ᐅ Ventilation in Prefabricated Houses (Timber Frame with External Thermal Insulation Composite System) — Is It Also Needed in Solid Construction Homes?

Straight timber frame houses generally have drier indoor air. In this case, I would definitely recommend a mechanical ventilation system with heat and moisture recovery.

Manu1976 schrieb:
In summer, ventilating through the windows at night and early morning is more effective than just running the ventilation system. I have also noticed that the ventilation system (level 1) stirs up more dust...

The ventilation system stirs up dust? The dust only comes in because the windows and doors are constantly open.

Manu1976 schrieb:
There’s also the issue of unpleasant smells from outside, like when someone is burning something or from the nearby farmland...

That problem occurs with open windows as well. The difference is that with the ventilation system, the odors don’t linger long inside the living areas. It’s different with open windows. Even if you close them in time, the smell from the farmland stays longer.

Manu1976 schrieb:
I also have the feeling that kitchen smells spread throughout the whole house when the wind is unfavorable. While you can’t smell anything anymore in the kitchen where the extractor fan is, when you go to the children’s room, the kitchen smell is noticeable. Not exactly pleasant...

Kitchen odors spread throughout the house when the wind is unfavorable? And all of this is caused by the central ventilation system in the house? Did I understand that correctly? The air intake for the bedrooms is from outside, so it should smell more like farmland than the kitchen!

Manu1976 schrieb:
By the way, my husband turned the ventilation back on, and just two days later I’m already struggling with these issues again: dry nose, constant feeling of nasal congestion, and one child has started coughing again. Coincidence? Probably not...

Try placing hygrometers in different rooms to see how dry the air actually is and whether the humidity level worsens when the ventilation system is switched on.

The issue with odors is a tricky one. They can also enter through the windows. Similarly, you can turn off the ventilation system all at once, while windows have to be closed one by one, which takes more time.
Using windows for quick airing out when there’s a bad smell (wherever it might come from) doesn’t conflict with operating a ventilation system.
Additionally, you can install proper filters in a ventilation system. In my experience, F7 filters are usually sufficient to keep most odors out (manure, chimney smoke, etc.). And dust being stirred up by the ventilation system? What kind of ventilation do you have? You shouldn’t really notice any drafts from it. Every open window stirs up significantly more dust!

But maybe your system was really poorly installed. If the system causes such a strong draft, can’t be cleaned, has a short-circuit airflow with the cooker hood, and the air intake is positioned so that cats can urinate in it, that sounds like bad planning and a complete botch job...

Manu1976 schrieb:
@Bauabenteurer Dust only comes from outside? Where do you live? Cat hair, skin flakes, sand from shoes, lint from the couch, pillows, bed, clothing – of course, none of that creates dust. The ventilation also stirs it up nicely. (Our ventilation is set to level 1) and unfortunately, we can’t properly clean the air vents, since they are installed in the floor; in the living area they are glued in place, and in the bedrooms screwed down (you can remove the screws, yes, but the glued ones in the living area are hard to get out). If you look inside – well, good luck.

Well, I can’t really share your negative view. Since we installed our ventilation system, we have never had to dust as little as we do now. The outside air (even though we live in a new development with about 30 construction sites plus temporary construction roads) comes inside incredibly clean (where the dirt ends up can be seen in the filter). Odors from the kitchen dissipate quite quickly (even things like fried calamari, which usually really spoil the air).

During the first few months, we set the ventilation to level 5 (out of 8). There was no feeling of a draft – and therefore no dust being stirred up.

If the air vents are dirty, something is wrong, since there is a filter installed upfront.

Maybe your system was poorly installed, but we would definitely install such a system again!

Maybe the dust issue is related to the air intakes being located on the floor at Manu1976’s place. Dirt can fall in there and then get blown back out again...

But the problem with moisture inside the house, especially in winter, is something I’ve heard about quite often. It seems to be an issue even with ventilation systems. The cold air is warmed up, expands, and so the moisture has to spread over a larger surface area, which leads to low humidity levels.

How much does a humidity recovery system cost, and is it actually hygienically safe? I’m quite skeptical about moisture, condensation, and things like that at first.

How does this recovery system work?

So, we have a PLUGGIT Avent P. It’s supposed to be a good system.

The cat doesn’t urinate INSIDE the intake, but rather in front of it in the garden or against the exterior wall.

We only have filters inside where the exhaust vents are, such as the bathroom, etc.

There are small air swirls that you can only really feel if you hold your hand over it and see when the sunlight hits it. So, nothing major, but it’s enough to capture fine dust.

We don’t have a hood exhaust; just a recirculation system. But since the kitchen air is logically being exhausted and the air is directed outside, and the intake is just around the corner, sometimes the kitchen smells blow right there. This has nothing to do with the ventilation system itself. It works perfectly.

Let’s put it this way, we can live with the odor and dust; that’s not the big issue for us. The main reason we don’t want it anymore is the indoor air quality, and I don’t trust the humidifier.

In the new house, we only have decentralized supply and exhaust ventilation in the bathrooms and laundry room, which are also humidity-controlled.