing read, and something I might do some day. A thing I've learned recently living in Japan's tiny places, is that good insulation helps you keeping electricity costs down but has the disadvantage of building CO2 faster. So I would strongly consider getting a CO2 monitor for the shed. Considering size and the strong insulation you added, I doubt you can be more than a couple of hours before getting into "warning" CO2 levels (1000-2000ppm), and a full work day inside there very likely gets you into dangerous levels (2000+ ppm) which is associated with headaches, sleepiness, and stagnant, stale, stuffy air. Poor concentration, loss of attention, increased heart rate and slight nausea may also be present[1] [1] Health Effect tab https://www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/chemical/carbondioxide.htm https://www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/chemical/carbondioxide.htm

fomine3 5y ago
Heat recovery ventilation unit is also helpful. It ventilates air while keeping temperature and humidity. Lossnay (ロスナイ) is most popular one in Japan, and it's sold from 20k JPY.
Syonyk 5y ago
Yeah, I have a CO2 meter, and you're right. I tend to leave the window a bit open with a fan circulating, and especially if I've got a burner running for heat in the winter. During wildfire season, I just accept that a bit of CO2 is less-bad than the PM2.5 levels (100+ ug/m^3 on a bad day), though I've considered building an algae based CO2 absorber for in here. The other problem is if one has farted, it takes all day to clear unless you've got a window open.
- reportingsjr 5y ago
  If you wanted to increase the air quality a good bit without losing out on too much efficiency you could look in to adding an ERV or HRV. Unfortunately since they are a fairly new and still niche item they are pretty pricey. The Lunos eGO could work well for your shed: https://foursevenfive.com/lunos-ego/ https://foursevenfive.com/lunos-ego/
extrapickles 5y ago
You can always put in a energy/heat recovery ventilator. They use the outgoing stale air to warm/cool the incoming fresh air, so it’s more efficient than leaving a window open. Downside is they need a small amount (20-60w) of power for fans.
- pstuart 5y ago
  These should be ubiquitous. Fresh air is so...refreshing.
leoedin 5y ago
It's really the air tightness that causes CO2 buildup, rather than insulation. "Insulation" tends to mean materials which reduce thermal conduction - e.g. rockwool, PU foam etc. You can have a very well insulated but also well ventilated space which doesn't have CO2 buildup (obviously at the cost of some thermal performance). Likewise you can have a very airtight but poorly insulated space which does suffer from CO2 buildup (the most extreme example being an inflated plastic bag). The shed may be air tight, but the presence of insulation isn't causing that. As others have said, the solution is a heat recovery ventilation system. These use counterflow heat exchangers to move almost all the heat energy from the outgoing air to the incoming air - generally they have an efficiency of about 80%.

fomine3 5y ago

Heat recovery ventilation unit is also helpful. It ventilates air while keeping temperature and humidity. Lossnay (ロスナイ) is most popular one in Japan, and it's sold from 20k JPY.

Syonyk 5y ago

Yeah, I have a CO2 meter, and you're right. I tend to leave the window a bit open with a fan circulating, and especially if I've got a burner running for heat in the winter. During wildfire season, I just accept that a bit of CO2 is less-bad than the PM2.5 levels (100+ ug/m^3 on a bad day), though I've considered building an algae based CO2 absorber for in here. The other problem is if one has farted, it takes all day to clear unless you've got a window open.

reportingsjr 5y ago
If you wanted to increase the air quality a good bit without losing out on too much efficiency you could look in to adding an ERV or HRV. Unfortunately since they are a fairly new and still niche item they are pretty pricey. The Lunos eGO could work well for your shed: https://foursevenfive.com/lunos-ego/ https://foursevenfive.com/lunos-ego/

extrapickles 5y ago

You can always put in a energy/heat recovery ventilator. They use the outgoing stale air to warm/cool the incoming fresh air, so it’s more efficient than leaving a window open. Downside is they need a small amount (20-60w) of power for fans.

pstuart 5y ago
These should be ubiquitous. Fresh air is so...refreshing.

leoedin 5y ago

It's really the air tightness that causes CO2 buildup, rather than insulation. "Insulation" tends to mean materials which reduce thermal conduction - e.g. rockwool, PU foam etc. You can have a very well insulated but also well ventilated space which doesn't have CO2 buildup (obviously at the cost of some thermal performance). Likewise you can have a very airtight but poorly insulated space which does suffer from CO2 buildup (the most extreme example being an inflated plastic bag). The shed may be air tight, but the presence of insulation isn't causing that. As others have said, the solution is a heat recovery ventilation system. These use counterflow heat exchangers to move almost all the heat energy from the outgoing air to the incoming air - generally they have an efficiency of about 80%.