E-Z Breathe

E-Z Breathe relies on deceptive advertising to promote their ineffective and grossly overpriced ($1500) product. Their website makes the erroneous claim that moist air is heavier than dry air. This, of course, isn't true. Ask any meteorologist why a barometer falls as the amount of water in the atmosphere increases. Their website also infers that the system works by drawing dryer air from upstairs and replaces the moist air that has "settled" in the basement. Moist air doesn't "settle" in a basement. It is a result of moisture in the air condensing on the cooler floor slab and below grade foundation walls. In fact, bringing that air into a cooler basement is more likely to increase the relative humidity of that air due to the temperature change alone, and if the outside air is muggy, the system will only worsen the problem. The other major defect in the E-Z Breathe ventilation system is that as conditioned air is exhausted out of the house, that air must come from someplace, and that someplace will be unconditioned outside air pulled in through cracks around windows and doors and leaks in the envelope of house. An ERV or an HRV would be a far more energy efficient and sustainable ventilation system for exhausting stale air and bringing in fresh air because they will recover a large percentage of the energy (heat in winter, cool in summer) from the outgoing conditioned air. At roughly $2000-$2500, installed, the more energy efficient ERV or HRV won't cost a great deal more than E-Z Breathe's $1500 glorified exhaust fan.

EZ Breathe does not claim to “clean” the air. It provides what the ALA, EPA, RESNET & ASHRAE, among others, agree is one of the best solutions for a healthier indoor environment: Ventilation!

In fact, Wisconsin adopted ASHRAE 62.2 in the 2nd ½ of 2005 for new construction, which states that “A mechanical exhaust system, supply system, or combination thereof shall be installed for each dwelling unit to provide whole building ventilation”.

EZ Breathe provides the recommended ventilation requirements suggested by ASHRAE 62.2.

EZ Breathe is a great way to introduce fresh air into a home, AND exhaust the stale or contaminated air from the home. With a maximum cfm rating of 176, EZ Breathe is also quiet, uses little energy and effective.

If you'd like more non-partisan information, look for a handout published by the EPA called the “Homeowner’s Guide To Ventilation”, which talks about the benefits of mechanical ventilation.

jvn is correct. I have a homemade exhaust fan / humidistat setup in my attic and basement. The attic unit very effectively prevents condensation on the underside of my metal roofing. It also has the same drawbacks as the expensive commercial product. ie: if the outside humidity is high, inside humidity will be too.

A humidistat may be a bit hard to find – check HVAC suppliy houses. You can start with a $25 box fan and move up if you need to.

To achieve the results of this expensive unit for much less-you can buy a Deflecto dryer vent booster assembly
for about $120 – draws 20 watts is 135 CFM and uses a EBM blower from Germany that is a motorized fan with excellent life and excellent construction. You can buy a Honeywell humidistat from Grainger for about $80.00-both the items are excellent construction-take a look for yourself. Add some flexible duct to vent it out of the house-dryer vent etc. and you essentially have the same unit you would pay $1500.00 for. If you want add a speed controller for another $20.00.

When we had an old HVAC system replace the contractor installed an EZ Breathe system. Our formerly cool, comfortable, dry feeling with a dehumidifier basement became unbearable to be in, even though the relative humidity went down, & the upstairs became incredibly thick and hard to breathe in. Finally figured out that the unit was exhausting the air-conditioned drier air from the day & pulling in the high dew point, moist air as replacement from evening through morning, until it heated up enough around noon for the a/c to start running. This unit simply exhausts air you've paid to heat or cool. RELATIVE humidity can be misleading; a half full 1 oz. glass & a half full 8 oz. glass are both, in a way, "50% humidity", but one has a lot more water in it! If you cool warm outside air, the relative humidity will go up, but that doesn't mean there's any more moisture in the air. If you actually have a musty smelling basement, run a dehumidifier with an AUTO DEFROST feature (important, as in a cooler basement the unit might be iced up so much it's not actually removing water from the air most of the time).

