Natural Ventilation

Why We’re Using It

Indoor air can be more polluted than outdoor air—a concern since most people spend more time inside their homes than out. Indoor air contaminants, like dust, pollen, pet dander and volatile organic chemicals (VOCs) found in furniture and household products can accumulate to levels that compromise the health and comfort of everyone living in a home. Poor indoor air quality (IAQ) can aggravate allergies and trigger headaches, fatigue, an inability to concentrate and irritation of the eyes, nose, throat and lungs. High temperatures and humidity levels can cause mildew and mold—major allergens linked to asthma and other serious respiratory diseases.

The airtight construction of modern homes exacerbates air quality issues, trapping moisture, irritants and toxins inside. Inadequate ventilation can increase indoor pollutant levels by not bringing in enough outdoor air to dilute emissions from inside sources and by not carrying indoor air contaminants out of the home. River Vine Vineyards is designed to achieve superior IAQ, limiting human exposure to harmful environmental pollutants and assuring the maximum comfort and safety of occupants.

How It Works

River Vine’s advanced design and state-of-the-art systems address and mitigate the primary causes of IAQ problems—inadequate ventilation, poor climate control and high humidity. Constructed from low- and no-VOC materials, River Vine will be built healthy, relying on automated mechanical and natural ventilation to eliminate airborne impurities that can put people at risk. A dual-filtration ventilation system will work with an aggressive air cleaner to circulate fresh, filtered air, cycling interior pollutants out of the home and purifying the outdoor air brought inside.

River Vine will be pressurized, with an airtight building envelope that prevents unconditioned air from entering the home. While all windows are operable, the home will utilize natural convection to keep rooms at a desirable temperature, eliminating the need to open windows and preventing dust, pollen and toxins from migrating outside-in. Five separate zones will allow different areas of the home to be heated and cooled to a different level, with each room having its own return air loop. During normal, everyday operation, all return air will be ducted directly to the air handlers and run through an enhanced whole house air cleaner.

The system is designed to self-determine ventilation necessity, with onboard carbon dioxide (CO2) and humidity sensors and controllers continuously monitoring River Vine’s interior air and automatically adjusting ventilation to optimize IAQ. When CO2 gases exceed acceptable levels, the ventilation system will automatically switch to Fresh Mode—a setting that also can be manually activated when filtered outside air is desired. In Fresh Mode, outside air will be drawn through a fresh air intake on the roof and run through an activated carbon air filter, then moved through the air handlers and the whole house air cleaner, undergoing double filtration before distribution. Highly effective for removing VOCs, gases and other contaminants, carbon filtering assures a superior level of air purification

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