Oh, I absolutely intend to set up a combination of heat pump + CO2 capture + ventilation + filters for mould and other contaminants in a future home. :)
But I am currently in Europe, where most houses do not have ventilation systems or air conditioning systems at all, but people are taught how often and how long and when to open and close windows (after showering and cooking to control humidity, before going to bed, after waking, frequently when in company or working out, 3 min at minus temperatures as the temperature differential speeds up air exchange, 15 min at Summer temperatures, all windows open fully for a cross breeze and full air exchange while heaters are off, etc.)
And most people in Europe aren’t in any position to install a ventilation system, because they are renting or cannot afford it (the energy costs and initial investment alone), because they are worried about the greenhouse emissions from the energy cost of running ventilation, or the workers and parts currently are not available, so that recommendation would not be doable for most, nor would they necessarily see the need for such an investment per se—while getting a CO2 sensor and opening a window is doable, and allows one to gather information necessary for such choices (like deciding to only move into ventilated buildings in the future, or fixing one’s ventilation, or simply realising that one does not open windows often enough or long enough or during enough activities or that there are dead corners in the house or that the windows need to be cracked while asleep, etc.)
Complete side note, but in Iran, I encountered ancient effective ventilation systems that were keeping indoor places cool and with nice humidity levels even in the literal desert, while being quiet and requiring zero electricity/gas to run. Called wind catchers, because they operate solely by catching and redirecting wind blowing high above your building, and channeling it through your house, often past your internal water supply or other components retaining heat or cold to adjust temperature. Basically a passive architectural feature, once set up, requires very little maintenance, and not that expensive to make, either, while being completely green. Incredible things. Look gorgeous, too. And bizarrely effective; they were using them to run refrigerators. They don’t work in all climates, but where they do, they are a cool solution, not just cause they also operate off-grid. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windcatcher
Iranian architecture in general is rad, not just because it is stunningly beautiful, but because it is ingenious. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iranian_architecture Today, after the US messed the place up so badly, we know Iran as a relatively small country run by religiously radical dictators who treat women and queers like garbage, trample on human rights, and whose desire for nuclear weapons has led to sanctions that have absolutely crippled their economy, so it is a horrible place to live with no freedom or economic opportunities.
But Iran stands in the center of the ruins of an ancient, continuous civilisation 6 k years old https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Iran , which was set up between and across vast deserts. So when it comes to obtaining, transporting across large distances and storing water, cooling buildings, and running agriculture under very adverse conditions, while having no access to electricity, there is an incredible wealth of knowledge on clever solutions for green tech there.
Muslims kept the scientific method alive and protected European texts while Christianity pushed us into the dark ages, while making tons of inventions (logic, math, empirical methods, engineering...) of their own https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_inventions_in_the_medieval_Islamic_world ; five centuries before our renaissance, they were pushing for rationality and enlightment; I think a lot of rational people this day would recognise the beginning of our approach in this dude https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ibn_al-Haytham They performed successful fucking neurosurgery in the middle ages (washing with soap they made, disinfecting with alcohol produced only for this purpose, cauterising to stop bleeding, anaesthesia with sponge applied chemical derived from their chemistry and their literal drug trials, using 200 different surgical instruments from their advanced metal smithing and carefully preserved and critiqued knowledge on diseases and anatomy, incl. understanding contagion of diseases through contaminated air and contaminated water and dirt, and extensive protocols to avoid it) while our approach to medicine mostly consisted of praying, blaming the stars, or bad smells from our utter lack of hygiene. Meanwhile, a muslim take at the time was that if evidence or logic contradicted God, the failure was in your understanding of God, because evidence and logic were always right.
Wonderful people to this day, too, unbelievably hospitable. They really deserve better. (Got off track here due to ADHD, sorry. Just wanted to share something that is often underappreciated.)
Different parts of Europe are very different in regard to ventilation. I’m in Germany where we mostly use windows but a Swedish friend told me that in Sweden they mostly use passive ventilation.
because they are worried about the greenhouse emissions from the energy cost of running ventilation
Ventilation along with a heat recovery system reduces overall heating costs because it’s much more energy efficient than opening windows.
While more expensive it’s worth noting that heat recovery ventilation exists if you want to invest more money into upgrading a home.
