Having a cozy home in winter can start with HRV home ventilation to reduce damp, stale air, moisture and mould.

There are so many beautiful soft furnishings and interior design pieces in the shops right now. And while it’s tempting to welcome winter by choosing a snuggly throw or a new rug to bring home, it’s what you can’t see – the air around you – that will ultimately affect just how dry, comfortable and healthy your living environment feels.

As well as being warm, your home needs to be dry for ultimate health and comfort, but too many Kiwi families are putting up with mould and moisture in their homes.

Damp homes are affecting our health. “New Zealand’s home-health crisis is a well-known problem,” says Norman Woods, New Zealand group general manager of home ventilation specialist, HRV.

“Insufficient heating is just part of it. Poor ventilation can lead to indoor moisture and mould, which can in turn lead to an increased risk of respiratory tract infections and bronchitis and make existing conditions such as asthma worse.”

Norman adds that plugging in a heater might make your home feel warmer, but it doesn’t tackle the deeper problems. Your home needs to be well ventilated – and dry – too. It’s easier and cheaper to heat a home that’s dry because damp air takes more energy to heat than dry air.

And where does that damp air come from? Norman says there are a few main offenders.

“Showering and laundry are right up there,” he says. Anywhere you’ve got unventilated steamy spaces, you’re creating a moisture problem. “But cooking, drying laundry indoors and even breathing create moisture, which has to go somewhere.”

The first clue many people have about their home’s dampness is when they see condensation on their windows in the morning. Norman says HRV teams report many homeowners just get into the habit of sponging their windowsills every day, especially in winter. But once home ventilation is installed, the need to sponge sills becomes a thing of the past.

HRV was founded in 2003 to tackle the moisture problem from the top down – literally. Making the most of the drier, warmer air found in many home’s roof cavities, HRV home ventilation filters that air through world-class filters, then delivers it to living areas. This pushes damp stale air out.

While the way it works is simple to explain, HRV home ventilation has evolved into a high-tech solution over the years, Norman says.

The latest models feature nanofibre filtration to purify air before it reaches living areas, touchpad or Wi-Fi control and continuous monitoring of home and ceiling temperatures. HRV’s AirSense™ model also monitors and displays levels of carbon dioxide and volatile organic compounds (VOCs).

HRV’s AirSense™ balanced system removes stale and moisture-laden air from the home, while simultaneously drawing in fresh air from outside or from the roof cavity if the temperature is more desirable with solar gain, which is the free energy (warmth) you gain from the sun. It also incorporates a heat exchanger, so warm outgoing air is passed over incoming filtered air, recovering up to 90 per cent heat energy and helping manage the cost of running your heat pumps or other heating sources.

While moisture and mould are most common in older homes, Norman says that modern homes can be just as much of a problem. In a way, he says, they’re built too well.

“In an old villa, air can find its way out around the window frames or under the door. Sure, that can mean things get draughty, but at least you’re getting some ventilation. Modern houses are sealed tight like an air-tight container, so moist air has nowhere to go.”

Opening doors and windows help with ventilation, but it’s not always practical to do so. Open windows can let in street pollution, noise, rain and cold air and it’s not safe to leave them open when you’re out if you don’t have secure security latches.

“Wherever you live in Aotearoa, winter isn’t optional. Thanks to HRV home ventilation, winter moisture and mould don’t have to be a part of that... and your family will thank you for it,” Norman says.

To show how HRV can reduce moisture and mould, the company commissioned Unitec to carry out independent research into how its systems perform*. Involving 15 homes over 12 weeks, most homes with HRV home ventilation showed reductions in humidity. In the same real-world study, homeowners with HRV saw how their home ventilation helped to prevent mould. Levels of particulate matter – dust, pollen, and mould spores – and carbon dioxide all dropped when HRV home ventilation was installed.

To find out how HRV can help your home be drier, warmer and healthier, visit hrv.co.nz

*Based on a scientific study of 15 New Zealand homes conducted by Unitec Institute of Technology (Auckland) on behalf of HRV during winter and spring 2021. Results may vary depending on design and geographic location of a home.