How to Effectively Ventilate Your Home in the Winter

As we enter the colder seasons and temperatures begin to drop, it can be difficult to properly ventilate your home and maintain a healthy, pleasant and comfortable internal environment.

Here we shed some light on home ventilation systems, what they are, what they do and how they can help to ensure that your property is effectively ventilated throughout the winter months.

What are Home Ventilation Systems?

Ventilation systems tend to take the form of either natural ventilation or mechanical ventilation, of which natural ventilation is much more commonly used for residential properties and single private dwellings.

Natural ventilation utilises the natural forces of the wind and buoyancy to remove old, stale and polluted air and deliver fresh, oxygen rich, cool air. This is done by opening purpose-built windows, doors and vents, but can also be achieved to a high degree of effectiveness using windows and openings that are already in place.

Installing electric window openers and pairing them with helpful accessories such as innovative sensors, multifunctional control panels and easy to use remote controls can automate your home ventilation in a way that is safe, easy and effective.

Why is Ventilation in the Winter so Important?

During the summer, most people tend to open their windows regularly to help cool down and allow in fresh air. In the winter however, because of the cold and high energy prices, people are understandable hesitant to pop open a window. However, it is crucial to ensure that you continue to ventilate your property throughout the colder months for a number of reasons, such as;

Excess moisture and condensation lead to an increased risk of mould developing.
Furnaces, fireplaces and wood stoves all contribute to indoor pollution and harmful toxins.
Candles and air fresheners are used a lot more in winter to create a cosy environment, but they also release toxins.
Cleaning products are important, especially to help keep on top of cleaning at a time of year where people tend to catch more colds, but a lot of chemicals contain substances that can deteriorate the quality of the air.
Poor air quality can have a negative effect on the health and wellbeing of those inside the home and because we tend to spend a large percentage of our time indoors, it’s important to make sure that the air inside is fresh, clean and free of pollutants.
Automated Ventilation

Natural home ventilation systems are a great way to automate your windows so that they can be easily and quickly controlled. Electric window openers provide a safe, convenient and efficient way of ensuring that your home is well ventilated, without you having to go round and manually open and close multiple windows by hand several times a day.

These innovative ventilation systems can be retrofitted to existing windows and connected to sensors, timers and remote controls to give you a whole host of options.

With a remote control, at the touch of a button you can operate multiple windows to open and close them when you think the home needs ventilating.
They can be set to automatically open and close at certain points throughout the day so that you don’t have to do anything.
If you have skylights and rooflights that you would love to use more but worry about opening because they are high to reach or might get left open by mistake and let in rain, then special sensors can work to close it automatically if rain is detected.
A lot of people make the mistake of leaving their windows open just slightly for long periods of time to slowly aerate the rooms and allow for ventilation, thinking that this way is more energy efficient. However, opening the windows wider but for shorter periods of time is the best way to effectively exchange air, letting old air out and fresh air in. Automatic window openers can save you a lot of time and effort, taking care of this for you without you having to worry about accidentally leaving them open for too long or running round to make sure they’re all closed.