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Heat Recovery Ventilation

Ventilation is an important aspect to any home but are you tired of losing heat out of your ventilation system?  Heat recovery ventilation could be the answer to your problem.  Find out more.

Why Ventilate?

Life inside the home generates a mix of moisture and pollutants, and these need to be removed for the safety and comfort of occupants.  Such pollutants include gases, mould, mildew, cooking odours, bacteria, fungi, allergens, and so forth.  Additionally, excess moisture can eventually lead to structural problems.

How Heat Recovery Ventilation Works

A residential heat recovery ventilation system uses separate blowers to move incoming fresh air and outgoing stale air.  The heat exchange core transfers the heat to the fresh air without mixing the air streams and the damper automatically stops cold air for defrosting.  The heat exchange core works in the same way that the radiator in your car works.  It is made up of a series of narrow alternating passages through which the incoming and outgoing air streams flow.  As the streams move through, the heat is transferred from the warm side of each passage to the cold, while the air streams never mix.  Depend on the type of system you have, heat recovery ventilators can recover up to 85 percent of the heat in the outgoing air stream – the air from your home.  The ventilator also contains filters that keep particulates such as pollen or dust from entering the house, making it great for people that suffer from allergies.

Benefits of Heat Recovery Ventilation

Heat recovery ventilation is beneficial in both summer and winter.  While you could simply opt to open a window for ventilation, you will lose heat and humidity during the winter and gain it in the summer, both of which are undesirable comfort wise and energy efficiency wise.  Using the heat recovery ventilation means that you are getting fresh air into the home without having to let in colder or warmer air, depending on the season.  This improves the comfort of the home and saves you money on your heating and cooling bills.

Types of Heat Recovery Ventilation Systems

Heat recovery ventilation systems can be stand alone devices that operate independently, or they can be built in, or added to existing HVAC systems.  The only requirement for the building are an air supply, either directly from the exterior wall or ducted to one, and an energy supply for air circulation such as wind energy or electricity for a fan.  If used with a ‘central’ HVAC system, the system would be of the forced air type.

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