How Ventilation Makes Your Home's Indoor Climate Healthier?

People spend most of their time at home. That's why it's important that the time we spend indoors is comfortable. Therefore, indoor climate in homes plays an important role in our well-being and health. A Bonava engineer explains what heat recovery ventilation is and how it helps keep the air clean and quality in the new homes Bonava creates.

What is heat recovery ventilation?

The operating principle of heat recovery ventilation is actually very easy to understand. "Essentially, it means that warm air is taken from the exhaust air and transferred to the supply air — this way we use the warmer temperature air already in the room and use it to preheat the supplied air," explains a Bonava specialist.

Ventilation in older vs. newer apartment buildings

In older panel apartment buildings, exhaust ventilation is typically used. This means that fresh air enters the room through fresh air vents created in the walls, and the exhaust air moves to the exhaust device. "However, the main disadvantage of such a system is that outside temperature air also enters through the vent, which especially during the winter period means bitterly cold minus temperatures in our climate," comments a Bonava engineer.

Additionally, the temperature in the room is generally more uneven, as the air near the fresh air vents is cooler than elsewhere in the room. So if a sofa or desk is placed near the vents, a person staying there will clearly feel the flow of cold air.

With heat recovery ventilation used in new apartment buildings, room temperature air is used to preheat the air coming from outside. This means that the outside air moving into the room is already warmer, which requires less energy to reach an appropriate room temperature. Compared to exhaust ventilation in older apartment buildings, where outside air needs to be heated from -21 degrees to +21 degrees during the winter period.

Advantages of heat recovery ventilation

Since in our climate, autumn and winter temperatures can drop quite low, it's important that the temperature in living spaces is comfortably warm without utility bills getting too high. With a heat recovery ventilation system, usually only about 20-30% of the air coming from outside needs to be heated, which means lower heating costs and thanks to the reuse of residual heat, it is also more environmentally friendly.

Another major advantage is good indoor climate, because with a quality ventilation system, air circulation is better and helps prevent mold growth and moisture damage in both apartments and the entire building. Additionally, poor or non-functioning ventilation can lead to the spread of dust and bacteria, which can cause poor well-being or health problems. Therefore, when there is an appropriate temperature and healthy indoor climate at home, it affects both our mood, work capacity, and overall well-being.