How to save energy?

IS THERE ANYTHING IT'S BETTER NOT TO SAVE ON?

As energy prices increase, so does the sheer volume of tips on how to save. These well-intended suggestions can certainly be useful, but you do need to make sure they don’t put your health at risk by turning your home into an airtight vacuum. In other words, you really need to make sure you always have sufficient fresh air coming in your home. With that in mind, it's better not to save on ventilation.

1. Turning the heating down and closing all the windows and doors = asking for damp problems

The first tip that pops up everywhere at the onset of every winter (and certainly this one) is to turn your heating down a degree. And that's undoubtedly the right thing to do! After all, an extra jumper or fleece blanket really can work wonders. Even so, it's best to make sure the temperature in your home never drops below 16°C. But if you combine this with keeping your home hermetically sealed and filling up all possible cracks or crevices, you are asking for trouble. Sure, your actions may well result in a lower energy bill, but you need ventilation if you are to maintain an adequate level of indoor air quality. This is never more true than when the temperature drops — and the chance of condensation forming goes up accordingly — as poor air circulation will cause moisture to accumulate in the indoor air (and in the walls of your home). This in turn results in the formation of mould in your house, which might not only damage your home, but can also be detrimental to your health and that of your fellow residents.

If your home is equipped with properly installed and well-maintained mechanical ventilation, this system will come to your rescue when it detects excess humid indoor air (or excessive CO2 and odours) to extract it in good time and replace it with fresh air from outside. Without such a system, all that humidity would unfortunately not be able to find a way out, resulting in it accumulating in the house. If you would you like to know more about the humidity levels in your home and what measures to take, a smart CO2 monitor such as Renson Sense not only measures CO2 in the indoor air, it also keeps an eye on the humidity level.

2. Opening windows = not the best idea

Looking to bring some fresh into your home? Opening a window is a temporary solution, but never provides the necessary flow to keep sufficient fresh air in the house. In winter, letting cold outdoor air in not only causes a sudden loss of heat in the house, it increases the risk of condensation and mould formation in homes without a well-functioning ventilation system. Continuous and controlled ventilation is the only way to enjoy sufficient fresh air in your home 24/7, and to do so in an energy-efficient way. While we're on this point, did you know that central 'demand-driven' ventilation systems are now designed to work so energy efficiently that they barely have an impact on your energy bill? How, you ask? Well, they constantly monitor the indoor air quality, which means they only ventilate where and when doing so really necessary: in a busy bathroom in the morning and/or in a bedroom at night, for example. And as economical as they are, these systems automatically fall back to a basic ventilation level when there's no one in the room. A win-win situation, in other words, meaning you'll never lie awake at night again wondering whether the indoor air in your home is harming your health.

3. Never turn off your ventilation system

As tempting as it may seem when you're looking to save on your energy bill: you should never switch off your ventilation system or fully close the window vents that provide a supply of fresh air from outside! You wouldn't want to put your own health or that of your fellow residents at risk, would you? Because that’s the risk you are taking when you realise that the average family produces ten litres of moisture per day in the house just by cooking, washing, going to the bathroom, or even just by breathing. You also risk dirt particles and odours from construction, decoration and cleaning products, dust mites and animal hair accumulating in the indoor air. These things are exactly what sometimes causes that musty smell after a night with two people sleeping in a small bedroom without ventilation.

Now that we are living and working indoors more than ever before — did you know we spend no less than 90% of our time inside? — it is even more crucial to take a moment to reflect on that. For those who are acutely aware of this issue and prefer not to lose any sleep over it, there is good news: Renson's demand-driven ventilation systems will do the job for you. Without you even realising it, they ensure the indoor air quality remains as high as possible at all times, fully automatically and in the most energy-efficient way possible.

A correctly installed, properly maintained centralised ventilation system automatically kicks into action when air polluted by CO2, moisture and odours needs to be extracted. Balanced systems go one step further: they also offer heat recovery, so that the indoor heat never goes to waste. In living spaces where there is insufficient room for a centralised ventilation system, a decentralised ventilation system can help keep the indoor air quality just right. These fans are energy-efficient and can also be equipped with CO2 sensors.