Let A Heat Recovery Ventilator Deliver Fresh Air
In winter and summer, we usually make a considerable effort to seal our home to keep conditioned air in and the temperatures of the season out. While this can lead to a comfortable and well-heated or cooled home, it can also limit the amount of ventilation that brings fresh air into our living spaces. If you’ve started noticing signs of reduced indoor air quality in your home–more particulates in the air, stuffy or stale rooms–then a heat recovery ventilator may be the solution you need.
A heat recovery ventilator, sometimes called an HRV or air-to-air heat exchanger, provides whole-house ventilation while recovering as much as 80 percent of the heating and cooling energy in the stale air being vented from your home. By using a heat recovery ventilator, you substantially decrease the amount of energy and money that is lost through winter or summer ventilation.
HRVs are most often installed in your home’s attic, where they run continually to provide a constant exchange of indoor air. They bring in fresh air from the outdoors while simultaneously venting stale air out of your home.
During winter operations, the HRV pulls warm but expended indoor air into the unit’s highly efficient heat exchanger. At the same time, a stream of fresh but cooler air is pumped in from outside and also routed into the heat exchanger. Inside the heat exchanger, the two streams of air pass close together without mixing. The heat from the outgoing stale air is transferred to the incoming fresh air, which warms it and recovers a significant portion of heat energy that would otherwise have been wasted.
A heat-recovery ventilator also works well in the summertime, providing similar energy recovery and reuse. In warmer months, the HRV will use cool outgoing air to lower the temperature of warm incoming air.
Contact us today for more information on heat recovery ventilators and how they can help improve your home’s indoor air quality while also reducing your seasonal heating and cooling expenses.
Our goal is to help educate our customers in Delaware, Pennsylvania, Maryland and New Jersey about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC & plumbing systems).
Image Credit: Matt J. Olsen
