Whole-house ventilation systems in the form of ERVs and HRVs offer homeowners access to quality fresh air when the home is shut up tightly over winter—or whenever conditions call for ventilation. Before choosing a home ventilation system, it’s helpful to know the differences between energy recovery ventilators(ERVs) and heat recovery ventilators (HRVs), so that you can make a wise selection. Learn how ERVs and HRVs work.
Heat recovery ventilation
The primary components utilized in an HRV include ducting, supply and exhaust vents, a heat exchanger, and fans. The fans work to pull stale air in the home through the heat exchanger, where some of the energy in the air is drawn into the heat exchanger’s core, while the air is exhausted through the out-take vent. Simultaneously, the HRV uses a fan to draw fresh outdoor air into the system. The two streams of incoming and outgoing air don’t meet, but the energy is exchanged so that the incoming supply of air, which is cold, can be preheated. As a result, your furnace won’t have to work as hard to counteract the coolness of incoming air. In fact, HRVs are quite efficient, with most units able to recover as much as 80 percent of the energy in the outgoing air.
Energy recovery ventilation
ERVs and HRVs function similarly in terms of exchanging air and reusing energy. The ERV goes one step further, though: It addresses moisture. In the summer, the unit can strip moisture from the incoming supply of air, if any exists; otherwise, indoor air may become humid, and your air conditioner would have to work harder to counteract that moisture. In the winter, the ERV can find moisture in the outgoing stream of air, and divert it to the incoming airstream, ensuring the home doesn’t become too dry.
If you’re looking for a home ventilation system to counteract stale indoor air when your house is shut tight for winter, consider the benefits that ERVs and HRVs offer. For help selecting a system for your home, contact Aladdin Heating & Cooling. We’ve served Birmingham, Shelby Township and Utica since 1945.
Our goal is to help educate our customers about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about ERVs And HRVs and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.
Aladdin Heating services Novi, Farmington, Farmington Hills, Southfield, Oak Park, Ferndale, Beverly Hills, Berkley, Royal Oak, Birmingham, Bloomfield Twp., Bloomfield Hills, West Bloomfield, Madison Heights, Clawson, Sterling Heights, Warren, Troy, St. Clair Shores, Grosse Pointe, Grosse Pointe Woods, Grosse Pointe Farms, Grosse Pointe Park, Detroit, Utica, Shelby Twp., Rochester, Rochester Hills, Auburn Hills, Lake Orion, Oxford, and Clarkston.
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