a cultural question...

[ratcreature]

I've noticed several times references in fiction about people airing out their house once it got warmer that made it sound as if Americans don't open their windows in winter to let fresh air in. Like as if they don't air their house if it's freezing outside.

Is that true? Is it a central air conditioning thing where you don't really need windows to get fresh air, and shouldn't disrupt climate control or something like that? Because otherwise I can't imagine not to open my windows at least twice a day for a little while. Admittedly it's rarely extremely cold here, but this winter we had days when the daytime high was below -10°C and I still aired out my place briefly.

Here you are even required to do so in rental agreements because otherwise you get problems with moisture buildup and such.

Comments

[ratcreature]

Forced air is really uncommon here. I have never seen it in a private home. You have radiators, or more luxuriously floor heating. And you definitely will get trouble with the damp and mold if you don't air your home properly, especially in older buildings like mine, that's from around 1900.

They were built back when the windows were the coldest because they were single pane or simple double pane and water would condense there and do no damage. Now windows are all insulated so often the coldest spots will be on the walls in the corners and you will get mold problems, because moisture from living will condense there if you don't air carefully. And that is why rental agreements often demand airing.

But I also rarely leave my windows open over night because without the sound insulation traffic is fairly loud. Though sometimes I have trouble with temperature in the summer because I'm directly under the roof and of course no one has A/C here, and unfortunately my windows all open only to one side, so no cross breeze. During one particularly bad heath wave few years back (iirc 2006? that year when many died of excessive heat in Europe) I left my front door open at night in addition to the windows as a last resort to get some air flow.

[peoriapeoriawhereart]

Forced air is very common here, and is the rule for more modest old homes while the quality older homes have/had boilers and thus radiators. Newer homes may have one or another electric systems.

As a Midwesterner, airing out the house happens for the final time prior to heating season and then only again after heating season has ended. There is some exchange, because of older houses not being air-tight. (That would have been lethal back in the coal burning days.) Mind you, there is some weirdness regarding some people opening the windows regardless of time of year.

In case you didn't know, many American homes have bathroom fans (you do lose some heat unless there is an exchanger, but don't get too much cold air in) and or range hoods in the kitchen.