ᐅ Question about daily living with a mechanical ventilation system with heat recovery

Hello, my question is aimed at those who already live in a well-insulated house with a controlled ventilation system: How does it work in winter after a long hot shower? In my case (an apartment from the 2000s), the bathroom becomes foggy, the tiles are all wet, etc., meaning I have to ventilate thoroughly.

Is there a "boost" function to remove the moisture from the bathroom? Or do you have to open the window the traditional way?

How is it in summer when you want to sleep with the window open?
Can you turn off the ventilation completely during the night?
Or, if you are not at home during the day, can you reduce or pause the ventilation?

Usually, tiles do not get wet because the ventilation already removes a lot of moisture while you are showering.

Whether and how the ventilation is set up and which comfort features are available depends on the specific model and manufacturer.

You generally don’t need to open windows anymore, except for cleaning.

If you want to sleep with the window open, you need to turn off the system.

The detection of presence and similar functions also depend on how the model operates—whether it has additional sensors to recognize this or if you always control it manually before leaving the house.

Becker84 schrieb:


Or do you have to open the window the traditional way?

How is it in summer when you want to sleep with the window open?
Can you then turn off the ventilation completely for the night?

Or if you are not at home during the day, can you reduce or pause the ventilation?

1. After showering, we don’t need to open the windows in the main bathroom; the relative humidity there only rises from about 37% to 45%. In the guest bathroom (4m² (43ft²)) the window fogs up for about 5 minutes at around 85% relative humidity, but after 10 minutes it’s already back below 60%. You definitely don’t end up in a foggy cave. Visitors who are not familiar with such systems are always surprised...

2. Of course, you can turn off the ventilation at any time. Most models also allow you to set a timer (for example, overnight).

3. Same as point 2.

Best regards,
Thorsten

I can only agree with the previous posters. In the bathroom, the window remains closed, and the system can be turned off – but then the entire house will no longer be ventilated! We always keep it running 24/7/365.

Is there a reason to have to sleep with the window open? You also get fresh air from outside through the ventilation system.

For me, these are all reasons against a mechanical ventilation system. I’m still undecided, but I’m leaning strongly in that direction. We have always slept with the windows open and want to continue doing so—not only for the fresh air but also because of the feeling of confinement when the windows are closed. When showering, I really enjoy it when everything is fogged up like in a steam sauna—the more, the better. After that, I just ventilate... and that’s it. So far, no mold, even though sometimes water actually runs down the walls for me.

LOL
I like it in spring/summer when the wind flows through the roof windows in the bedroom and I can smell and feel it.
With a ventilation system, that feeling disappears even though the air is probably better.

I tend to prefer controlled residential ventilation—mainly because of the bathroom and grass pollen season (hay fever).