My contractor says that it is possible to build a house too tight, that a house needs to “breath”.
Your contractor is right in a sense. What good does it do to go to the effort of building a “tight” house and then to have to open windows to air out the stuffiness. The secret is the Heat Recovery Ventilator or HRV. In it’s simplest form this a flat plat exchanger that exchanges heat with air exhausted from bathrooms, kitchen areas with incoming air to the bedrooms and living areas. Advantages are the air exchange is controlled, efficient and where it needs to be. It does take prior planning and does require some ducting but the flows are low and ducts are small and incoming air can be filtered for dust and pollen. It can even be used to inject some cooling in the summer conditions.
Your contractor is right in a sense. What good does it do to go to the effort of building a “tight” house and then to have to open windows to air out the stuffiness. The secret is the Heat Recovery Ventilator or HRV. In it’s simplest form this a flat plat exchanger that exchanges heat with air exhausted from bathrooms, kitchen areas with incoming air to the bedrooms and living areas. Advantages are the air exchange is controlled, efficient and where it needs to be. It does take prior planning and does require some ducting but the flows are low and ducts are small and incoming air can be filtered for dust and pollen. It can even be used to inject some cooling in the summer conditions.