Why would I need an energy-recovery ventilator like RenewAire?
As houses become more and more airtight, it will become more and more common to see energy-recovery ventilators in homes. Air-tightness follows from the use of improved building practices and products, like air barriers, better seals on windows and doors, panelized construction, air-sealing procedures, and sealed-combustion furnaces and water heaters. People like the benefits of air-tightness in their homes, including improved energy efficiency, fewer uncomfortable drafts, and the exclusion of noise and dust from the outside. What is lost, however, is the natural infiltration that used to carry away the indoor pollutants: carbon dioxide, formaldehyde, cool-weather moisture, cooking odors, and other gases coming from building materials and cleaning compounds. In old houses, natural infiltration was so effective in removing these pollutants that often, more water was carried away than was generated in the home by the breathing, washing, and cooking of the occupants (thus the need for add
