KfW 55 - Ventilation system yes/no? - Experiences

With us, you can't hear anything in the bedroom at 44 cubic meters of air per hour, unless your head is 50cm in front of the ventilation grille. A refrigerator is not comparable at all; it really makes a lot of noise.

Best regards
Sabine

Yes, a refrigerator is super loud, it's all very subjective after all

So air conditioning in hotels is definitely louder than a properly installed controlled residential ventilation system in single-family houses. Some can also be programmed with a "sleep timer," if I remember correctly. You just have to fall asleep within 30 minutes.

We deliberately decided against a ventilation system and were able to compare this well because we had a decentralized ventilation in our previous house (built in 2017). The comfort may be good, if you consider it comfortable to have "fresh air" without opening a window. For me, however, this was no replacement for the fresh air that comes in by opening the window. On the contrary, an open window and the sound of birdsong speaks more of comfort to me, but everyone is different. Therefore, the energy-saving effect was lost for us.
The most important point, however, was hygiene. Of course, we regularly changed the filters. Nevertheless, after one year you get a rough idea of what it probably looks like deeper inside the pipes. After another 2 years, I recommend everyone to remove the cover on the duct once and clean through it with a longer object. A joy if someone tends to herpes.
I am now very happy that I no longer have to imagine through which pipes the air comes that I breathe in over several years.

If you google, you almost think you absolutely MUST install a ventilation system. Why? Because those who have one like to make this known. Those who don't have one do not miss it; there simply is no need to philosophize about the fresh air in the house, it is just taken for granted. And: negative opinions are always louder. You will find few posts where someone writes how good their indoor climate is without one.

You can't do anything about planning errors or poorly constructed systems.

Supply air valve living room. System nearly 10 years old. No additional cleaning. Only the necessary filter change and cleaning of the heat exchanger every three years.

P.S. Decentralized is better than nothing, but yes, ultimately they are remarkably loud.

The fairy tale about the dirty pipes unfortunately persists stubbornly.