If you would like to improve your home’s indoor air quality (IAQ) with the help of an energy recovery ventilator, you may be interested in learning more about how these efficient devices are able to raise your IAQ while lowering your utility costs and increasing year-round comfort in your home.
Like all ventilation systems, energy recovery ventilators (ERVs) – and their close relation, heat recovery ventilators (HRVs) – improve IAQ by replacing stale, indoor air with fresh outdoor air. Unlike lower quality systems however, these ventilators keep your utility costs down by pre-conditioning the fresh incoming air before it enters your living space. With two parallel air streams, in the winter warmth from the out-flowing air is extracted and transferred to the incoming air. The process is reversed in the summer, with heat energy removed from the incoming air. The ERV has an additional benefit over an HRV because it also will transfer humidity from one air stream to the other, depending on the season.
Since an energy or heat recovery ventilation system pulls outdoor air through an air filter before it enters your home, incoming outdoor pollutants will be minimized while stale indoor air containing indoor pollutants will be exhausted. No ozone is produced with these systems, making them appropriate in homes with people who experience respiratory sensitivities; these factors allow an energy recovery ventilator to improve IAQ year round. Additionally, the system will help dehumidify your home during warmer months, further increasing comfort.
ERVs and HRVs are ideal in modern homes that are tightly sealed; they allow the infiltration of only small amounts of fresh outdoor air to enter the building through unintentional cracks or leaks. By installing an ERV/HRV with dedicated vents that allow incoming air to be pre-conditioned as well as filtered, your home’s IAQ will improve for many years to come with minimal routine maintenance tasks.
Homeowners in Lorain, Erie or Cuyahoga counties interested in learning more about home comfort issues, including ERVs and HRVs, are encouraged to contact the professionals at Energy 1 Heating and Air Conditioning, where we can serve you with more than 50 years of combined HVAC experience!
Our goal is to help educate our customers in Lorain, Ohio about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about energy recovery ventilators and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.
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Energy 1 Heating & Air Conditioning
1 (440) 246-5440
Serving the Lorain, OH Area