Airflow plays a key role in many aspects of daily life in your home. It affects your family’s comfort and health, your heating and cooling costs, and the structure’s integrity. If your goal is a healthier, more comfortable and energy efficient home, it’s important to learn how airflow works.
Air Exchange
The air inside a home is always being exchanged with outdoor air to some degree. Air exchange can be beneficial, because it helps rid a home of stale, polluted indoor air. When it’s not controlled, though, this air movement can result in drafts and make it difficult to regulate indoor temperature and humidity. The exchange of indoor and outside air can occur in various ways:
- Air infiltration takes place through any gaps in the exterior shell or where different building components meet. The direction it moves depends on temperature and pressure – air always migrates toward an area that’s cooler with lower pressure.
- The “stack effect” occurs because warm air is naturally more buoyant. Warm air is bound to rise and escape through available openings in the attic, and gets replaced by cooler outdoor air entering through leaks or open windows on the home’s lower levels.
- Mechanical ventilation such as kitchen, bathroom or attic fans are used to send moisture-laden or stale air outdoors. Airtight homes may need more elaborate ventilation systems to either draw in outdoor air, or exchange stale for fresh air.
Air Distribution
Homes with forced-air HVAC use a system of ducts to deliver conditioned air and return it again for reheating/cooling. To work efficiently, and prevent problems with air quality and structural deterioration, a forced-air system should move specific amounts of supply and return airflow through self-contained ductwork.
If the ducts aren’t properly sealed, and are routed through unconditioned spaces like wall cavities or the attic, contaminated or cold/hot air can enter the system. Moisture can also escape into these spaces, leading to structural decay and/or mold growth.
For help addressing airflow, efficiency or comfort concerns in your Elyria or Oberlin home, contact us at Energy 1 Heating & Air Conditioning.
Our goal is to help educate our customers in Lorain, Ohio about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Guide or call us at 440-201-2959.
Energy 1 Heating & Air Conditioning
1 (440) 246-5440
Serving the Lorain, OH Area