Summary (TL;DR):
When electricity and heating bills are high, ventilation settings play a much bigger role than many people realise. Even with a regular (non-intelligent) ventilation unit, you can reduce energy use by making two simple, practical adjustments.
Practical tips to lower energy consumption
Right now, with electricity prices painfully high, people usually look at heating first. But very often ventilation is running in a way that actually increases heating costs – without us noticing it.
Below are two practical tips that work for any home with a heat-recovery ventilation system.
1. Reduce ventilation speed when no one is home
If you leave for work in the morning and know the home will be empty for several hours, set the ventilation unit to minimum mode (for example “away”, “eco”, or simply a lower fan speed).
Why this works:
- At lower airflow, the heat exchanger recovers heat more efficiently.
- Less warm air is exhausted from the house.
- The heating system (underfloor heating, radiators, heat pump) doesn’t have to compensate for constant heat loss.
👉 The result: lower heating demand and lower electricity consumption, without compromising air quality.
(Side note: newer systems can do this automatically by detecting when nobody is home. But the same principle applies when adjusting settings manually.)
2. Don’t set the supply air temperature too high
A good rule of thumb:
👉 Set the supply air temperature about 1.5–2 °C lower than your desired indoor temperature.
Example:
- Desired room temperature: 22 °C
- Supply air temperature: ~20–20.5 °C
Why this matters – two key reasons:
1. Post-heating consumes a lot of energy
The electric post-heater in a ventilation unit is one of the most energy-hungry components. Setting the supply air too warm directly increases your electricity bill.
2. Air circulation becomes unhealthy
- If warmer air than the room temperature is supplied from the ceiling, it tends to stay near the ceiling.
- Proper air mixing doesn’t occur, leading to air stratification.
- Slightly cooler supply air falls downward, mixes with room air, and creates natural, healthy air circulation.
👉 The result: more even temperatures, better comfort, and lower energy use.
What’s the takeaway?
Ventilation isn’t just a machine that “moves air”.
It is a direct part of your energy consumption – and with correct settings, you can save more than you might expect.
And if at some point you want a system that:
- automatically knows when nobody is home,
- adjusts airflow and temperatures based on real conditions,
- does all of this without daily manual adjustments,
…this is exactly the logic behind solutions like those from Aiobot. That said, even with a standard ventilation unit, you can already make smarter choices today.
