The HRV Low Down

So, if you haven’t heard, ventilation in today’s more energy-efficient homes is becoming a must. Continuous ventilation systems are very common in new housing and home renovations. With all the energy savings, the system of choice, more often than not, is a heat recovery ventilator (HRV). An HRV is a mechanical ventilation device that helps make your home healthier, cleaner and more comfortable by continuously replacing old, stale indoor air with fresh outdoor air. HRVs are set apart from other mechanical ventilation devices due to their ability to exchange heat between the supply and exhaust air streams, reducing the cost of heating or cooling. The healthy fresh air is then circulated throughout the home. This article provides a guide only. Refer to the user manual for information on operating procedures for your HRV, contact the installer or the manufacturer.

Moving Fresh Air in New Homes
New homes are built to be airtight, limiting the uncontrolled flow of air in and out of the home as well as reducing heat loss and moisture damage to the building. To ensure a healthy living environment, today’s homes use a mechanical ventilation system to remove nasty pollutants. These pollutants are caused from everything like household contents and materials to people and their activities and even their beloved pets. In a lot of homes, the mechanical ventilation system is an HRV. This system allows fresh air to flow throughout the home. A properly installed and maintained HRV gets rid of indoor air pollutants and excess humidity to the outdoors while distributing fresh air. During the heating season, the HRV captures heat from outgoing air and uses it to preheat the incoming fresh air. For the cooling season, an HRV can reverse this heat-exchange process, removing some of the heat from the incoming air and transferring it to the outbound air.

How Much Ventilation Does Your Home Need?
The capacity of a home’s ventilation system is usually based on the number of rooms in the house. HRV capacity is measured in litres per second or cubic feet per minute of fresh air. For an example, a master bedroom under normal circumstances would be about 10L/s or 20 cfm.

Distribution of the Air
The two standard ways to spread that fresh air throughout the home are through the ductwork installed for the HRV, fully ducted system, or through the ductwork of a forced air furnace system. A fully ducted system is often found in homes that do not have forced air heating, such as electric baseboard, hot water or radiant heating. In this system, the fresh air is distributed through ducts throughout the house. Exhaust air ducts take the stale air from rooms that have high moisture and pollutant sources back to the HRV and, from there, to the great outdoors.

The Need for a Balanced System
HRVs are designed to operate in a balanced state, meaning the same amount of air should be drawn into the home as the amount being exhausted. An unbalanced system results in poor airflow and poor heat recovery. It can also lead to other problems, including an unwanted, continuous air pressure difference between the inside and outside of your home. System imbalance is usually caused by differences in the amount of ductwork used in the fresh air and the exhaust. It may also be caused by a clogged filter, a blocked intake or exhaust hood, or a malfunctioning damper or fan. Taking more air from the house than what comes in, creates negative household air pressure. This excessive pressure can cause the spillage of carbon monoxide and other combustion by products from fuel burning appliances (e.g. a furnace, water heater or fireplace). Instead of going through the chimney, these combustion by products can be pulled back into the house, where you could inhale them…not good. Pulling more air into the home than is exhausted creates positive household air pressure though. This excessive pressure can cause moist air from the home to be pushed into the walls and roof, where it can condense and lead to the deterioration of the building and materials. This hidden problem often goes unnoticed until it’s too late and the damage has been done. Along with positive pressure comes some more unwanted effects. There could be moisture escaping through exterior doors resulting in lock mechanisms freezing, making it difficult for you to enter or leave the home. And the HRV core could get some frost or freeze, restricting or blocking airflow. Yep, there’s a need for a balanced system alright.

Servicing Your HRV
Refer to our previous article https://weissjohnson.wordpress.com/2013/08/12/174/. If you’re in the greater Edmonton area and require any additional information and/or for service, don’t hesitate to contact us here at Weiss-Johnson. We have different maintenance plans available for any of your service needs. Our quality is your comfort!

Preventive HVAC Maintenance Is One Smart Investment

There is one investment that always pays off…a little money spent on preventive HVAC maintenance turns into a lot of money saved! Preventive maintenance extends the life of your HVAC equipment and preempts potential breakdowns by detecting, then fixing emerging issues before they become expensive repairs. Regular tune-ups also ensure your system runs at peak efficiency. Consider this. You spend $30 to change the oil on your vehicle, which saves you from spending $3,000 to replace a seized engine.

It’s a bargain! Preventive maintenance is cheap compared to repair bills if, or when a poorly maintained system degenerates. Regular tune-ups ensure optimal function. Neglected HVAC equipment eventually requires extensive repairs and ultimately must be replaced prematurely.

It’s easy to do! Simply schedule annual inspections, from a licensed technician. It’s simply being proactive. Seasonal tune-ups reduce unexpected HVAC breakdowns. It’s far more cost effective to spot a small, simple problem during routine inspection, rather than waiting for it to turn into an emergency service call. A well maintained system provides more comfort with much less hassle.

It’s green! HVAC is the biggest energy expense in most of our homes. A properly maintained system runs at peak efficiency, thus saving money and saving the environment. Scheduling regular tune-ups can potentially cut your utility bill by 10% or more.

Most HVAC companies offer preventive maintenance plans. Here at Weiss-Johnson, we offer three different annual plans to suit all of your needs, including annual tune-ups, discounted repairs and parts, 24-7 emergency service, and more. Give us a call and we’ll be more than happy to assist you with maintenance plans.