This is a rip off, for 1500.00 you can find a better solution, They fail to tell you that you have to maintain a 50% humidity level upstairs in order for this thing to work, If I had that I wouldnt need the EZ Breathe. It made my basement worse!! disappointed

I realize that some people who own this product are satisfied, but I would still caution people against it based on what I believe is deceptive advertising.

It is commonly agreed that the unit is simply an exhaust fan: it blows the air out of the basement, to be replaced by air from the rest of the house. They claim that the cost of this is $2-$4 per month, but that only factors in the cost of running the unit. If you are heating your house in the winter, Ez Breathe is pumping that heat outside. If you are air conditioning your house in the summer, Ez Breath is blowing your air conditioned air (plus some excess humidity picked up in the basement) outside to be replaced by hot, humid air. Essentially, you are using your existing heating and air conditioning system to dry out your basement, and these costs will definitely rise if you have an exhaust fan running. How much, EZ Breathe doesn’t tell you, in part because the cost will depend on the ambient temperature and humidity of the outside air. I suspect these costs may end up exceeding the cost of running a dehumidifier.

I have had the E-Z Breathe for five years and am completely satisfied. The installer was knowledgeable and competent. When it was first installed we could literally smell the mold and polluted air seeping out of the walls. In about 4 or 5 hours the house was noticeably drier and smelled better. I have a 3 room finished basement and use a dehumidifier in addition to the E-Z Breathe simply because there is an unfinished room behind one of the walls with a dirt floor which creates moisture when it rains. Let’s be realistic, basements are below ground and damp. We are not really supposed to live underground so to keep it dry would be challenging for any unit. Overall I am extremely happy with the unit and would highly recommend it. I have heard complaints about the customer service. Luckily for me the unit works great and I have never had to call anyone.

EZ-Breathe is a scam by all means, in my opinion. $1500-$2000 fan…
We just had an EZ-Breathe unit installed in our crawlspace/basement area. After a number of weeks, it has not only *not* removed the moisture, it has allowed all of the cleared mold to regrow (we have cleaned it MULTIPLE times while the EZ-Breathe was running), our pipes still bead with moisture, our vapor barrier is wet, all from excess humidity. I took a humidity reading with the EZ-Breathe running and it was 85%, that was after about 2 weeks. Now prior to installing, the tech said “You’ll *never* have to run a dehumidifier, it will be bone dry in a few days” etc… Not only that… but they also cut a vent hole in your house directly to your basement/crawlspace. My concern was, won’t the mold go into the house much easier with a direct hole there? The tech replied “Not a single molecule can get out, due to *negative pressure*”… within 1 day of them installing the vent, right around the same time they put new insulation down there, the entire house inside smelled like mold & insulation… My wife and I had to quarantine the main room where the vent was… I want to say something verrrrry clearly for anyone considering the EZ-Breathe unit, you will be spending 1500-2000 dollars on a FAN… and a fan that isn’t even high powered. Now after complains, the tech says “Well it took your home years to get that moist, look on it taking 3-6 months to get that moisture out” …. speechless. They then said “It’s not new mold growing, it’s old mold coming from inside the wood, that means the EZ-Breathe is working”… Another statement is “You have to constantly run your heat/AC so it has air to work with…” If you want moisture remediation, there are FAR better and more efficient ways to do this than buying the “Rainbow Vacuum Cleaner” of ventilation systems. Although at least Rainbow Vacuums work as advertised. STEER CLEAR OF THIS SCAM, that’s my opinion and experience. Worst appliance experience EVER.

The best and cheapest appliance to remove basement humidity and mold is the Breeze. It works on the same principle as other systems (Wave Ventilation, EZ Breathe, and Humidex), just costs more than a thousand dollars less: only $299. And, it carries a 5 year warranty. Why would anyone pay over $1,500 for the same thing or recreate the wheel by trying to make one yourself when you can buy a professionally made one at that price? I have it in my basement and it works like a dream using the same principle employed in the expensive units. It costs about $12 a year to run continuously. Check it out: BreezeSystemsInternational.com or at Amazon or Ebay.