Building Science

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Building Science

Building science is the collection of scientific knowledge and experience that focuses on the analysis and control of the physical phenomena affecting buildings and architecture. It traditionally includes the detailed analysis of building materials, building envelope, heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems, natural and electrical lighting, acoustic, indoor air quality, passive strategies, fire protection, and renewable energies and reduced carbon in buildings.

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How important is air exchanger efficiency? (self.buildingscience)

submitted 1 month ago by GreatBlueHeron to c/buildingscience

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I've just had a new house built in Atlantic Canada. It's not performing as well as I had hoped it would - I'm getting condensation on my windows and door handles and my power bill is higher than I expected.

I know I rushed things a bit with the build, and we were on a tight budget, but I (naively?) thought that following the building code would get me a "good" house.

I've done a little research and found that I have a very generic, builder basic level, air exchanger - a FanTech Flex100. Their own documentation even only lists the efficiency as "moderate". My initial reaction to this discovery is that air exchanger efficiency is critical - it's literally bringing in colder air than it really needs to - and I should look into upgrading as soon as I can afford it.

Does this make sense, or are there other factors I should consider first.

(I know there's lots of detail missing - I didn't want to put in too much effort for a question in what appears to be a dead community. Happy to elaborate as much as needed.)

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