Balanced ventilation is one of the most critical—and misunderstood—elements of Passive House and high-performance buildings. In this 101 session, hosts Sarah Nuamah and Shefami Sanghvi are joined by Greta Tjeltveit of 4EA Building Science to break it all down with clarity and real-world experience.
Greta draws from years of multifamily passive building design, site review, and performance testing to explain what balanced ventilation actually is, why it matters for comfort, health, and efficiency, and how to get it right from design through commissioning.
You’ll explore the most common ventilation strategies used in multifamily buildings—unit-by-unit, floor-by-floor, and stacked zonal systems—and uncover how layout, accessibility, and coordination decisions affect long-term performance and maintenance.
What you’ll learn in this session:
-How HRVs and ERVs deliver fresh air while minimizing energy loss
-The pros and cons of common multifamily ventilation configurations
-Commissioning best practices (and the pitfalls to avoid)
-Design strategies to optimize indoor air quality, comfort, and efficiency
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101: Balanced Ventilation | PHA Live!
In this 101 session, hosts Sarah Nuamah and Shefami Sanghvi are joined by Greta Tjeltveit of 4EA Building Science to break it all down with clarity and real-world experience.
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