Exhaust Fans Help You Get Rid of Stale Air and Unwanted Humidity

Modern homes are virtually airtight, which is good for your energy bills, but can be a problem for your indoor air quality, because moisture and stale air circulate through your home. An exhaust fan draws out stale air containing impurities and moisture and brings in fresh air. This improves air quality and lowers your home’s humidity levels.

Exhaust fans are most effective when vented directly outside, and may be one of a few types.

• Ceiling Mounted: Mounted in your ceiling to draw indoor air upward through the roof, where it is exhausted through an external vent, such as a roof cap or soffit exhaust vent.
• Inline: Installed between ducting and may be either single-port (exhaust from a single area), or multi-port (exhaust from multiple areas).
• Wall Mounted: Installed on exterior walls, thus requiring no ductwork.
• Combination: Fan-light combination or heat-fan-light combination, where you have a heater, light and vent in a single device.
• Exterior Remote Mounted: Installed outside your home and draws stale air out, instead of pushing it out.
• Kitchen Range: Mounted inside the range hood over a stovetop.

One or more of these types of exhaust fans may be installed in various areas of your home, including kitchens, bathrooms, laundry rooms and attics, to provide continuous ventilation over your entire home.

Without exhaust fans, your home’s air can fill with harmful contaminants, such as pesticides, gases, smoke, pet dander, paint fumes, and grease. These are released daily through activities such as cooking, burning fuel, and renovations. Activities such as bathing, cooking, and washing your laundry, also release excess moisture in the air, which can increase humidity levels. If stale are and moisture aren’t vented outside, you may experience problems such as:

• Health issues including asthma, allergies, headaches, or nausea.
• Damage to furniture due to high humidity.
• Cracked and peeling paint.
• Fungus growth, mold spore and mildew.

By installing exhaust fans to ventilate your home, you improve your indoor air quality and lower humidity levels. For more information about improving your indoor air quality in the Orlando area, please contact us at Rinaldi’s Energy Solutions.

Our goal is to help educate our customers in Orlando, Florida and surrounding areas about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).  For more information about exhaust fans and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.

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