Moisture problems and ventilation

Moisture in houses due to a lack of ventilation.

Many houses experience moisture problems.
These can be avoided by means of an efficient ventilation and proper construction. It is a persistent fable that moisture problems are caused by insulation. In our climate, moisture is a house’s worst enemy. This moisture comes from falling rain, or rises up from the soil. Moisture can also enter a house simply by living in it, for instance due to cooking or washing. Moisture coming from the outside must be kept outside by means of good constructive interventions, such as basement sealing, façade sealing, injecting, etc. Moisture inside a house must be ventilated to the outside.

Living in a house produces a lot of moisture.
amounts to 10 to 20 litres of moisture inside the house every day. In a poorly insulated house this moisture will condense on the coldest surfaces, such as glass or metal. Even in an insulated house, condensation can occur, in places where insulation is lacking or improperly applied. These places are called cold bridges. condensation and mould formation also occur in hard-to-ventilate places or corners.

Ventilation is the only way to expel moisture and to refresh the air inside your house.
Due to ventilation, however, energy is lost, because it brings in cold air, while hot air escapes to the outside. Even in an economical house, with approx. 15 cm of insulation in the outer walls and 20 cm in the roof, these losses account for half of all heat losses! The trick is to ventilate with as little energy loss as possible.
The traditional ventilation method in Belgium is simply to open the windows for a while. However, this will soon bring in too much cold air, even with a tilting window. In very cold weather, people do not usually open any windows at all, making the air very stale. In other words, this is not a good solution.

Therefore, to avoid energy loss as much as possible, and to guarantee an agreeable and comfortable air refreshment, Aquality Protect recommends a DAHL system.