Thanks Bernard, from my experience, a lot of mass-produced airtight homes can be designed very sterile, and often, the designers omit all the 'normal' things people expect from a house, which is something I'm interested in. Fundamentally, homes need to become more airtight, because air movement usually accounts for around 40% of heat loss. There is no reason you can't have a normal comfortable home with a wood burning fire (you can get amazing balanced flue wood burning stoves), opening windows, architectural features e.t.c. in an airtight house-it can actually feel very reassuring to walk in and close the big chunky door and feel completely isolated from the cold and draughts outside. Often, the MVHR system hasn't been installed correctly, or the ducts are made of plastic which become lined with dust and lint due to static, or not big enough because installers are still unfamiliar with the technology in the UK. Or people don't get the filters changed in as much the same way they don't clean their gutters each year. Also, the heating system is often designed for a traditional inefficient house, and is completely overkill, creating uncomfortable waves of heat. Culturally, in Canada and Scandinavia, people are more accustomed to not having radiators (ducted heat) and tumble drying clothes as opposed to sprawling them around radiators in the house (which is incredibly inefficient, in winter by the way and causes excessive moisture). It comes down to good design and an understanding from contractors I guess.