Tips For A Healthy Home Skylights Help Control Condensation

May 05, 2007 (PRLEAP.COM) Business News
That wet mist that sometimes clouds the interior glass on your home’s windows could be the first warning sign that your home is retaining too much moisture. And even if your home doesn’t actually feel damp, excess moisture can do damage in unseen places. Joe Patrick, senior product manager for VELUX America, says that condensation is the tip-off.

Understanding Condensation
“Condensation is the conversion of vapor to liquid. It occurs when the air becomes saturated with moisture and releases it in the form of water,” Patrick says.

The air around us contains water vapor (humidity), and we add more water vapor to it by breathing, perspiration, cooking, cleaning and showering. When the air becomes saturated with excess humidity, it dispels the moisture by condensing it back into water. This is what shows up on your window’s glass.
It causes problems including mildew on walls, window seals and baseboards, peeling or bubbling exterior paint, deteriorating attic and wall insulation, damaged floor tiles and deteriorating furniture, and rotting of structural wood between outside walls
Controlling Condensation
To fight moisture problems caused by condensation, you need to limit the amount of water vapor in your home. Installing double paned insulated windows and doors with energy efficient Low-E glazings that help keep interior glass warmer will help or you could double-pane your current windows by adding exterior storm panels. Simpler methods include taking shorter showers to reduce indoor moisture and cooking with lids on your pots to reduce moisture.
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“Since you can’t control all sources of moisture in your home, ventilation is very important,” Patrick points out. “Your home needs to breathe to fight condensation. By allowing moist inside air to escape and dry outdoor air to enter, you can reduce your home’s humidity level.” VELUX recommends these steps to help ventilate your home:
•Run kitchen and bathroom exhaust fans more often during the winter to expel hot moist air.
•Open a window in each room a few minutes daily to keep air circulated.
•Keep window drapes, blinds and shades open, allowing warm air to circulate around the glass.
•Keep attic louvers open to release hot air that rises to the outside.
•Open basement vents and crawlspace vents to release moisture to the outside, reducing dampness under your house.
•Make sure your clothes dryer and gas appliances properly vent moisture-laden air to the outside.
•Install a fresh air intake on your furnace.
Additional ventilation can also help control condensation. Ventilating skylights can not only help your house breathe easier but bring healthy and balanced light into your home while providing more privacy, especially in bathrooms. They can be opened with manual or electric controls to release warm, moist air and quality products feature Low-E insulated glass that keeps the interior glass pane warmer to lessen the chance of condensation forming.
And now is a particularly good time to consider upgrading existing skylights or adding new units to qualify for a tax credit of up to $200 under the Energy Tax Incentives Act of 2005.

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Request free information on controlling condensation and choosing the skylight that’s right for you by calling 1-800-283-2831, or by E-mail at www.veluxusa.com. For government information on window and skylight energy efficiency visit www.energystar.gov, and for independent agency information visit www.nfrc.org or www.efficientwindows.org.

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Image caption – You can help control condensation in your home with ventilating skylights.


VELUX America Information Series No. 1/06 – Condensation – Apx. 550 Words – 2nd. Qt. - 2006

Media contact:
Keith Hobbs - Business Services Associates, Inc. - 9413 Greenfield Drive -
Raleigh, NC 27615-2306 - Phone – 919.844.0064 - E-mail – khobbs@nc.rr.com

For quick access to natural light feature material and background information, news releases, press kits and high-resolution images visit www.veluxusa.com and go to the News Media Home section under “Professionals.”