A carefully calculated and well-planned ventilation system in a frame house is simply necessary to create a comfortable and healthy atmosphere. As a rule, when designing frame houses, a ventilation device is also thought out, which is most often combined with air conditioning and ventilation systems. If the supply of fresh air to the house is not thought out in advance, tenants are acutely faced with the question "how to make ventilation in a frame house."
Do you need ventilation in a frame house?
Frame houses are modern, energy-efficient buildings that are practically sealed due to plastic windows and doors. There is an opinion that it is stuffy in such houses, because the material of the walls and ceilings “does not breathe”.
In practice, even "breathing" brick or wooden walls do not have time to absorb all the moisture released by a person when breathing, cooking, bathing. In old houses, the ventilation function was performed by cracks in wooden windows, door frames, and not at all "breathing" stone walls.
The ventilation device in a frame house is an expensive undertaking, so the question of expediency necessarily arises. Especially if the house is being built independently.
We propose to get acquainted with the opinion of the residents of frame houses and specialists:
House-cottage for seasonal living. In such a do-it-yourself frame house, a ventilation device is not required. In summer, windows and doors are usually open. For air exchange in the toilet and bathroom, a small window will be made. If these rooms do not have walls facing the street, you can do it yourself to assemble a natural ventilation system for a frame house, which will be inexpensive.
Summer cottage used all year round. In the kitchen and in the bathroom, it is necessary to equip exhaust ducts with mechanical traction.
House for permanent residence. Optimal is the forced ventilation system of a frame house, arranged with a heat recuperator. Only the scheme of gradual supply of fresh heated air by ventilation allows residents of a frame house to avoid temperature surges that are inevitable when airing with their own hands.
Natural ventilation in a frame house
With natural ventilation of a frame house, air must penetrate into the house from the street through leaks in windows, door frames of residential premises. Then it goes through the corridors and is pulled out by ventilation ducts in the bathrooms and in the kitchen. But the technology of erecting frame structures completely excludes the presence of cracks, therefore, for natural ventilation in a frame house, supply valves are cut into the walls with their own hands. Ventilation ducts can be built into the frame, making them completely invisible. For this, plastic or asbestos-cement pipes are used. Metal pipes are not suitable, they impair the thermal insulation properties of the walls and increase the noise load.
The inlet valve is a neat little device that brings in fresh air from outside. Many models of valves for natural ventilation of frame houses are equipped with air filters and sound attenuators. Outside, the do-it-yourself exit is covered with a lattice that protects against the entry of birds or rodents. A damper is installed from the inside to regulate the intensity of the air supply.
For installation, a hole with a diameter of 50 - 130 mm is drilled in the load-bearing wall. A plastic pipe with thermal and noise insulation is inserted into the hole.
The principle of operation of natural ventilation of a frame house is based on the difference in pressure and air temperature outside and inside the house. In the warm season, when the difference is minimal, there will be no traction. Therefore, additional fans are installed on the exhaust ducts in the bathroom and in the kitchen. And to make their work more rational, humidity sensors are connected to start and stop the fan.
This is one of the simplest ways to organize the ventilation of a frame house. As you can see, no special skills are required to set up such a system.
At the same time, natural ventilation works only in a small frame house. The stuffiness in the rooms and the appearance of mold in the corners testify to its ineffectiveness.
You can see a photo of the ventilation of a frame house, illiterately equipped with your own hands.
The network is replete with such photographs of the ventilation of frame houses with their own hands made by the owners. Unfortunately, the cheapest route is not always the best. Instructions on how to properly organize the natural ventilation of a frame house with your own hands in the video.
Forced ventilation in a frame house
Few will be able to assemble the ventilation of a frame house with their own hands as in the photo. However, this is by far the best that the construction industry has to offer. The optimal microclimate in a frame house is achieved by a forced ventilation scheme. Air outflow and inflow are provided by fans. Outdoor air is pre-filtered and heated. A similar system can be assembled with your own hands.
Ventilation schemes for a frame house:
- Forced exhaust air extraction, creating a vacuum in the premises. Air is sucked into the house through supply valves;
- The forced flow of fresh air creates increased pressure inside the house. The exhaust air is forced out into the street through the ventilation ducts in the kitchen and in the bathrooms;
- Forced inflow-blowing of air. Approximately equal volumes of air are supplied to the house from the street and pulled out by mechanical traction;
- Forced air exchange with heat recovery. Such a ventilation scheme for a frame house heats the supply air using the heat of the exhaust air. Economical and modern solution.
The last version of the ventilation system of a frame house is the most effective, although more expensive than others. And only a specialist can independently mount it. And the owners of frame houses made of SIP panels do not have to think about how to make ventilation. Ventilation ducts are built directly into wall panels at the factory. Therefore, let us dwell in more detail on the more affordable combined schemes.
Watch the video about the advisability of installing forced ventilation in frame houses with your own hands.
Combined ventilation scheme of a frame house
The combined system provides high-quality ventilation of the frame house at low cost. Exhaust air is drawn from the premises through ventilation ducts. The number and cross-sectional area of ventilation ducts depends on the size of the house, but on average, for a ventilation device in a frame house with your own hands, you can adhere to the following proportion: 180 - 200 sq. meters of area (2 floors) need from 6 to 8 ventilation ducts.
Ventilation ducts are made of plastic or asbestos-cement pipes, which are connected to a metal collector. An exhaust fan is mounted here. Fans are very simple, manual or automatic. These are triggered by humidity sensors installed inside rooms or infrared sensors that respond to the appearance of residents of the house.An important point that is difficult for the owner to take into account when arranging the ventilation of a frame house with his own hands: the fan power must be calculated by a specialist.
The inflow of fresh air is provided with the help of supply valves, which are built into the frames of plastic windows or directly into the walls of the house.
The owner of the house may well assemble a similar ventilation scheme for a frame house with his own hands, taking into account the technology of using materials and observing accuracy. But you need to know its main disadvantage: in winter, cold street air will enter the house. This means that the cost of heating the house will increase.
More detailed instructions on how to do-it-yourself installation of ventilation of a frame house in videos posted on the network.
The ventilation of the frame house does not work
A self-assembled ventilation scheme for a frame house does not work well if:
- the air in the rooms is stale, it is hard to breathe. Coming from the street, I want to open the vents;
- fungus appears in the corners of the bathroom and kitchen. Natural ventilation in a frame house cannot cope with high humidity;
- Windows "cry" or sweat. This means that the humidity in the room is high and the air exchange is poor.
With a well-organized natural ventilation of a frame house with your own hands, a stream of fresh air should constantly flow into the living rooms. This creates a favorable microclimate in the house and regulates humidity.
