How The Heat Recovery Ventilator Works

An Overview Of A Heat Recovery Ventilator

A heat recovery ventilator is often installed in new homes as a way to evacuate stale, polluted air and bring in fresh air from the outdoors. A residential model will typically be designed to use two separate blowers, one to handle the fresh air and the other for the stale. It also features a heat exchange core which transfers the heat to fresh air without having to mix the airstreams. Lastly, there is a damper which is installed to automatically stop the cold air from defrosting. This article will briefly explain how these simple yet highly effective machines work.

Homes And Their Fresh Air

So, first of all, what brought on the need for the heat recovery ventilator? In the past, homes were not built that tight; you’ve probably heard the phrase, ‘drafty old house’ before. This made it very easy for cold air to get in. So, you have to turn up the thermostat to keep it warm during the winter months, hoping that the heatpump will last. The only problem here is that it can get very expensive and during the last 2 or 3 decades heating bills have skyrocketed. So in order to make homes more energy efficient they have been built much more securely with tight doors and windows and plenty of insulation. But now there is the problem of homes being so tight that they are sealing off the fresh air.

Looking At The Heat Recovery Ventilator

  • The heat recovery ventilator works in a similar fashion to the balanced ventilation system.

  • The only difference is that it uses the heat in the outgoing air to warm up the fresh air that is coming in.

  • They usually consist of a pair of fans with one being devoted to evacuating the old air and the other to bringing in the new.

  • There are several different passages inside of these machines which control the flow of the incoming and outgoing air.

  • The warmth from the old air is transferred to the new even though the two streams of air never actually touch.

Winter And Summer

These units work both in the summer and winter months. In the former they can be set to transfer the heat of the incoming air to the stale exhaust air that is being evacuated. While in the winter months they can really help to keep the heat inside of your home. However, one of the downsides is that the cold air can build up within the unit if the temperature goes down to 20 degrees Fahrenheit. Luckily these units are outfitted with a damper that routes warm air into the core to defrost it.

The heat recovery ventilator is an excellent addition to practically any home, and is essential to maintaining a healthy climate indoors. Even though some may think installing one would make a good DIY project, the truth of the matter is that this is a job that is better left in the hands of a professional.