Air conditioning or ventilation?

In everyday speech, air conditioning and ventilation are easily mixed up, but they are two different things. In this article, we explain the difference between the two concepts.

Healthy and fresh indoor air is the key to a good quality of life. It has an important effect on the comfort of the workplace and home alike. Fresh indoor air gives us energy and we can think more clearly – that is why it is worth investing in.

Exchange or circulation?

Air conditioning and ventilation both improve the quality of indoor air, but they are based on very different principles. Ventilation replaces indoor air with fresh air, while air conditioning circulates air – that is, air conditioning does not bring fresh air into the room. This is the most important difference between the two.

If your bed is soaked in sweat on summer mornings, an air cooler or the cooling function of an air-to-air heat pump can make you feel more comfortable. An air-to-air heat pump also helps to heat the building in colder months. Ventilation, on the other hand, always keeps the air fresh and easy to breathe, regardless of the season. However, its cooling capacity is limited. Technically, ventilation and air conditioning can be implemented with one unit or completely independent units.

Ventilation increases wellbeing and the comfort of living

As explained above, ventilation means removing used, “dirty” air from the rooms and replacing it with new, fresh and oxygen-rich air. In addition to being essential for the residents’ wellbeing and the preservation of the building’s structures, ventilation adds to the comfort of living.

A mechanical ventilation system is usually designed and implemented when the house is being built or in connection with a renovation. Ventilation ducts are installed in the structures and the ventilation unit in the utility service room, bathroom or some other suitable place.

Ventilation removes impurities from the indoor air that are caused by everyday life, such as cooking smells and moisture caused by bathing and doing laundry. Emissions from building and interior decoration materials are removed at the same time.

Modern mechanical ventilation recovers heat from the extracted air and uses it to heat the fresh air coming in. This is smart in terms of energy-efficiency. Heating the supply air also prevents unpleasant draught.

The humidity and carbon dioxide sensors of the Vallox MV ventilation units automatically boost the ventilation after showering and sauna bathing, or when there are many people present in the house. When the home is unoccupied, the efficiency of ventilation is decreased. This means that the ventilation works automatically according to the need, but you may also adjust it yourself.

Air conditioning helps on hot summer days

Air conditioning, on the other hand, recycles indoor air and changes its qualities by means such as cooling or removing moisture. However, it does not introduce fresh air into the room.

Air conditioning can be implemented with an air-to-air heat pump mounted on the wall, a portable air conditioning unit, a fan convector or a cooling beam, for example. When air is being cooled, the units condense water from the recycled indoor air, removing moisture. Removal of moisture is even more important for the comfort of living than cooling, because humidity feels uncomfortable on the skin, very much like sweating. No one wants to sweat all the time.

Air conditioning units simply recycle the same air, which is why they do not remove smells. These smells are caused by cooking, breathing, doing laundry, etc. While an air-to-air heat pump helps to heat the building in colder months, it cannot reduce the humidity load caused by showering and sauna bathing.

Air conditioning can be arranged by means of an independent unit, or it can be integrated into the ventilation system of the building. A duct radiator installed in the supply air duct of the ventilation system cools the air flowing in and removes moisture from it, bringing relief in hot and humid weather. The cold geothermal heat collection circuit fluid is an example of a suitable coolant.