Ventilation

When thinking about vents it's easy to get caught up in the details and forget that the most effective ventilation in a home almost always comes from its windows.

While not strictly vents in their own right, strategically placed wing walls or similar mechanisms can make a big difference to the way that air is directed into a house.

Where your vents and windows are located and how big they are both play a vital role in how much air is allowed to move in and out of your home.

The size and speed of an exhaust fan can have an impact on its performance, but to choose a fan you also need to consider what it's going to be used for.

The best things you can do to make sure your house is effectively ventilated are to think carefully about air flow at the design stage, and to face your house in the right direction.

Effective ventilation can make a big difference to houses in hot and humid environments. Find out how best to use ventilation to deal with these conditions.

The most important reason to ensure that your home is properly ventilated is to ensure that the quality of the air is not making you sick, and to avoid sick building syndrome.

A well-designed ventilation system, natural or powered, can help make your home far more energy efficient.

The most effective ways to heat and cool your home are still with air conditioners and coolers - but carefully controlling ventilation can often prevent the need for them altogether.

While not as regulated as air conditioning or heating, there are specific Australian Standards that you (and your builder) need to be aware of to ensure that your ventilation complies with building regulations.

Ventilation requirements exist in Australia to help prevent the likelihood of 'sick building syndrome'. These need to be carefully addressed when building a home with a tight building envelope.

Garages, sheds and workshops, particularly those where dust, particles or sprays float around, may require extra ventilation to ensure your safety.

The cleanliness of your vents can have an impact more than just the performance of you ventilation system; it can also impact upon your health. Cleaning your ventilation system is easy, and could do wonders for you and your home’s health

Part of establishing how well your home fares in terms of passive design is to establish how 'tight' it is. Learn more about how to test how much air leaks from your home.

Heating and cooling ducts carry air all around your house, and vents often get dirty as a result of how much air flows through them. Find out if (and how) you need to clean them.

Ventilation is essential in a home theatre room - but it needs to be achieved in such a way as to ensure that it doesn't create unwanted noise or light infiltration. Find out how to ventilate your home theatre.

There are a great many ways in which a smart home can use technology to improve and automate climate control. Find out how automated climate control might suit your home.

The ceiling cavity of a house has a huge impact on the climate inside a home. Find out what role roof ventilation plays, how it's achieved, and how it can be controlled.

Hot air rises - and for that reason, how you manage the area under your roof is vital to your home's climate control efficiency. Find out more about ventilation and controlling heat.

While insulation is vital to controlling the climate in your home, laws also exist to ensure that fresh air and light are available throughout new houses. Find out what these rules are, and how they relate to insulation.