Many homeowners don’t realize how important having a good airflow in their home is. This doesn’t mean the airflow coming from your heater or air conditioner either, this means natural airflow. This is the airflow that comes in from the outside via your windows and doors.
Why is this natural airflow so important? First, it saves you money by cooling your house for free. Second, it allows you to change the stale, illness filled air in your home during the winter with fresh, clean air from the outside; which keeps you healthier and saves you money from having to go to the doctor.
Yes, you can cool your house and get fresh air with a single window, but it is less effective than a house that has a good airflow set up.
The Right Windows for Good Airflow
There are no special windows that create a better airflow than others. The only requirement for a window to be effective in creating a good airflow is that it opens. The best airflow however, is with windows that are installed opposite of each other so that it creates that “in one window out the other” flow that keeps the air moving.
All window treatments need to be raised or pushed to the side also to prevent blocking the air trying to get in or out of the window.
The Right Doors for Good Airflow
Now with doors, there is a special requirement needed for a door to be effective in creating a good airflow in a home. The door has to have a screen!
Really, the windows in your home all need to have screens as well to keep bugs and other critters from coming in the home, but with windows being up and off the ground it is not as important as having a screen on a door. Open doors are just an inviting welcome to critters, children, and others that you may not want in your home.
Doors work just like windows in that they give an additional opening into your home that can create that desired flow with a window on the other side of the room, or even on the other side of the home. They work better than windows, because the opening for a door is much larger than that of a window. With some doors however, a screen door takes away from the beauty of the door, and it may be best to go with an opening window on the side of the door instead.
For more ideas and suggestions, contact one of our window specialists.
