Importance of natural light and cross ventilation: a perspective for homebuyers in India!
With apartment complexes sprouting everywhere, home buyers are flooded with options. Ventilation becomes important because you want air circulation to happen in your home! No wonder, even Vastu pundits have stressed the importance of the flow of ‘clean air’ replacing the ‘stale air’ in the house.
Apartments in India come in different configurations. You could be buying a gated-community apartment or a standalone building Apartment! Either way, it is important to secure free-flowing air that goes through every nook and corner of your apartment.
[Source- https://www.homify.in/]
While an independent house has ventilation on all 4 sides, that might not be the case in an apartment complex.
1. How does good air circulation help?
With proper ventilation, the problem of poor air circulation can be prevented. So, as a home buyer, you need to study the design of your home and watch out for poor ventilation. The right kind of doors and windows help harness natural wind.
Many home buyers complain of feeling stifled in their apartments. One major reason for that stale, stuffy feeling is that the air in your apartment could be trapped. Apartments have fewer windows and doors often have fewer air vents. This means that stale air gets locked in the rooms by design. As a home buyer, you need to make sure of choosing a home with good air circulation!
- Living in an apartment with proper ventilation will surely aid in the mental as well as physical health of the residents. People spend up to 90% of their time indoors and breathe thousands of liters of air each day
- Ventilation aims at creating healthy and cozy indoor air in the building
- Apartment complexes might have 1, 2, 3, or 4-sided ventilation. Based on this, it is important to ensure there is a flow of air through the building
- Poorly-ventilated buildings can cause people to feel extremely claustrophobic and they might develop breathing problems
Hence, choosing or building an apartment complex with proper ventilation is paramount.
2. Check for wind ventilation
- Wind-driven ventilation involves harnessing the natural wind to ventilate your home
- Wind ventilation comes free! A good design will ensure to use of ‘natural wind’ to the fullest!
- Good architects always design home-keeping wind ventilation in mind
- It is the most very effective way to have a windy, well-ventilated home
3. Check for cross ventilation
[Source- https://www.houzz.com/]
Checking for cross ventilation in the apartment before buying matters!
- It’s a form of wind ventilation
- Cross ventilation involves wind entering through a window or door; the air flowing directly through the house, and flowing out of the house through an opening on the other side
- Architects who are conscious of this knowledge of which way the wind is likely to blow. They plan the design of apartments accordingly
- This way effective cross-ventilation must be planned
- The position and size of your vents, windows, and doors, and the path/corridors between different sides of the home help you effectively cross ventilate
4. Benefits of proper ventilation
- Fresh air replaces the stale air in the apartment and maintains a flow and cycle. The indoor environment of the apartment becomes healthy and vibrant with constant fresh air coming in
The constant flow of air through the ventilation minimizes chances of ‘condensation’. You get to avoid damp and moldy conditions that trigger diseases like asthma
Cooking, dishwashing, washing, taking a sauna bath, washing clothes, and breathing produces ‘humidity, smoke, and odours’. Both high and low humidity levels need to be controlled by natural wind or other technology-driven means
- Poor ventilation means low oxygen! Low oxygen content causes headaches and fatigue. This is averted with good ventilation!!
- Efficient ventilation keeps the carbon dioxide level sufficiently low and makes the residents feel better and more active
Good ventilation helps ‘remove the emissions’ caused by construction and furnishing materials from indoor air. These emissions spoil the air quality of your home. So, emissions need to be managed and controlled with good ventilation systems– natural and technology-driven
- Proper ventilation keeps the building cooler for residents. When the building is too warm, people might feel very uncomfortable and uneasy! Staying inside a poorly ventilated home becomes unbearable at times!!
- Natural ventilation systems use outdoor airflow to cool the inside of buildings. This means that people do not have to spend lots of money powering inefficient mechanical cooling systems
Fresh air = Healthier life!
“I love the feeling of the fresh air on my face and the wind blowing through my hair.”
– Evel Kniewel
To know more about “Improved Ventilation Tips For a Safer Living In Your Dream Home!“.Click here!
