neither kitchen nor bathroom have air extractors

jennifernil

We have lived in Norway, and have family there.  Pretty much anything built from the 1940s onwards has ventilation built into bathrooms and kitchens, opening a window while also running heating would be considered madness by most people! 

For the last 20+ years heat recovery systems have been routinely fitted in newbuilds, and ideally also installed where possible in older homes.

Most homes have woodburners and also  electric panel radiators, air to air heat pumps are also very popular.

The only time I have seen windows routinely being opened for ventilation in winter is possibly for a short time after a shower if there is a lot of condensation, or when doing a lot of cooking that similarly produces excessive condensation.

We live in Scotland, so not as cold as Norway in winter, but we would never  open a window for ventilation while running heating ........especially now fuel costs are so high!     All bathrooms have very quiet extractors which are used after showers and baths, and the kitchen has a vented extractor.     Windows have trickle vents we can open, but we usually only use them in summer.

Albermarle

Most homes have woodburners and also  electric panel radiators, air to air heat pumps are also very popular.
I presume these choices are mainly down to the local situation than anything.
Woodburners - Plenty of wood available !
Electric panel heaters - Probably no gas network in many areas?
Air to air heat pumps - No original wet central heating, so tricky to retrofit an air to water heat pump system to cover the whole house ?

_Jem_

jennifernil said:

We have lived in Norway, and have family there.  Pretty much anything built from the 1940s onwards has ventilation built into bathrooms and kitchens, opening a window while also running heating would be considered madness by most people! 

For the last 20+ years heat recovery systems have been routinely fitted in newbuilds, and ideally also installed where possible in older homes.

Most homes have woodburners and also  electric panel radiators, air to air heat pumps are also very popular.

The only time I have seen windows routinely being opened for ventilation in winter is possibly for a short time after a shower if there is a lot of condensation, or when doing a lot of cooking that similarly produces excessive condensation.

We live in Scotland, so not as cold as Norway in winter, but we would never  open a window for ventilation while running heating ........especially now fuel costs are so high!     All bathrooms have very quiet extractors which are used after showers and baths, and the kitchen has a vented extractor.     Windows have trickle vents we can open, but we usually only use them in summer.

Some trickle vents is the same as having a window open a bit. I have blocked my trickle vents as I don't need them.

jennifernil

Albermarle said:

Most homes have woodburners and also  electric panel radiators, air to air heat pumps are also very popular.
I presume these choices are mainly down to the local situation than anything.
Woodburners - Plenty of wood available !
Electric panel heaters - Probably no gas network in many areas?
Air to air heat pumps - No original wet central heating, so tricky to retrofit an air to water heat pump system to cover the whole house ?

Correct, plenty of wood in country areas, plenty for sale too, not so popular in the larger cities as it is more expensive.

 My OH's family live well away from towns and have land with trees, so it is  just a question of  cutting what they need.  Chimneys situated in the middle of the house allow the heat to warm upstairs rooms too.

No gas other than in a small area of Oslo, but electricity is much cheaper than here and mainly generated using water.

Air to aIr  heat pimps have been in use for over 30 years, my sister in law is on her second one now.  The open plan layout of most homes allows the heat to  circulate freely.