For Builders & Designers

Home Comfort Explorer

See how a home's size, airtightness and the way people live shape comfort, air quality and moisture — and where ventilation makes the difference. Built for builders and designers to explain it, and for homeowners to explore it.

Built to be explained, not engineered

Most sales consultants can comfortably explain stone benchtops, double glazing, solar, batteries and insulation. But ask “why does this home need MVHR?” and many struggle — not because ventilation doesn’t matter, but because it’s rarely taught in plain language.

Instead of asking your team to design a system, this tool starts where they’re strongest: the client and their home. Answer a few simple questions and it turns the result into a story — and the exact words to use.

Builder sales consultantsBuilding consultantsDisplay home staffArchitectsDesignersProject managers
Interactive

What kind of home is your client building?

Set the scenario below to generate talking points tailored to your client.

Quick demo

150500

The one thing to remember

Bedrooms likely to exceed 2,200 ppm CO₂ overnight.

Overall risk

Severe

Daily moisture

17 L

Without:Stale bedrooms, Moisture build-up, Reliance on opening windows

With MVHR:Fresh air automatically, Continuous moisture removal, Filtered outdoor air

Without designed ventilation

  • Bedrooms may feel stale by morning (around 2,200 ppm CO₂).
  • Fresh air depends on occupant behaviour.
  • Moisture removal is inconsistent.
  • Comfort and air quality vary with the weather.

With balanced MVHR

  • Fresh, filtered air is delivered automatically.
  • Moisture is removed continuously, helping manage humidity.
  • Ventilation works regardless of occupant behaviour.
  • Comfort is maintained with the windows closed.

Overnight bedroom CO₂

Same home, same two sleepers — only the ventilation strategy changes.

Poor
Acceptable
Good
Excellent
2,221
1,695
780

No designed ventilation

Poor

Window airing + fans

Poor

Balanced MVHR

Excellent

Bands: Excellent <800 · Good 800–1,000 · Acceptable 1,000–1,400 · Poor >1,400 ppm

Daily moisture load

How much water vapour this household adds to the air each day.

17 L/day

17 × 1 L bottles

Cooking, showers, breathing, drying towels and normal occupancy can release this much water vapour into the home each day — about 17 one-litre bottles, or roughly 1.7 buckets of water.

Moisture doesn’t disappear on its own. It must either leave the building through ventilation or condense somewhere inside the home.

No designed ventilation

Severe

Moisture depends on leaks, exhaust fans and chance airing.

Window airing + fans

Moderate

Improves when windows or fans are used — but depends on weather and occupant behaviour.

Balanced MVHR

Moderate

Continuous wet-area extract removes moisture automatically and consistently.

The full picture

No designed ventilation

Home as built

Window airing + fans

Depends on weather & habits

Balanced MVHR

Continuous, filtered

Overnight bedroom CO₂
2,221 ppm
1,695 ppm
780 ppm
Moisture / humidity
Severe
Moderate
Moderate
Condensation risk
High
Moderate
Moderate
Mould risk
High
Moderate
Moderate
Pollen & allergens
Fair
Very poor
Excellent
Bushfire smoke
Poor
Very poor
Good
Comfort & energy
Poor
Poor
Excellent

Window airing improves on a fine day but drops away in winter and on smoke days — change the season above to see it move. MVHR stays steady because it doesn’t rely on the weather or on someone remembering to open up.

A note on bushfire smoke

MVHR’s real benefit on a smoke day is that ventilation can continue while the windows stay closed, and the incoming air is filtered — generally better than opening up. It does not eliminate smoke: standard filters reduce particles but aren’t dedicated smoke filters, so some fine particles and odour can still enter. Higher-efficiency filters improve smoke performance, but they add resistance and can reduce airflow if the system isn’t designed for them — they’re best fitted for smoke events rather than run year-round, and aren’t a permanent HEPA solution.

Talking points

For each issue: what the client feels, what you can say, and what MVHR changes.

When your client asks…

Tap a question to reveal a plain-English answer.

These figures are indicative and designed for client education — they are not a ventilation design, airflow schedule or commissioning target. HiPer Haus sizes and commissions each MVHR system separately for the actual home. MVHR improves indoor air quality, manages moisture and supplies filtered fresh air, but it does not remove all moisture, guarantee a specific humidity level, or completely stop bushfire smoke. Model assumptions: ≈18 L/h CO₂ per sleeping adult, home volume = floor area × 2.4 m, natural air change ≈ ACH50 ÷ 20, ≈2.7 L/day moisture per occupant plus a wet-area and overnight allowance.

Lead with the problem

What problem are we solving?

Clients don’t buy features — they buy solutions to problems they recognise. Start here, not with the spec sheet.

Stuffy bedrooms

Why it happens

Two sleeping adults in a closed, well-sealed bedroom can push CO₂ well past 2,000 ppm by morning. There's nowhere for the stale air to go.

How MVHR helps

MVHR supplies a steady stream of fresh, filtered air to every bedroom overnight, so the room feels fresh at 6am — not stuffy.

Condensation

Why it happens

Everyday living adds litres of moisture to the air. In a sealed home that moisture builds up and settles on the coldest surfaces — usually windows and reveals.

How MVHR helps

By continuously removing humid air before it accumulates, MVHR keeps indoor humidity in a healthy range, so windows stay clear.

Mould

Why it happens

Mould needs moisture. Persistent high humidity and condensation give it everything it needs to grow in wardrobes, corners and behind furniture.

How MVHR helps

Controlling humidity at the source removes the conditions mould needs — protecting both the building and the occupants' health.

Bushfire smoke

Why it happens

On smoke-affected days, opening windows is not an option — but a sealed home with no ventilation becomes stuffy fast.

How MVHR helps

MVHR lets the home stay sealed while still delivering fresh, filtered air, so the family breathes comfortably with the windows shut.

Allergies & pollen

Why it happens

Open windows bring in pollen and dust along with fresh air — a daily problem for hay fever and asthma sufferers.

How MVHR helps

Incoming air is filtered before it reaches the home, so occupants get fresh air without the allergens that come with an open window.

Energy loss

Why it happens

Ventilating by opening windows throws away the heating and cooling you've paid for — and sealed homes with no ventilation trap stale air instead.

How MVHR helps

Heat recovery transfers most of the warmth (or coolth) from outgoing air into the incoming fresh air, so the home breathes without the energy penalty.

Builder cheat sheet

Don’t say this — say this

A living reference for turning technical language into words a client actually feels.

Don’t say

The system provides balanced ventilation.

Say this

The home gets fresh, filtered air all day — without relying on open windows.

Don’t say

It extracts stale air from wet areas.

Say this

It continuously removes moisture before it becomes condensation or mould.

Don’t say

Heat recovery efficiency is 90%.

Say this

You get fresh air without throwing away the heating and cooling you paid for.

Don’t say

It maintains optimal indoor air quality parameters.

Say this

The air in here stays as fresh as a window just opened — all day, every day.

Don’t say

Supply and extract are commissioned to design airflows.

Say this

We tune every system to your home so each room gets exactly the right amount of fresh air.

For your team

Need help explaining ventilation?

HiPer Haus can support your team directly — from display-home sales training and client presentations to builder CPD sessions, design-stage input and project-specific advice.

Display home sales training
Client presentations
Builder CPD sessions
Design-stage consultations
Project-specific advice