Pros of Having an HRV System Installed

Take a deep, long breath of air in your home. How does it smell? Does it smell like a fresh spring breeze, or does it smell stale and unclean? Or—even worse—did you have to stop inhaling in order to sneeze or cough? Now, look outside your window. Is the sun glaring into your home and causing the heat to rise? Are there a lot of bugs hanging out you don’t want coming inside?

Fresh air, especially in the spring and summer, always add a certain smell to your home, whether it’s letting in the ocean breeze or you’re trying to air out your bedroom. Did you know that there is a ventilation system that can give you fresh air without opening a window and risking flies or unwanted particles to come inside? It’s called an HRV system, and we’re going to talk more about it.

What is an HRV System?

HRV stands for heat recovery ventilation. It is also known as mechanical ventilation heat recovery (MVHR). An HRV system works similarly to a balanced ventilation system, except what it does is use the heat in outgoing, stale air to warm up fresh air. Typically, a unit includes two fans, one to take out the household air and the other to bring in the fresh air.

What makes this a unique HVAC system is its heat-exchange core. This core will transfer heat from an outgoing stream of air to an incoming stream the way your car’s radiator transfers heat from the engine’s coolant to outside air. This is because it’s made of several narrow passages through which the airstreams flow. Heat is shifted from the warm side of each passage to the cold, but the airstreams never mix.

What are the Benefits of an HRV System?

HRVs are flexible systems in that they can either be built into or added to your existing HVAC systems, or you can leave them be as independent devices. They are small and can provide ventilation for a single room. The only requirements you need are an air supply, either directly from or ducted to an exterior wall, and an energy supply for air circulation such as electricity for fans and an electronic control system, or as wind energy.

HRVs are effective in the summer months in that it will take heat from the incoming fresh air and transfer it to stale, air-conditioned exhaust air, so that you can stay cool without giving up good air quality. An HRV is also effective, even  more so, during the winter months as it will keep your air fresh without your opening a window and risking all the rain (and snow!) to come in. Overall, having an HRV active during both seasons will help reduce the need to cool down or heat up the house, thus preventing you from emptying your wallet to pay your energy bills.

An HRV also contains filters that will keep particles, such as pollen and dust, from entering the house, so that your air is kept clean, pure, and allergen-free.

Is My Home Suitable for an HRV System?

It depends. While we recommend installing them if air quality is important (especially if allergies are an issue), it’s also more beneficial to have one installed if your home is prone to moisture. This is because the HRV will replace humid air with dry fresh air. That means the climate inside of your home with stay at a constant level and retain two-thirds of the heat that would normally be lost through ventilation, so not only does it keep the air fresh, it also saves you valuable energy.

Basically, if your home is older and tends to be drafty, or it’s modern and airtight but the air feels stuffy and unventilated, an HRV system is definitely necessary.

So, ready to have your HRV system installed?

At Rep-Air Heating And Cooling we provide our customers with many options that will best suit your needs from heating and cooling to refrigeration. Contact us today for your complimentary quote: 1-778-728-1476 or contact@repairheatingandcooling.com and don’t forget to take a look at our website: https://repairheatingandcooling.com. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram for free giveaways!