ᐅ How can you tell when the mechanical ventilation system is working properly?

Hello,

sorry if this is a silly question, but how can I tell if the mechanical ventilation with heat recovery is working properly? We just turned on the system after finishing the interior, about 6 weeks after moving into the house. According to the recommendation, we should only switch it on once most of the dust has settled.

Now I don’t hear anything from the system (except in the utility room when I’m standing right next to it). How can I be sure it’s working correctly? At the fresh air outlets, I only feel a very slight breeze.

Is this normal? ops:

Thanks,
Julia

Yes, that's normal. It's the same with ours.

Set the system to full power (party mode), and you should notice a stronger airflow. It's great when you can't hear your mechanical ventilation system at all.

Simple experiment: Turn off your ventilation system overnight... then step out of the bedroom for 2 minutes in the morning and come back in. The air will be quite stale, even when no baby is sleeping in the room.
Now try the same in the morning with the ventilation system running... tada, almost no stale air...

Or another experiment: Watch the mirrors in the bathroom while showering... neither in the guest bathroom nor in the main bathroom do the mirrors ever fog up...

Get yourself a small hygrometer. They are available for just a few euros. Place it in the living areas. I think you will have around 60% humidity when the system is running. If you turn it off, the humidity should rise noticeably within 24 hours.

At the beginning, we noticed the suction noise from the vents, for example at 7 p.m. in the living area or at 10 p.m. in the bedroom. It was disturbing. We simply opened them a bit more, so now the airflow is better. You can feel it, but you no longer hear it.

However, I have not yet noticed any moist air being extracted from the wet rooms. Either we are not in those rooms at those times, or we are too "deaf" — or simply unfamiliar with the technology.

In the guest bathroom, where we always shower, it is at least humid afterward, so we always have to open the window and the door. Either something is wrong there, or it is due to the room itself, since we have a 2-meter-long (6.5-foot-long) walk-in shower that is tiled on all sides.

That is why I am responding to Katrin’s question.