The fact that windows need to be opened manually to ventilate is a design flaw.
Oh, I absolutely intend to set up a combination of heat pump + CO2 capture + ventilation + filters for mould and other contaminants in a future home. :)
But I am currently in Europe, where most houses do not have ventilation systems or air conditioning systems at all, but people are taught how often and how long and when to open and close windows (after showering and cooking to control humidity, before going to bed, after waking, frequently when in company or working out, 3 min at minus temperatures as the temperature differential speeds up air exchange, 15 min at Summer temperatures, all windows open fully for a cross breeze and full air exchange while heaters are off, etc.)
And most people in Europe aren’t in any position to install a ventilation system, because they are renting or cannot afford it (the energy costs and initial investment alone), because they are worried about the greenhouse emissions from the energy cost of running ventilation, or the workers and parts currently are not available, so that recommendation would not be doable for most, nor would they necessarily see the need for such an investment per se—while getting a CO2 sensor and opening a window is doable, and allows one to gather information necessary for such choices (like deciding to only move into ventilated buildings in the future, or fixing one’s ventilation, or simply realising that one does not open windows often enough or long enough or during enough activities or that there are dead corners in the house or that the windows need to be cracked while asleep, etc.)
Complete side note, but in Iran, I encountered ancient effective ventilation systems that were keeping indoor places cool and with nice humidity levels even in the literal desert, while being quiet and requiring zero electricity/gas to run. Called wind catchers, because they operate solely by catching and redirecting wind blowing high above your building, and channeling it through your house, often past your internal water supply or other components retaining heat or cold to adjust temperature. Basically a passive architectural feature, once set up, requires very little maintenance, and not that expensive to make, either, while being completely green. Incredible things. Look gorgeous, too. And bizarrely effective; they were using them to run refrigerators. They don’t work in all climates, but where they do, they are a cool solution, not just cause they also operate off-grid. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windcatcher
Iranian architecture in general is rad, not just because it is stunningly beautiful, but because it is ingenious. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iranian_architecture Today, after the US messed the place up so badly, we know Iran as a relatively small country run by religiously radical dictators who treat women and queers like garbage, trample on human rights, and whose desire for nuclear weapons has led to sanctions that have absolutely crippled their economy, so it is a horrible place to live with no freedom or economic opportunities.
But Iran stands in the center of the ruins of an ancient, continuous civilisation 6 k years old https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Iran , which was set up between and across vast deserts. So when it comes to obtaining, transporting across large distances and storing water, cooling buildings, and running agriculture under very adverse conditions, while having no access to electricity, there is an incredible wealth of knowledge on clever solutions for green tech there.
Muslims kept the scientific method alive and protected European texts while Christianity pushed us into the dark ages, while making tons of inventions (logic, math, empirical methods, engineering...) of their own https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_inventions_in_the_medieval_Islamic_world ; five centuries before our renaissance, they were pushing for rationality and enlightment; I think a lot of rational people this day would recognise the beginning of our approach in this dude https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ibn_al-Haytham They performed successful fucking neurosurgery in the middle ages (washing with soap they made, disinfecting with alcohol produced only for this purpose, cauterising to stop bleeding, anaesthesia with sponge applied chemical derived from their chemistry and their literal drug trials, using 200 different surgical instruments from their advanced metal smithing and carefully preserved and critiqued knowledge on diseases and anatomy, incl. understanding contagion of diseases through contaminated air and contaminated water and dirt, and extensive protocols to avoid it) while our approach to medicine mostly consisted of praying, blaming the stars, or bad smells from our utter lack of hygiene. Meanwhile, a muslim take at the time was that if evidence or logic contradicted God, the failure was in your understanding of God, because evidence and logic were always right.
Wonderful people to this day, too, unbelievably hospitable. They really deserve better. (Got off track here due to ADHD, sorry. Just wanted to share something that is often underappreciated.)
Different parts of Europe are very different in regard to ventilation. I’m in Germany where we mostly use windows but a Swedish friend told me that in Sweden they mostly use passive ventilation.
Ventilation along with a heat recovery system reduces overall heating costs because it’s much more energy efficient than opening windows.
Huh, I did not know that, and literally believed the opposite. Thank you for telling me!