"Energy Efficient Housing -- A Prairie Approach" is the only book I know of which advises against this practice (check out the graphic, keyword "ventilation", title "WHAT IS A CONTROLLED COLD-AIR INLET?"), so I asked the Saskatoon Research Council why. They are not against the practice in genera...
Yes, a vent hole without a damper will cost you heating dollars. Generally they should be closed with dampers. However, if the vent hole is not an uncontrolled leak but a planned part of the system necessary to create a high neutral plane, then a damper should not be used. It will cost you muc...
-- Take care of air barriers, ventilation and vapour barriers before insulating. Check out these three topics in the Search Tab above.-- Don't block the eave vents with insulation.-- Do cover the top of the outside wall.-- Don't put plastic foam on top of porous insulations (batts, loose fill) a...
Answer One "Planned-holes-high-in-the-house" are part of buiilding science considerations as to how air moves in buildings creating pressure differences that can help to keep houses dry and mold free or can help to trap pollutants in the house or even in the walls.A planned-hole-high-in-the-house...
Answer Two Any power exhaust ventilator taking its air from inside the house (bathroom fans, kitchen fans, clothes dryers, central all-house exhaust fans) will raise the neutral plane whatever the location of its input or output -- although they will be more effective if they draw air from high i...
I am always amazed at house construction where so often things are half built or more while people are running around beginning to think about "extras" that should never be though of as "extras" but as part of the essential system. So time for one of my lectures -- (you asked for it).Heating is o...
Gerry has a bathroom exhaust fan damper that keeps him awake at night.Well, Gerry, we can't always stop it, but we certainly can tone it down.The first and cheapest step is to get some of that soft foam self adhesive weather-stripping tape. Tape it to the exhaust hood where the flapper hits. Th...
The minimum control for a bathroom fan is a simple wall switch.Sometimes the bathroom lights and the fan will be tied together. Now when you have a noisy fan, this can be quite tiring, so to avoid the noise you use the bathroom in the dark.The biggest problem with the simple wall switch control ...
Paul from Prince Edward Island needs an exhaust fan in his bathroom and wants to know where is the best place to put it.If you go up through the roof, you will be unable to totally avoid condensation in the top of the duct that can come back into the bathroom. I would prefer to avoid going throu...
Have you ever wondered how much air actually comes out of your hot air floor registers, or how many cubic feet per minute your bathroom fan actually exhausts? Well the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation has developed a simple tool that will give you a good approximation.They call it the Gar...
