Domestic ventilation systems are becoming more commonplace. We're starting to breathe fresh air at home.
The core job of a home ventilation system is to ensure we have fresh air. After this, we should address issues like practicality (will we use it), cost (to run, as well as install), and the quality of air (temperature etc).
Ideally, we'd all like to live in homes that are:
- Dry
- Warm (but not hot)
- Fresh-smelling (as opposed to musty)
And we'd all like to:
- Not pay too much
- Not have to maintain too much
- Not have to think about it too much
Not all ventilation systems are the same when we're trying to achieve our wish list: Some have heat exchangers, some include a heat-pump component, some are ducted, some are mounted in the wall, some connect to your roof cavity, some connect to outside.
Options abound. And it all seems rather complicated, and potentially expensive.
Research by the New Zealand Transport Agency indicates that the cost (in 2011) of installing a fully-ducted ventilation system with a heat-pump capability was around $10,000. Costs would be lower for a new house. We wouldn't need to reduce the footprint of a new house by much to pay for the ventilation system.
As we build bigger houses, it seems like we're prioritising space (and stuff) instead of basics, like fresh air.