Insulating a home is necessary to combat heat loss and provide residents with comfortable living conditions. However, insulating your home too much can prevent the air from circulating properly. The absence of natural ventilation causes excessive accumulation of heat. humidity and may increase the risk of asthma or allergies.
To reduce energy losses, the heat produced by heating and lower the electricity (or gas) bill, it is important to insulate your home well. To avoid these losses, the solution is to insulate thermal bridges, such as exterior walls, roofs, floors and even windows. The goal is to maintain a pleasant temperature in your home and ensure the comfort of residents. However, by wanting to strengthen the airtightness of the home and improve its energy efficiency, we risk overinsulation. However, insulating your home too much will prevent air from circulating and can cause health problems. We’ll explain it to you.
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What is overinsulation?
This term refers to the excessive use of insulating materials to combat humidity and energy loss. However, by overinsulating your home, it becomes more and more airtight. The home cannot “breathe” properly, leading to moisture buildup and degrading air quality. Many pollutants circulate inside a home and it can happen that the indoor air is more polluted than the outdoor air. However, ventilation allows air to circulate, to renew itself and to live and breathe well.
The dangers of overinsulation?
Insulating too much is at odds with ventilating because it causes excessive humidity. However, too much humidity encourages the development of mold and fungus. The lack of natural ventilation increases the risk of allergies, asthma and dermatological problems due to an increased presence of dust mites. Furthermore, bad odors persist and poorly ventilated housing keeps the air stale by pollutants. Finally, the absence of natural ventilation impacts the quality of sleep, because it can cause nocturnal breathing difficulties.
Good actions to avoid overinsulation
It is essential to install adequate and controlled ventilation, in particular by opting for double-flow VMC. This mechanism guarantees ventilation of the rooms and allows for good breathing in the home. This controlled mechanical ventilation makes it possible to continually renew the air and recover heat from the air. Do not hesitate to use a hygrometer to control the humidity inside the house. Finally, for a healthy interior, it is imperative to ventilate every day, even in winter, for ten minutes every morning and evening.
Sabine BOUCHOUL for TF1 INFO
