Mechanical ventilation: the solution to your moisture problem?

What is mechanical ventilation? How does it help against moisture problems? And how can such mechanical ventilation help in the fight against corona virus? We answer all your questions.

Why is proper ventilation important?

Proper ventilation allows you to solve and prevent moisture problems. Especially problems such as condensation moisture are very simple to solve with ventilation. And do you solve condensation moisture? Then you can immediately do something about that black mold that causes health problems. Damp rooms are also harder to heat, so it also helps you bring down those energy bills.

Besides preventing and solving moisture problems, ventilation is also very good for purifying the air in your home, making the air healthier and more pleasant to live in. So it has nothing but benefits.

What is the difference between mechanical and natural ventilation?

In ventilation, you exhaust polluted air and bring in fresh, clean air. With natural ventilation, this happens naturally. Grids that are in the walls allow polluted air to go out while fresh air comes in through another grid. Or you open a window. That, too, is ventilation.

Still, natural ventilation is not always a good idea. Especially in well-insulated houses, this can be difficult, because then you have done everything possible so that the warm air stays inside. Also, many people leave the ventilation closed in the winter to keep out the cold air, so then there is not even ventilation.

There is also a big disadvantage to natural ventilation: you can't (or at least very difficult) regulate the supply and return of air, in winter cold air comes in, causing your energy bill to skyrocket,...

Mechanical ventilation does allow you to control the exhaust and/or supply of air. Three different combinations are possible.

The different types of mechanical ventilation

Ventilation systems are divided into types from A to D. Ventilation system type A is natural ventilation, so we won't expand on that. Ventilation system type B is mechanical ventilation, but it is hardly used in homes. We will briefly look at the details of ventilation systems type C and D.

Ventilation system type C

In this form of mechanical ventilation, the supply of air occurs naturally, but the removal occurs mechanically. With type C, this removal of air happens constantly. With type C+, the mechanical part is a whole lot smarter, and will exhaust air based on the CO² level or humidity in the room.

Ventilation system type D

This mechanical ventilation is one step further. Here, both supply and exhaust are mechanical. Then there are also a lot more options: for example, you can opt for a heat exchanger that saves more energy. It can also filter for pollen and dust, which is a big advantage for people with allergies.

In such a type D mechanical ventilation, the supply and demand of air remains constantly balanced. Therefore, it is also called a balance ventilation.

Type C and type D ventilation systems compared

Now that you know the difference between mechanical ventilation type C and type D, let's briefly list the pros and cons.

• Type C is the least expensive installation of the two. This is because only one fan is needed, the one to control the exhaust.
• Type D consumes more energy because two fans must be supported. With a heat exchanger in the balanced ventilation, though, you can save energy that way. With type C, you consume more energy to heat up that colder air supply.
• With Type D, the air is filtered from outside pollen and particulate matter. Thus, the quality of air is better and people with allergies can also breathe calmly.

Both ventilation systems help against moisture problems anyway. If you ventilate properly, condensation moisture no longer has a chance. It only benefits your health.

We enter the fray with covid-19

You can also have something else built into the balance ventilation: the GPS-FC24-AC, an ionization system. Such an ionization system sends electrons into the air that cling to particulate matter, pollen, but also germs such as those from the coronavirus. After a 60-minute exposure, covid-19 particles had decreased by as much as 90%.

This is one of the products officially approved by the Federal Public Health Service to be useful in the fight against coronavirus. Is the product not on that list? Then it is forbidden to be sold in Belgium.

Do you suffer from damp walls? Maybe mechanical ventilation could be the solution to your problem. Request a free moisture assessment now and we will help you find the best solution.