Ventilation and house air tightness: Effect on indoor temperature and humidity in Southampton, UK

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Abstract
Continuous mechanical ventilation with heat recovery (MVHR) has been advocated as a means of controlling house dust mite. 40 houses in the Southampton area, UK, were chosen for study. 20 were fitted with MVHR systems and the remainder acting as controls. Temperatures and humidities were measured in asthmatic patients' bedrooms for a period of over one year. Measurements were also made of mite and allergen levels, indoor air pollutants and clinical changes. Analysis of these variables will be reported separately. Over the winter months the mechanically ventilated (MV) bedrooms had a mean absolute humidity of 6.75 g kg-1 as against 7.53 g kg-1 for the controls (P < 0.001). The World Health Organisation has suggested 7 g kg-1 as a value below which mites fail to thrive. 15 of the mechanically ventilated houses had a mean winter humidity below 7 g kg-1, compared with only 3 of the control houses. Humidities were lower in leakier homes, but this was significant in the mechanically ventilated group only.

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