Healthy House, Victoria, Australia. Healthy House design

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

2. Why is it important to ventilate?

Ventilation is the key to improving indoor air quality !

"Indoor air quality is influenced by two major components: the amount and quality of outdoor air getting in, and indoor sources of emissions."*

Contributing factor to indoor air quality	Percentage of cases
Inadequate ventilation	52
Contamination from inside the building	16
Contaminants brought in from outside the building	10
Microbiological contaminants	5
Building material contamination	4
Cause not determined	13

The above information comes from the Australian Government Air Toxics website.

Ventilation assists in controlling relative humidity which:

Ventilation dilutes and removes harmful airborne pollutants, and

Ventilation replenishes oxygen levels.

Why "Natural" ventilation (using windows and doors) doesn't always work

Mother Nature is unpredictable, ie. too windy, no breeze, too cold or hot,
Poor location of doors and windows often restricts good cross ventilation,
Indoor temperature control is lost when windows and external doors are left open,
Windows don't filter (dust, pollen, outdoor pollution and noise), and
Home Security can be compromised.