Why Ventilate?

Proper ventilation is an essential yet often neglected aspect of maintaining good indoor air quality. Poor ventilation can lead to various issues such as unpleasant odors, mold growth, and uncomfortable temperatures. To address these problems, it is recommended to install a ventilation fan in areas such as crawl spaces, kitchens, restaurants, attics, and basements.

How do you choose the right ventilation fan, and why do you need it? Keep reading to find out.

Why Do You Need to Ventilate Your Home?

Adequate ventilation at home is essential not only to safeguard your investment and belongings, but also to prevent a wide range of health issues caused by poor indoor air quality. There are several reasons why proper ventilation is crucial.

1. Eliminate Excess Moisture in Your Home: Do you ever wake up to find condensation on your windows? When the air in your home cools down, it loses the ability to retain moisture, causing it to seek out the coldest surfaces, like walls and windows. If left unaddressed, this moisture can create damp spots that may eventually result in peeling paint and wallpaper or even the growth of mold.
2. Create a Healthier Indoor Environment: Insufficient ventilation can create ideal conditions for the proliferation of dust mites, which can worsen asthma, trigger watery eyes, and result in sneezing, a runny nose, and even skin irritations.
3. Reduce the Effects of Radon Gas: Radon gas is a natural-occurring radioactive gas that can be present in different locations depending on where you live. It is caused by the decay of small amounts of uranium found in rocks and soil. High levels of radon can lead to its attachment to dust particles, which can be inhaled into your lungs.
4. Lower the Impact of VOCs: Proper ventilation is crucial to minimize the impact of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) which are invisible gases that emanate from various sources such as air fresheners, hair sprays, paint strippers, and more. By allowing fresh air to circulate in your home, you can effectively reduce the concentration of VOCs.

What Are The Keys Areas of Homes That Require Ventilation?

Proper home ventilation involves more than just eliminating odors and moisture in the kitchen or bathroom. It is essential to ensure that all areas of your home are adequately ventilated to maintain good indoor air quality.

Interior Ventilation

These are the areas that were mentioned previously. Kitchens, bathrooms, laundry rooms, and other similar spaces. From odors in the kitchen and moisture in the bathroom, it’s key that that dirty air is moved out so that clean air can move in.

Structural Ventilation

An excessive amount of heat and moisture in your home can be uncomfortable and can also cause damage to your property. A solution to this problem is installing an attic fan. This device will create an upward flow of air, which removes hot air and helps prevent condensation buildup that can damage your home's insulation.

Foundation Ventilation

Your attention should not be limited to the attic only; you also need to check the area underneath your home. If you have a crawlspace and notice that it is persistently damp, or if you observe mold and mildew growth, it's imperative to install ventilation before damage sets in.

How Can You Ventilate Your Home?

There are two primary methods to ventilate your home: naturally or mechanically. You can open windows on warmer days to generate a cross breeze and create a good flow of air in your home. Choosing lighter furniture options such as bamboo and wicker can also help remove excess moisture. Screen doors are another option to allow for larger openings to improve airflow.

However, there are instances where natural ventilation alone won't suffice. In such cases, it's necessary to consider mechanical solutions like a ventilation fan. There are various types of ventilation fans available, so it's essential to select the one that best suits your requirements.

What Are the Types of Ventilation Fans?

Choosing the perfect ventilation fan for your home can feel overwhelming, but don't worry! It's all about understanding the differences between the types and their specific uses. Take some time to learn about their unique abilities before deciding which one is the best fit for you.

• Attic Fans: Use an attic fan to prevent excess moisture build-up. Attic fans provide the proper level of ventilation to your space all year long and can even help extend the lifespan of your roof.
• Crawlspace Ventilation Fans: Commonly used in basements and crawlspaces, fan-powered crawlspace fans help push and remove musty air from the area, quickly improving indoor air quality.
• Dampers: Control the airflow of specific rooms with a damper. Dampers allow you to deliver customized temperature controls to select rooms as needed.
• Duct and Register Booster Fans: A duct booster fan helps your HVAC system to pump air through the ductwork in your home. It’s installed in your ducting, usually midway between the blower and the vent serving the room.
• HRV-Air Supply Fans: An HRV, which stands for heat recovery ventilation system, is a tool to make buildings more energy efficient. It recovers heat from the stale air that is leaving your house and uses it to warm up the fresh air that's coming in. By doing this, it reduces the amount of heating needed and saves energy costs. In the summer, the HRV does a similar thing, but it cools the incoming air to help reduce cooling costs too.
• ERV-Air Supply Fans: An Energy Recovery Ventilator (ERV) is a system that brings fresh outdoor air into your home while removing stale and polluted indoor air. ERVs are more advanced than HRVs because they not only transfer heat but also humidity, which is important for maintaining a healthy level of humidity in your home. ERVs are recommended when there is no other way to control humidity, like with a humidifier, to provide a fresh and healthy supply of humidity in your living space.
• Radon Mitigation Fan: Particularly beneficial in radon-prone areas, like the Southwest United States, a radon mitigation fan removes radon from your home and vents it outside and away from you.
• Roof and Whole-House Fans: Roof and whole-house fans provide an excellent solution for residential or commercial ventilation applications where the fan must be mounted on the exterior of the building. These multi-purpose fans can be used to move air from one or more venting points.
• Room to Room Fans: Customers use room to room fans to transfer hot or cool air from one room to the next, increasing both comfort and efficiency. They're more efficient than duct extender kits and are more cost-effective too.
• Shutter Exhaust Fans: Quickly remove heat, fumes, odors, and more from spaces with a shutter exhaust fan. Particularly beneficial in commercial applications, these powerful fans will leave your space feeling more comfortable and smelling fresher.

How Much Airflow Does My Ventilation Fan Need?

Each ventilation fan is designed for specific ventilating purposes. It can be confusing to determine the exact cubic feet per minute (CFM) of airflow that you need. A general rule of thumb is that you'll need at least 1 CFM per square foot of room area. So, if you have a space that is 100 feet by 100 feet long, your square footage is 1,000 square feet, meaning you'll need at least 1,000 CFM.

What Are The Top Ventilation Fan Brands?

Customers are always interested in which brands are must-haves. A few of our highest-rated ventilation fan brands include:

• Fantech: Featuring reliable performance, durable construction, and backed by warranties of up to 5 years, a Fantech ventilation fan is a must-have for any facility manager or building owner.
• Canarm: Affordable ventilation solutions, Canarm offers variable and single speed fans that are designed to last in basements, attics, garages and commercial spaces.
• AC Infinity: AC Infinity is revolutionizing the ventilation industry. Their line of ventilation fans are designed to provide powerful airflow and a user-friendly performance, making them a must-have for commercial and residential applications.
• Suncourt: Suncourt ventilation fans offer exceptional solutions to meet your home cooling and heating needs. Their design helps improve your quality of life while improving your home's temperature with cost-effective energy reductions.
• Tjernlund: Many of American-made Tjernlund's top-rated fans are residential dryer booster fans, basement fans and crawlspace ventilation fans that reduce moisture in musty basements and other areas.

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In Summary

Using a ventilation fan is the perfect way to reduce odors, eliminate excess moisture, lower the impact of VOCs, and create a healthier indoor environment in homes, businesses, restaurants, and other settings.

Still Have Questions?

For more information on specific ventilation fans and other ways to improve your indoor air, browse our full selection of ventilation options. Not sure what's best for you? We can take the guesswork out of decision-making. Contact our product experts toll-free at 1-800-934-9194. We want to help make your indoor environment healthy and comfortable.