Airtight homes keep in heat… and many other things.

At the beginning of my career, I had the privilege of working for a company specializing in residential ventilation called Venmar. The company is well-known in the industrial area of Drummondville and has developed and still developing products related to the treatment of air in residential and especially light commercial applications.

In the 90s, the homeowners wanted to find a solution to the obvious signs of excess moisture in the home; that being condensation on windows. Upon the arrival of the cool nights of autumn, each house with inadequate ventilation or excess humidity ended up with this issue. This occurred because we increased the airtightness of houses, trapping in air and therefore moisture which would normally “leak” out of the home. The captive humidity and cold outside turns this excess moisture into condensation on the windows of the home. The solution was to install a mechanical ventilation systems, such as those manufactured Venmar.

Several years later, breathing problems were becoming more and more prevalent and we put the blame on industrial pollution and the poor quality of the air were breathing outside. But for some time, we also noticed that the air in our homes is often 10 times more polluted than outdoor air! Why? Due to of all products used in construction; cements and other binders, paints, solvents, etc.

A U.S. study by Perkins + Will for the National Institutes of Health lists 374 pollutants, directly linked to lung disease, specifically Asthma in this study.

I leave you to read the study and even if I am not paid to tell you, please remember that the ventilation in your home is the best tool to get rid of these indoor pollutants!