Ventilating your home with Ceiling & Wall Vents
by Isa Stralian
Ceiling and wall vents are available in a myriad of sizes and materials, and not all are suited to today’s build.
There are three types of ceiling vents and you will have seen two types….. those that are used in air conditioning systems, and those sold in hardware stores.
On ceiling and eaves vents, 95% of those sold in hardware stores are priced for the naive consumer who knows next to nothing about what they are attempting to achieve.
Doing is one thing, …..correctly is the other.
Some will have a short use by date especially if manufactured in plastic and some unsuited to the task.
Air conditioning type
The type used in air conditioning are designed for air delivery under pressure, normally a set and forget unit provided with the package.
They are not designed for atmospheric natural ventilation.
It my seem the same it’s design performance is not, and there’s no point to spending money on poor performance.
The hardware store type ceiling vent or wall vent is a product providing the bare minimum in performance and reliability at a price, here again, as you choose, it’s your money.
Design for natural air flow
Choosing a vent with very small holes is guaranteed to require you to constantly clean it of dust which creates high air flow resistance.
Those you may not see are those designed to have good air flow efficiency and being most suited to the purpose of natural home ventilation.
Ceiling purge vents need to be adjustable and serviceable.
They are and likely to be made of metal as opposed to plastic.
Plastic moveable parts do not fare well.
It is unlikely you will find an quality ceiling vent with a high life expectancy, in a hardware store.
This type of product tends to be supplied by specialists.
Quality
Plasticisers migrate out of the plastic rendering it brittle with discoloration and looking for a reason to collapse and those with movable parts have a very early use by date.
It’s the little things, such as a ceiling registers or purge vents, that provide good comfort levels without operational cost.
You may ask, how did we get by without them?…we didn’t.
Look at houses built in the sixties and seventies.
All had internal wall vents and some had ceiling vents.
However fixed internal wall vents were also disadvantageous during winter because of the heat loss through them.
Good health doesn’t come free so, in order to gain a little, you need to accept a little loss.
Good ventilation allows doors to open and close easier by allowing air displacement.
Rooms are fresher with less odour retention and a lighter, less oppressive feel about the area.
The purge vent is one such product that make the biggest difference and is relatively unobtrusive.
Conclusion
Good ventilation in your home promotes well being and good health particularly whilst sleeping.
There’s little point to improve your health by exercising if you’re going to spend eight hours beforehand breathing spent toxic air.
and you’re right, I used the word ‘toxic’ for greater emphasis.
good luck!