HVAC Ventilation—Residential

We added a small HVAC ventilation device to our home’s main system. I’m sure you’ve heard ‘the solution to pollution is dilution’ and that’s the general idea behind using one of these devices. Many people spend a lot of time indoors and may not realize that their indoor air is of poor quality.

This technology (ventilation, or more technically ‘mechanical ventilation’) is more common in commercial buildings as I understand it, but small versions can be a great option for your home if you have the room to add one and if your outdoor air is generally of good quality.

Our device is similar to this Fantech.

How it Works

The Fantech HVAC ventilation device pulls air from just above the roof, in the middle of the home. The unit has a manual on/off switch and a speed controller. You could put one of these on a timer, but we typically turn it on manually when the temperature is advantageous so that our air conditioner or heater don’t have to work overtime. So for example, pulling in fresh outdoor air in the cool mornings in the summer. We are a bit careful in the spring when allergies are worse.

In the video below I explain how the air flows from above the roof, is filtered by the Fantech device, then filtered by the main HVAC system and distributed throughout the home.