Air tight homes and health problems.
https://www.cibsejournal.com/news/airtight-new-homes-creatin...
https://www.cibsejournal.com/news/airtight-new-homes-creatin...
> It was to determine how well the HRVs
How many of those homes tested installed a proper mechanical ventilation system?
Anyone that is serious about air tightness will tell you that you need to manage the air transfer with an HRV or an ERV so it's filtered, controlled, and avoids these problems.
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I found the study you are quoting:
https://pureadmin.qub.ac.uk/ws/portalfiles/portal/31281945/C...
Results from the occupant interviews suggest inadequate knowledge of the ventilation system, with all Code 4 homes stating ‘not sure’ when asked about various features of the MVHR system, including the current settings, changing of filters, boost mode function and location of controls.
Knowledge of the MVHR system was considerably lacking in Code 4 homes. All households stated that they did not know where the controls for the system were located, or how to change the settings.
They asked people who moved into "airtight" social housing if they understood how the systems worked to keep the air moving and people said no.
No wonder they had worse air quality...
"Turned off" should be considered a dangerous state you can't leave the system in - in fact, if due to some failure the system ends up turned off, it should continuously alarm or trip the electrical supply.
Just like it's really hard to turn off the drivers airbag in a car.
The approval logic was, people will:
- always be very careful cooking, and never ever let the heat get too high
- people will learn about teflon, and keep watch
- people care
Meanwhile, stories abound of people's birds dying from toxic gas (they are more susceptible, and die first).
Note that if a bird dies, and you don't, that doesn't mean you were not injured. Or your family.
If you're giving anything to a consumer, assume they know nothing, that they cannot follow directions, won't care even if they understand, etc, etc.
Because that's how it is.
This is validated, proven, over and over and over again.
I love the idea of airtight, but think it is like lead in pipes. If we build like this, kids ... with their developing brains and bodies, will pay the price.
And 40 years later, we'll be astonished at the absurdity of it all, the lost potential, wasted lives. Just like lead pipes, paint, etc.
Source?
Grab a pan and wipe a tissue around the inside a few times... See the dirt that comes off... That's probably carbon and teflon deposits.
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polytetrafluoroethylene#Ecotox...
The same offgassed chemical is now under the teflon, between pan and teflon, as well as in any cracks, or porous areas of the teflon, more likely now, as teflon has changed its chemical struture.
It's where the gas came from, yes?
So, now you have a pan more likely to crack and chip, with deadly chemicals waiting.
The logic you are employing, is similar to the logic which got a deadly substance, teflon, approved.
OK under some circumstances, but not thinking of the entire picture.
The price? Your health.
The health of all in your house, breathing toxic gas, and eating toxins, for which the young are more susceptible to.
This is classic "what's wrong with the world" stuff. For an extremely mild convenience, use a deadly solution at a whim. Teflon.
People would rather have their food covered in toxic stuff, than use a little oil. Or buy an iron pan, and season it correctly.
This apartment is owned by a company registered in a tax heaven, he can never be reached and never replies.
The management company does not know anything about the house, how the heating work, how the ventilation works - you only find out on the builsing whats app group from the one guy in the whole building who is a homeowner.
Half the people in this building had a broken ventillation system (the circuitboard died every year, 'luxury' apartments, yey!) and they did not know. This apartment had a broken ventillation system when i moved in.
The previous apartment had a ventillation system too, also was broken, landlord lives in country but has no clue what it is and took 6 months to fix it.
Why boilers have been standard for some time, and everyone knows how to use them, the ventillation systems are all different and most peolle have never seen one before.
At the same time, the theory isn't always embodied correctly. The ventilation design may be poor or make wrong assumptions (like requiring bedroom doors to be open) or the homeowner may unwittingly turn it off or not change the filter periodically.
I have a ~40 year old house that has some energy-efficient features, but ultimately isn't very tight and doesn't need ventilation. I still hope to install an ERV in the next few years, though, just because I think the benefits of good ventilation will be so strong.
I hope to gradually replace the leaky windows and external doors (would love to put in double-insulated windows), maybe staple air barrier membrane under the floorboards after insulating under them to reduce leakyness there (I already have good insulation in the ceiling). But first I want an ERV just to increase general air quality.
- there is much more dust in wood-frame + glass wool homes than in classic masonry ones, so while formally anything is done as it should there are still a bit too much particles of I-do-not-know-what. So far (5y) I experience no health issue though, no specific sign of even little suffering, just noticing that I've clean around the double dust than the ancient home, perhaps people who already have respiratory issue might suffer;
- even if formally calculated as it should I feel the need of a little bit more ventilation than the computed one. Air quality remain constant, so for instance in the bedroom I do not experience "morning poor air" that's a normal thing in classic houses, similarly if I hold a party perceived air quality stay essentially the same BUT when I'm outside I feel a better air, with a different significant enough to think that few m³/h would be far better.
Beside that the article probably see restored houses, so houses where changes are constrained by something preexisting and compromises became a must, where much of the work was done "on experience and cheapness basis" not on seriously computed design fueled also by customers who do not understand much the tech. IME the overall quality of new home is still superior to the classic one, far lower humidity, far more constant climate matter.
Why showering?
To make it run automatically?
Anyone have links to working designs for humidity controlled fans or similar - preferably Raspberry Pi?
I want an indoor sensor and an outdoor sensor, and to run the fan only occasionally (maybe 10 minutes a day) and only when outdoor humidity is much lower then indoor humidity. For holiday sleepout, that sometimes gets damp, but outdoors is sometimes high humidity so no point running fan in that case!
I've looked at household ducted fans, but they don't really do what I want.
Luckily I don't have the misfortune to live anywhere near California, but that humidity sensor business sounds bizarre. Is that some kind of building-code thing?
Ideally you want external exhausting vent fans in every kitchen and bathroom, although lots of places have nothing at all or only internal vent fans.
Australia for example has a high amount of gas usage for cooking.