Heat recovery ventilation

What is heat recovery ventilation?

A heat recovery ventilation unit is designed for optimum air exchange in a building with minimum heat loss from ventilation. Thermal loss caused by ventilation in current family houses ventilated by micro-ventilation or semi-opened windows makes up to 40% of the total heat loss of a building.

What is heat recovery ventilation good for?

Recent low-energy and passive houses cannot do any more without heat recovery ventilation. Increasing tightness of a mantle and other construction elements of a building will lead to insufficient air exchange and problems with damp air, mold and germs like mite which may be causing health problem to the inhabitants.

These problems cease when a ventilation system is installed. The building is ventilated mechanically also at times when nobody is present, then with lower ventilation intensity.

A heat exchanger has become a crucial component in recent Heat Recovery Ventilation (HRV) systems. It transfers heat from outgoing stale warm air to incoming fresh cold air.

However, it shall be noted that this is no heating appliance, just a ventilation unit ensuring the necessary air exchange. For this reason the building in question shall be equipped with an independent heating system and a heat source. HRV systems for detached houses require neither a detailed design nor complicated calculations.