Fresh air in your house all year round - learn how to air your rooms properly

It may seem that it is not difficult to air rooms - it’s enough to open the window. In practice, however, the way we do it and how long we leave the window open should depend on the conditions which prevail outside. Leaving the windows open for too long in winter will cause the room temperature do drop significantly and, as a result, increase the heating bills. On the other hand, if we air the rooms improperly in summer, the temperature may become uncomfortably high. So how should we ventilate the rooms in different seasons? You can find handy tips on how to do it in our article.

Why is it so important to air the rooms?

The amount of clean air in our house affects both our health and the condition of the residential building. Airtight rooms, without access to fresh air create specific micro-climate. High humidity contributes to creating conditions which are conducive to rapid microbial growth.

Our daily activities, in particular those shown in the graphic, also increase the humidity.

The warmer the air, the more water it absorbs. When it cools down, its saturation limit decreases and humidity results in water vapour. However, water vapour condenses in the places where the temperature is the lowest. In practice, these are walls, door lintels and the space behind furniture, which leads to ugly stains on the walls. This is only one of many consequences of not letting fresh air inside.

The most common effects of lack of ventilation include:

• increased risk of mould on the walls
• allergy-related conditions, allergies
• respiratory diseases and hypertension
• discomfort and worse physical condition
• lower immunity
• poor concentration

To prevent these effects and feel comfortable in your own home, you need to ventilate the rooms every day. How to do it best and most effectively in summer and winter? You will learn about it later in the article.

On hot summer days, we often instinctively leave the windows wide open to get fresh air. Unfortunately, this is not a good idea during the heat peak hours. Opening the windows when the it is scorching hot we can get the opposite effect - instead of lowering the temperature we will increase it because the cool air from our rooms will be replaced by the hot air from the outside.
 

However, if we stick to a few simple rules, we can ensure proper temperature in our house.

1. Keep the windows closed during the day. In particular, this applies to those located on the southern side, which is exposed to the sun the most.
   
   
2. Cover the windows with blinds or thick, light-coloured curtains. Our southern neighbours cover their windows with shutters to protect their flats against hot air. We can use blinds or at least light-coloured, coarsely woven curtains that will reflect the sun rays well.
   
   
3. Air the rooms in the morning, evening and at night. When the temperature outside is lower, pleasantly cool air may enter your house. It is worth leaving the windows open a fraction at night - thanks to that we will have more comfortable conditions to rest.
   
   
4. Open the windows on opposite sides of the house. This way you can ventilate the rooms much faster. Be careful, though. When there is a strong wind, it is better to give up this practice.
   
   
5. Open the doors in all rooms. A house in which all doors and windows are closed, resembles an oven. On hot days, a much better solution is to open the doors in all rooms including the bathroom.
   
   
6. Bring more greenery to your home. Trees and plants provide natural air conditioning: they give shade, absorb carbon dioxide and release the oxygen which contributes to our well-being. Therefore, if possible, place pot plants in the rooms where you stay most often.

Different rules apply when we want to air our rooms in winter, especially when the temperature falls below zero. Doing it improperly leads to heat loss and, consequently, increased heating costs. How to ventilate the rooms in winter? Here are some simple tips.

1. Open the windows wide. Ventilate briefly but intensively. By opening the windows wide, we help the air exchange occur faster and prevent excessive cooling. In the winter months, about 5 minutes is enough to provide our rooms with the right amount of fresh air.
   
   
2. Avoid draughts. While in summer this practice brings positive results, in winter it can lead to excessive cooling of the walls and floor.
   
   
3. Before opening the window, lower the heating temperature. Thermoelectric actuators, which are more and more often installed on radiators, allow you to maintain a comfortable room temperature at all times. By opening the window we make the heating system work with maximum power. Although the radiator will become hot, the heated air will immediately escape through the window. It will therefore be a good practice to lower the pre-set temperature during ventilation. Thanks to such devices as WiFi 8S or ST-8S, we can also manage the temperature of thermoelectric actuators wirelessly.
   
   
4. During ventilation, close the doors between rooms with different heating temperature settings. This will prevent condensation of warm, humid air in cooler rooms.
   
   
5. Remember to heat and ventilate unused rooms. In unheated rooms, the walls and the ceiling cool down very quickly, increasing the risk of mould. On the other hand, heating rooms that are not used to the same extent as those where we stay every day is uneconomical. Therefore, the best solution in this case is to install an electric actuator on the radiator and reduce the temperature by several degrees in relation to other rooms.

Additional ventilation thanks to modern systems

The windows which are produced currently are characterized by high tightness. On the one hand, they contribute to significant savings, but at the same time they prevent proper air circulation. That is why we need to ventilate the rooms more often.

Opening windows wide is not the only way to let some fresh in through the window. Micro-ventilation is also effective. It can be achieved thanks to special window hardware, which is very often mounted on the sash or window frame. In this way, a small gap will be created between the frame and sash, allowing fresh air flow in. The sash will remain in this position thanks to the window catch. Micro-ventilation is a good option, especially during storms and heavy rainfall when opening the window may lead to damage to the wall or floor. In the case of wooden floorboards, even a small amount of water may cause damage to the floor structure, which in turn generates considerable costs associated with repairing the damage.

Another way to let more fresh air in is to install window vents. These are small devices designed to be installed on windows or walls of buildings. Their greatest advantage is efficiency - the amount of air that can flow through them into the building. The air flow can be adjusted, but it is impossible to close such vents. For this reason, they seem a good solution especially for people who are often away from home. With window vents your home will never feel like an oven.

Fresh air in your house all year round

Reasonable heating and regular airing of rooms is a good practice if we strive for a pleasant and healthy indoor climate ensuring comfort and savings. In winter, it makes sense to open the windows wide, but not for a long time. Airing rooms does not mean cooling them excessively. How long we leave the windows open should depend on the season of the year and the atmospheric conditions prevailing outside. The estimated time needed to ventilate a room in particular months of the year is presented in the graphic below.