Ventilation as a way to save money
Many people do not think of ventilation when they think of energy-saving measures, although ventilation can indeed make a significant contribution to saving your energy costs. Ventilation ensures clean and dry air in the house, which means the house can be heated faster. This is because dry air is heated faster than humid air. Especially in winter, high humidity arises in the house because we keep the windows closed. High humidity results from cooking and showering, but also from simply breathing and moving around. In addition to high humidity causing mould in the home, it also causes your home to have to use more energy to heat air. When the heating is on, it can also actually cause too low humidity in your home, which is not good for your health.
The easiest ways to reduce condensation in your home is to make sure you have good air circulation in any rooms prone to mould.
This means opening windows, moving furniture away from the walls, and not trying to draft-proof rooms that will trap water, such as the bathroom.
- In one night your body and breath emit moisture roughly equivalent to a large glass of water. So leave your bedroom window ajar at night. After waking up, open the windows and curtains to refresh the air inside the room. After 20 minutes, close the windows again to avoid wasting too much energy during the day by having to heat up the now cold room.
- Always hang your laundry in a warm place to dry it faster. Be sure to ventilate the room to remove humidity. Also, close the door to this room so that the cold air does not spread throughout the house.
- Make sure that the fine dust and humidity from cooking can be removed, for instance by using extractor hoods or kitchen extractor fans.
- Don't shower with the bathroom door open, dry the shower after showering and ventilate the bathroom This will ensure that humidity does not linger and has no chance of spreading.
- Insulate the loft. This space is often damp and the air inside enters your home through cracks and seams.
