Natural ventilation is an important resource that offers many benefits and can be utilized by simply opening windows in your home. There are window styles that can help improve natural ventilation.
How Does Natural Ventilation Work?
Natural ventilation creates airflow without the aid of fans or other mechanical means. Instead, airflow is created using pressure differences between indoor and outdoor spaces. Opening one window releases stale indoor air. This creates negative pressure that pulls fresh air through another window, resulting in continuous airflow. A breeze can also be caught through the windows to create airflow.
The Benefits of Natural Ventilation
Allowing fresh air into the house helps flush out odors as well as indoor air pollutants, such as mold and off-gassed volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Regularly opening your windows and sliding patio doors for at least 15 minutes a day can help maintain indoor air quality.
Natural ventilation can also help you save on energy costs. Airflow can help keep your home cool and reduce the use of your air conditioning system. On an average home, heating and cooling systems take up as much as half of the utility bills. Letting cool and fresh air into your home means you can set your thermostat to a few degrees higher than usual without affecting indoor comfort.
The Best Window Styles for Natural Ventilation
Any window style can provide sufficient ventilation; however, some styles are more suitable than others.
Casement windows — When opened, casement windows allow for full use of the entire window area, making them suitable for naturally ventilating large rooms. The open sashes can also catch a side breeze.
Sliding windows — Sliding windows will let you easily control airflow, thanks to the variable opening width. You can also remove sliding window sashes if, like casement windows, you need to utilize the entire window area.
Double-hung windows — Double-hung windows are ideal for use in small to average-sized rooms. Its sashes can be opened in such a way that there are two openings: the opening at the top works as the exhaust vent while the bottom one is the intake vent.
Renewal by Andersen® of Wyoming is your leading provider of replacement windows and patio doors. Give us a call at (307) 472-2199. You can also fill out our contact form to schedule an appointment. We serve customers in Laramie and Cheyenne, WY, as well as the surrounding communities.
