Home ventilation is vital to the lifetime of a house. Poor ventilation leads to notorious home hazards such as mold and mildew. Here are a few steps you can take to ensure proper airflow. It is not only great for your comfort and your wallet, but also for your indoor environment.

Install gable end vents. Many homes do not have proper attic ventilation. Making sure you have properly vented soffits and installing vents at gable ends will provide good airflow through your attic and help reduce cooling costs. You can also have attic fans installed as part of the gable vents and, if you’d like to avoid any wiring issues and take the eco-friendly route, check out solar powered fans. Plus, if it’s time for a new roof, ask your roofing contractor about ridge venting. This venting technique runs a length of plastic venting along the length of your home’s ridge line, leaving no high areas for warm air to be trapped.

Ceiling fans are a great option for summer and winter ventilation. They help circulate air around the house and draw cool air up from the floor on hot days. In winter, reverse the fan and it will help to spread warm air around the house. This is especially effective if you use a fireplace because warm air comes out of the hearth and immediately rises. Ceiling fans help distribute this warm air around the house, significantly improving the heating efficiency of your fireplace.

Perhaps the most substantial step you can take to improve ventilation and save on heating and cooling costs is to have a heat recovery ventilator (HRV) installed. These very nifty additions to your HVAC system not only ventilate the building but also recycle a good amount of heat in exhausted air that would otherwise be lost. HRVs save up to 80% of otherwise lost heat, all the while circulating fresh air into your home.

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