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What is Mechanical Ventilation (MVHR) like to live with?
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Most people love it and when the systems are installed correctly it is easy to understand why. With all of the silencer’s in place and the vents set up correctly the air is always fresh and unless the system is on boost, there is no noise. Even on the coldest days the incoming air is fresh and warm and with a coefficient of performance of up to 10:1 it is an efficiency that heat pumps can only dream of.
Bathrooms and kitchens clear fairly quickly after use without having to open windows, bedrooms are fresh in the morning and all the heat from your bath/shower and cooking warms the rest of the house.
Ventilation systems also alleviate the problems associated with the great British tradition of drying clothes on bannisters or rails inside your home during the cold damp winters. They enable you to put up a clothes line inside and dry your clothes, safe in the knowledge that all of the moisture is being taken away by the system and not left to cause damp and mould inside your house.
The only maintenance that is required is regular changing of the filters, especially if you live in an area where there is plenty of dust (e.g. next to a busy road or farm). There are 2 filters to be changed at 3-6 monthly intervals, one filtering the incoming air and one filtering the extracted air. Both need to be changed at the same time to ensure efficiency of the system and an even balance between incoming and outgoing air.
The system is generally left on permanently to ensure all rooms have adequate ventilation, even if the windows are opened. The running costs are typically very low, typically 25p per day, which is worth it to have excellent air quality all of the time.
WHAT’S NEXT?
If you want to find out more about how to effectively manage your sustainable building project, check out The Self-Build Series. This series of guides has been put together to you understand sustainable construction. We hope you find them useful!