Good home ventilation means more than open windows. 

A Canadian invention circulated the breeze

Breathe Easy

Hockey, beer and frosted doughnuts are not all that Canadians are famous for.  Snow-blown northern winters have helped home-grown construction experts become recognized world leaders in building technologies.

The residential heat recovery ventilator (HRV), a mechanical device designed to efficiently deliver a steady supply of fresh warn air into a home, has the international community buzzing.

“The residential HRV originated in Canada,” says Mr. Gord Cooke, president of Air Solutions Inc., and one of Canada’s leading building scientists and experts in the physics of the housing system.  “It came out of the University of Saskatchewan during the energy crisis of the 70’s.  People started realizing that the biggest bang for your buck was making houses tighter.  They quickly realized you needed ventilation.  It has just grown from there.”

Mr. Cooke estimates 40% of the HRV’s manufactured in Canada are exported to the United States, Japan, England, Germany and Russia.  Canada is the primary manufacturer of these units.  He says about 10,000 units are sold each year in Ontario, with 15% to 20% of all new homes in the province installing them.

In Ontario it is “hit and miss” in terms of which builders and communities use them, he says.  The technology is not common in the Toronto area, although it is standard with virtually every builder from Belleville through Parry Sound.  He says all R-2000 builders use them, along with good customer builders and some leading volume builders.  HRVs are usually standard fare in new homes in Quebec and in the Maritimes he says.

“The HRV functions as the lungs of the house,” Mr. Cooke says.  “It draws fresh air into the home where is warmed by the stale, humid air passing through the unit before being expelled.  The HRV’s high-quality filter ensures a steady supply of fresh, clean air entering the home.”

Recent studies regularly quoted by the Canadian environmental agency Pollution Probe and the United States’ Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) indicate indoor air quality may affect the IQ of children, the health of unborn babies, inhabitants’ immune systems and is linked to the development of asthma and cancer.  Understandably, these factors have increased consumers’ interest in good ventilation in the home.

“Recent research suggests that extremely low-level exposures to a variety of organic chemicals or toxic metals can lead to chronic illness, decreased higher brain function – especially learning – and impair fetal and childhood development,” according to Pollution Probe report called “Achieving Healthy Indoor Environments.”

In addition, the Harvard School of Public Health announced in 1988 that radon, a radioactive gas, that enters the home through cracks in the foundation, was the number one health risk in the United States.  Health Canada acknowledges a correlation between radon and lung cancer in its booklet called The Canadian Guideline for Radon in Homes, which recommends HRVs to decrease elevated levels of the gas.

The need for mechanical ventilation, however, is not simply a response to new information on how air-quality affects health.  Mr. Cooke says there are four reasons related to new living habits of the 21^st century that make the need for proper ventilation critical: People are spending more time indoors than ever before – about 90% of our lives – especially now that most homes have air conditioning; we bring more pollutants into our homes from personal hygiene products, cleaning chemicals, furnishings and recreational activities than we used to and, in our  quest for more comfort, reduced noise and greater security, we tend to keep our windows closed more.

Peter Love, president of EnerQuality Corp., an organization that trains builders to create healthier, tighter homes, warns against the popular notion that keeping your home drafty is a simpler way to achieve healthy ventilation levels.  A recent study of hundreds of homes in Wallaceburg, Ont., by the research division of Canada Mortgage and Housing found it was the houses with the highest air-leakage rates that had the highest mould levels, which can trigger respiratory problems.  The cold outdoor air leaking into the warmer air cavity condenses and creates mould, which is not good for the health of the home or its occupants, Mr. Love says.

Another myth, he says, is that running a kitchen or bathroom fan can improve ventilation and get rid of moisture as effectively as an HRV.  On the contrary, this does not provide a balance of incoming and outgoing air.  Air being expelled from the bathroom creates negative air pressure in the home, so fresh air from outside will be sucked inside.  The problem occurs when the air comes in through the wrong channels.

“Without an HRV, (air) comes through doors and cracks and all sorts of places you don’t want it to come from,” he says.  “It could come from sucking air down from your chimney, which you really don’t want.”

