It’s winter. Thankfully, behind closed doors and windows and brick, you wouldn’t otherwise know about it. Radiators fight the good fight with more than just a little moral support from insulation.
But windows yearn to open; the air inside warm, but stale. The dilemma arises: what’s more important, fresh air or warmth?
Air quality has rightfully been a hot topic for quite a while. Heavily urbanised areas suffer from inescapable pollutants from industry and transport exhaust. It might even be tempting to conclude that it’s better to keep outside air out and preserve the air inside.
However, that temptation would be far more appealing if the air inside was worth preserving. Which it likely isn’t.
Moisture in the air, while not naturally harmfully in reasonable amounts, is heaven for mold. Mold leads to microbial contaminants in the air, which naturally are harmful.
Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) are up to ten times more abundant indoors than outside. It’s a general term to encapsulate a wide variety of toxic gases produced by seemingly innocuous items. Paints, cleaning supplies, glues, even the very building itself and the furnishings inside are just a few examples of VOC-releasing objects. On their own, in a well ventilated area, they’re no cause of alarm at all. But research has found evidence to suggest that most homes contain VOCs that exceed health standards.
Breathing in and out while inside a near-sealed box has an obvious effect: quantity of oxygen will decrease, and carbon dioxide will increase. Unless this box truly is hermetically sealed, this really won’t lead to someone running out of oxygen. But our brains and bodies much prefer it when it has more of the former and less of the latter. Oxygen is preferable. And if you’re in any doubt that the balance between O2 and CO2 shifts very much at all: if you did completely seal an average-sized room with regular air, you would be looking at less than a day’s hours worth of oxygen.
Particulates like dust, other microbial bacteria, and second-hand smoke are other potential issues for indoor air quality.
And all of this in a much more confined space than the wide open outdoors.
So the dilemma continues: to open or not to open?
Perhaps the answer to the question is simply to change the question. After all, it’s just the air that needs to cycle, not the heat.
The installation of Mechanical Ventilation Heat Recovery (MVHR) systems may be the ideal solution. These employ ventilation through a building, typically taking air from rooms with the most moisture (ie bathrooms), and venting fresh air into living spaces. The clever trick is that before fresh air is vented in, it is warmed – and before stale air is vented out, the heat is transferred back into the system. What a simple solution to a difficult question.
Some modern systems can even reach over 90% efficiency!
Air conditioning units in the UK are understandably uncommon: very rarely are they of much use, especially in residential buildings. Not to mention the expense of running them. It’s not worth installing a whole system just to cool the building a few days a year.
Far more common are cold days, with closed windows and flowing radiators. And if you’re firmly in the ‘always open the window’ camp, since MVHR is all about preserving energy, it may even save on the heating bill while it keeps you warm. Could MVHR be the perfect future solution to the winter window dilemma?
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