Installing a heat recovery ventilator (HRV) is an excellent way to freshen the air in your home while reducing energy costs. If you’re unfamiliar with how an HRV system works, here’s what you need to know, plus some of the advantages of getting one installed.
How a Heat Recovery Ventilator Works
An HRV system simultaneously removes warm, stale indoor air from your home and draws in cool, fresh outdoor air. The indoor and outdoor air travel through independent tubes, so they never mix.
As the warm indoor air moves outside, it flows through a heat exchanger. This device extracts the heat from the indoor air to pre-warm the fresh, incoming air. An HRV system operates in an opposite way during the summer to help cool the air coming indoors.
4 Benefits of An HRV Installation
Installing an HRV system in your home or business has many advantages, including:
It improves your home’s efficiency. A heat recovery ventilator can recycle as much as 90 per cent of the heat from the outgoing air. It means you can enjoy fresh air in your home without seeing increased heating costs. In fact, with an HRV installed, your furnace and air conditioner won’t have to work as hard, and you may actually see a decrease in your energy bills.
You’ll have a healthier home. Indoor air is two to five times more polluted than outdoor air, and modern air-tight homes without sufficient ventilation are susceptible to mould and mildew growth. An HRV system improves ventilation to create a healthier indoor environment. Additionally, a heat recovery ventilator has filters that remove pollen, dust and other pollutants from the incoming air. By cycling in fresh air, a heat recovery ventilator can also remove or reduce the concentration levels of bacteria, viruses and toxins that could affect your respiratory health.
You can better control humidity levels. Air-tight homes can get stuffy and humid from hot showers, laundry and cooking. HRVs feature humidity control settings, so you reduce humidity levels and thereby eliminate condensation on windows and doors.
Removes odours. Kitchens, bathrooms and bedrooms can get stuffy and smelly without fresh air. An HRV system provides fresh, clean-smelling air and will make your home more comfortable for you and your family.
HRV System Installation, Maintenance and Repair in the GTA
At Black Forest Plumbing, we provide heat recovery ventilator installation, maintenance and repair services for residential and commercial customers in the Greater Toronto Area. We can quickly and affordably add an HRV to your existing HVAC system. Contact us today to learn more about our HRV system installation services and competitive rates.