Home Improvement Stack Exchange
Home Improvement Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [erv]

Energy Recovery Ventilators are heat exchangers which use the stale air they are exhausting from the building to precondition the fresh air they're bring in from outside to reduce heating and cooling costs.

14 questions
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Can an HRV replace the air exhausted by a range hood?

I'm in the process of buying a 1950s ranch house. It doesn't have the greatest insulation, so I'm planning to do some improvements over the first few years to tighten things up. I'll certainly do the basics (expanding foam in window openings,…
Adam Jaskiewicz
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When insulating with closed-cell Spray Foam, what ERV and HVAC resizing considerations should I bear in mind?

I am building a 2800 sqft, two-story brick home in Austin, TX. I have heard many good things about the benefits of insulating with closed-cell Spray Polyurethane Foam (ccSPF)1, and have requested that the builder use 2" of ccSPF in exterior walls…
Mike Pennington
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How can I add ventilation to my basement office?

I have a finished basement with an office, guest bedroom and bathroom. All about 700 sq ft. I work 12+ hours in the office and really need to get some fresh air circulating by extracting stale air. I'm looking for a good method of doing this. I had…
Andrew Findlay
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How should I decide between an HRV and ERV for a northern climate home?

I have a 33 years old house in Bedford, Nova Scotia, Canada. The existing air exchanger is out of order and need to replace with something newer. Question is should I get a HRV or ERV system. As I understand: HRV only recovers heat ERV recovers…
Samiron
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Better to reverse the intake/exhaust on my HRV?

I bought a house with an HRV (Heat Recovery Ventilation). The air intake for it is in a closed compartment under a staircase outside the house, so any air going in first has to go through small gaps between the boards of the stairs. I doubt the…
hamboy
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Driving ERV directly from EAC output of a Thermo Pride O6 Furnace

I have an ERV driven by a relay controlled by an Air Cycler. I recently installed a Thermo Pride O6 furnace. The O6 has 120 VAC output to control EAC. Can I plug my ERV directly into this outlet instead of going through a relay? Update with…
zzz777
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How much will an ERV improve the air quality in my geothermal hvac system?

I'm in the design phase of installing a ground-source closed-loop geothermal hvac system. After doing some research, I became interested in adding an ERV -- our house doesn't have a tight enough envelope to really make it worthwhile for system…
DDub
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How to size and split hvac ducts appropriately?

I am installing an HRV. A Broan/vanmar/vanee self balancing model. -peak cfm is 160, average cfm will be about 90cfm -It has 6in ports for fresh and return air. -i would like to split both of them into 3-4 ducts. A fresh air for each of the two…
Ya Guy Godzilla
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Any reason to not use a concentric vent for HRV/ERV air exchange?

Planning to install an ERV (Energy Recovery Unit) and have been advised that a concentric vent is easier to install and the risk of short circuiting output and input is negligible. My feeling is if I am willing to invest to install an ERV, it might…
user1114802
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Can an ERV push air through an existing HVAC system

I have an existing HVAC system on a 2 story, 2500sq ft house + finished basement in Pennsylvania. We have radon in the basement, which fluctuates between 1 and 3.5. It's controlled by a mitigation system, but we'd like to reduce it further. An…
Adam Hughes
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Should I tie into the ERV or just vent outside to increase bathroom ventilation?

Our bathroom currently only has an intake connected to the Energy recovery ventilation (ERV) to remove humidity, and it's completely inadequate even for a quick shower. Should I install an exhaust fan that just vents straight out the roof, or are…
Brad Mace
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Is ice on ERV door normal?

My ERV is forming ice and condensation on the top of the door and on top of the unit (presumably because the fresh air intake is on that side). The outside tempersture hit about 1 degree F today. Is this normal? I previously had issues with…
skimon
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*Minimum* Duct Length for ERV Intake?

I’m installing a Panasonic Whispercomfort ERV in a bedroom wall stud cavity, furred out to 7″ D. The runs are simple — 4″ vertical flex followed by a rigid 90 elbow through the wall (I’d rather (2) 45’s, but don’t want the chase to project too far…
borisj
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Using a HRV/ERV Fan without mounting it on a wall/window?

DIYers, I'm considering various options for home improvement and improving the home economy and resource/climate efficiency. One area of focus is the fact that I live in Denmark and it can get quite cold, and so HRV and ERV fans seem like appealing…
Corspide
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