Mr. Love points out that the National Building Code, a Canadian standard that each province can refer to as a guideline, recommends a balanced ventilation system – the same amount of air being mechanically expelled is being mechanically brought in – such as an HRV in all new homes.  He says all provinces except Ontario have adopted some sort of mandatory balanced ventilation system in its provincial building code.

Mr. Dave Henderson, directory of industry relations for the Ontario Home Builders’ Association (OHBA), agrees that a balanced ventilation system is desirable, but says the OHBA does not think HRVs should be required for the typical production of homes.

“The Ontario Building Code is a minimum standard for safety and health.  If buyers are aware HRVs are available, they can ask their builder for one.  But not everyone can afford everything that many people advocate should be in the code.  It is an issue of affordability.”

Installed, HRVs cost $1,500 to $2,500, Mr. Cooke says.

Cengiz Kahramanoglu, an OBC advisor, says HRVs are mandatory in high-risk homes where air flow is poor or there is a danger of back-drafting noxious fumes into the home.  The balanced system in the national code allows for different ventilation methods that are more complicated than the simple HRV, and these systems are now under review, he says.

“There are changes coming to the National Building Code.” Mr. Kahramanoglu says.  “It sounds like they are coming closer to the Ontario approach.”

In addition to the health benefits, Mr. Cooke and Ian Morton, manager of the indoor environment program for Pollution Probe, are excited about the enormous business opportunities it holds.

“We have taken the lead in this area of creating healthy indoor environments,” Mr. Morton says.

For more information on Fifthshire Homes Ltd. Of Concord, Ont., call (905) 660-7415 or go to www.fifthshire.com.

NATIONAL POST

When breathing is a health hazard

Nine out of every 10 breaths you take will likely be indoors, environmental agencies claim.

Health organizations are sounding alarms because research show indoor air has levels of pollutants that are two to five times greater than levels outdoors – and in some cases 70 times worse.

Hear are some of the results of recent studies:

Roughly 40% of 1,500 homes surveyed recently by Health and Welfare Canada were reported to have moisture or mould problems, and the children living in theses homes were 32% to 89% more likely to have respiratory illnesses.

At least 15% of the Canadian population has some form of sensitivity to environmental factors significant enough to affect their lifestyle, according to a Pollution Probe discussion paper.  More than 40% of Canadian households contain at least one individual who is more sensitive than most people, the report adds.

The same paper reports asthma is the only treatable, lifelong condition in the Western world with a rising death rate, and it is now the most chronic disease of the adults and children in the West.

In August, 1999, the Centres for Disease Control in Atlanta said 10% to 14% of all U.S. lung cancer deaths are attributable to radon exposure, making it the second leading cause of lung cancer deaths, after smoking.  Radon is a radioactive gas naturally occurring in soil that enters the home through cracks in the foundation.

A study done by the U.S. Environmental protection Agency (EPA) in 1999 showed 5,000 deaths occur annually from asthma, an increase of 33% over the previous decade.

The indoor contaminant benzene has been associated with leukemia, according to EPA.

Several studies indicate common indoor pollutants, such as lead and environmental tobacco smoke, can impair the development of a fetus.  The EPA estimates 9,700 to 18,600 cases of low birth weight in infants are caused each year by environmental tobacco smoke.

Many chemicals commonly found indoors, including plastic additives, lead and alcohols are suspected of causing developmental toxicity in humans, a 1991 EPA study reported.  There is concern exposure to certain pesticides and plasticizers by pregnant women can have adverse effects on a developing child.  These range from low birth weight to lower IQs, genetic diseases and infertility.

The agent from Legionnaires disease, a potentially deadly pneumonia that affects 10,000 to 15,000 people each year, is associated with cooling systems, whirlpool baths and humidifiers, according to a 1994 EPA study.

Effects associated with toxins from indoor fungi and bacteria range from short-term irritation to suppressed immune systems and the onset of cancer concluded a study by the EPA in 1994.

Joanne Lovering, National Post