Boost the Quality of Your Indoor Air with Heat Recovery Ventilators

An equal balance of supply and return air in a home is the foundation of quality indoor air. But without a mechanical ventilation system, like heat recovery ventilators, a home’s air quality is likely to be poor. Because better home construction and retrofitting practices create airtight homes, indoor air can become trapped and unhealthy. A heat recovery ventilator (HRV) supplies fresh air, exhausts stale air and returns some of the energy used in the process, providing the ultimate ventilation experience.

How do HRVs work?

HRVs are designed to offset airtight homes’ inability to supply and exhaust air throughout the home. An HRV has two channels: one for directing fresh incoming air into the home, and one for guiding stale, polluted inside air to the outdoors. In fact, HRVs can exhaust chemicals, odors and other pollutants, helping to improve your home’s air.

But you might be wondering, what do I have to sacrifice in order to upgrade indoor air quality?

Or, you may think that a mechanical system will consume energy, so your energy bills will increase as a result of using one. With an HRV, you don’t have to sacrifice your energy bills to improve indoor air quality. Remember those two channels? As the HRV brings one channel of air into the home and the other channel draws air out of the home, the two channels also exchange energy. In winter, as heat is exhausted alongside the air, that heat is transferred to the incoming air — and the converse occurs in the summer. Therefore, while an HRV will consume electricity to operate, it is more than offset by the savings you’ll reap from its ability to reuse conditioned air, and your HVAC systems won’t have to work as hard.

Consider how heat recovery ventilators can upgrade your home’s indoor air quality, while netting you energy gains in the process. Contact us for more information or to schedule an appointment.

Our goal is to help educate our customers in Wilmington, Delaware and surrounding areas about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC & plumbing systems).

Image Credit: Jenn and Tony Bot