ᐅ KFN House Without a Ventilation System – Experiences

Hello everyone,

We want to build a single-family house as a KfW Efficiency House (KfW standard) without a ventilation system for financial reasons. Does anyone have experience with this? Could there be any issues? Or does anyone have experience with ventilation systems?

Thank you
Fabian3000

Are there more details available on this? The quality of the answer cannot be better than that of the question.

Fabian3000 schrieb:

Does anyone have experience with a ventilation system?

In my opinion, a ventilation system is essential in every new build. You can’t ventilate enough to get rid of the stale air inside the house. For me, not having one would be an absolute deal-breaker.
I have experience with both decentralized and centralized systems.
Save money on some other “gadgets,” but not on the ventilation.
Problems without a system are rare but possible.

I would even add: a unit with an enthalpy heat exchanger. Increase humidity in winter and reduce it in summer. Our central ventilation runs 24/7. Regularly replace filters, clean the fans and the unit once a year, and you will enjoy it for a long time. Another advantage: if all neighbors heat with wood stoves -> install an activated carbon filter in the system.

nordanney schrieb:

In my opinion, a ventilation system is mandatory in every new build.

In many houses, a ventilation system makes sense. However, this always depends on the heating method and the air volume in the rooms. In our house, completed in 2019, a ventilation system would be a pure waste of money without any added value.

wiltshire schrieb:

In our house, completed in 2019, a ventilation system would be a complete waste of money without any added benefit.

Explain to the original poster how your ventilation concept works.

wiltshire schrieb:

But that always depends on the heating method and the air volume in the rooms.

The heating method doesn’t matter. Stale air isn’t affected by whether the heat comes from gas, a heat pump, underfloor heating, or radiators.
Room size also doesn’t matter.
What’s important is what the ventilation concept specifies and whether the required air exchange can be ensured in another way.
For example, a bedroom in a modern home is always a “problem” at night.