Tightly-Sealed Home Vs. Drafty Home: Pros and Cons of Each

Modern homes are more tightly sealed than ever before. Drafty homes, on the other hand, are yesterday’s children in the home-building world. Airtight homes are considered models of efficiency while drafty homes allow energy to escape every time the thermometer rises or dips, costing the homeowner greatly.

There are many advantages to having airtight homes, but there are also some lesser-known drawbacks. So, what are the pros and cons of tightly-sealed homes and what can you do, as a homeowner, to bridge the gap?

Pros of Tightly-Sealed Homes
Tightly-sealed homes are very energy efficient. They keep homes cool in the summer and warm in the winter, without having to blast the AC or heater.

Tight sealing also helps maintain a more stable temperature in the home for longer periods of time. Not only does this help save on energy costs, but it also helps occupants stay comfortable inside, regardless of what the thermometer is doing outside your home.

Tightly-sealed homes also enjoy structural benefits that protect the home against many common signs of aging experienced in older homes, which means fewer repairs.

Cons of Airtight Houses
The downside of airtight buildings, though, shouldn’t be ignored. While the benefits are great, tight seals lead to higher rates of air pollution indoors, reducing overall indoor air quality. The EPA has found that indoor air pollution from common VOCs (volatile organic compounds) is two to five times greater on the interiors of modern homes than on their exteriors in urban and rural areas alike.

VOCs are chemicals commonly found in paints, cleaning products, pesticides, building materials, and more. When homes are airtight, they have nowhere to go so they linger in the air.

Meeting in the Middle
Although nobody wants to waste money on energy by having a draftier home, the potential health consequences of prolonged exposure to mold, mildew, VOCs, and other contaminants inside the air in your home cannot be ignored. So what can you do to make sure that you are saving money with a tightly-sealed home, but not exposing yourself to more pollutants?

Proper ventilation is the best way to ensure contaminants aren’t hanging around in your home. However, most homes today either don’t have adequate ventilation. It’s not enough to simply use exhaust fans to remove air. You must be able to replace the old, stale air with fresh, clean air.

According to the U.S. Department of Energy, balanced ventilation requires bringing in fresh outside air and exhausting the polluted indoor air. The benefits of this go far beyond the breathability of the air inside your home and only add to the energy savings having an airtight home delivers.

So how do you get balanced ventilation in your tightly-sealed home? The solution is the whole house fan. Whole house fans are the perfect tools for bringing in good clean air to your home while getting rid of air that’s filled with pollutants like mold, VOCs, and more. Plus, whole house fans are more effective when a home is tightly-sealed, as they will be more able to cycle the fresh air into and the polluted air out of your house.

Whole House Fans Offer a Ventilation Solution
No worries if you have a tightly-sealed home. An airtight home can benefit to bring in fresh air through the use of a whole house fan. Ventilation is a great thing. Bringing outdoor air into the home and exhausting stale indoor air improves indoor air quality.

Take a look at our selection of whole house fans here!  And, to learn more about ventilation for a tightly sealed home, give us a call at 1-888-229-5757.