On a fall afternoon, you decide to close your curtains and windows to watch your movie with your friends at home. Hours later you finish the movie and you say goodbye to your friends. You are surprised to find the outside of your house has fresh and cool air. What is happening? Why is the inside of the house so hotter than the outside? Is the heat released by the home theatre and your friends are the only reason you feel hot? No. In fact, being warm is a feeling not only related to temperature but also associated with humidity. People breathe out water vapour and while you were enjoying the movie, your body was sweating. Consider when you are cooking a meal or taking a shower. These activities are releasing a lot of water vapor in the air since the window is closed, the humidity in your house is relatively higher than the outside.  Our bodies are pretty sensitive. We can recognize a comfortable zone related to temperature, humidity and air velocity. The idea of a comfort zone falls to 20 to 80% relative humidity and 65 to 78 degrees depending on air velocity. If the condition falls outside of this zone and the air is still, our bodies will respond to it. 

Clothing also matters. It is possible when the air is calm, the temperature is cool but the humidity is high, we will still feel warm because high humidity slows down the evaporation of our sweat. Our bodies generate heat every second and if the heat cannot be released to cooler air, we feel hot. Heat is taken away from our bodies turning sweat to vapor. If the surrounding humidity or temperature is lower, or air velocity is quicker, the cooling effect will happen faster. When the air outside the house is cooler, you can open your window to allow natural breeze.

So, how do we get effective ventilation? First, try to open the window that faces the main wind direction of the home. Predominantly, most areas in summer have the wind from the south. Therefore, homes with south-north facing homes benefit from ventilation. Air usually flows from the south windows and leaves through the north window. Having two side windows for more air movement is more effective than one.

So, if you want a window installation in your house or home, please contact Eco Elite Doors & Windows for help.