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There are dangers in sealing home so tightly to control energy use. Blocking the escape of hot/cold air saves on the bills but can lead to condensation problem
by sandworm 12y ago
There are dangers in sealing home so tightly to control energy use. Blocking the escape of hot/cold air saves on the bills but can lead to condensation problems when the mechanical systems fail or are not designed perfectly.
Even something as simple as replacing an electric range with a gas one (burning gas is a huge source of moisture) can lead to mold in the long term. A clogged vent into a basement can see moisture from a gas water heater creep into wood on the inside the impenetrable vapor barrier.
And don't get anyone started on the dangers of off-gassing from new construction materials in an airtight environment.
- patcheudor 12y agoThere are a number of mitigating technologies which can be used to maintain quality indoor air. Our home has a heat exchanger to bring in air from the outside & venting in the mechanical room which is on a timer to exhaust any buildup of products of combustion from the gas furnace and water heater. The crawl space is also vented to avoid a build-up of radon gas. Interestingly, the homes used as an example in the article are getting mini-splits which don't have venting capabilities. They are awesome and I love the one we have in our home theater, but am afraid that when they are the only solution used for heating and cooling in a well sealed home the important issue of venting the home properly and in an energy efficient manner may not be addressed. With a central air system it's relatively easy and cheap to do an external heat exchanger. With a mini-split solution, a dedicated heat exchanger system would need to be installed separately from the main source of heating and cooling.