Heat Recovery Ventilators

[stateofmind]

Do any of you have an HRV or Heat Recovery Ventilation system in your home? We have a very basic air exchange that just draws in the air from outside in, but in the winter it's too cold and in the summer it draws the humidity in. We are looking to get something to allow the fresh air in but keep the frost off of our windows.

We were at the Home Show in Ames today and talked to some guys about it. If you do have one, has it been worth the investment? What brand did you get and who installed it? The guy said it would be roughly $2,500 to have one installed. But if it can keep our window sills dry and our home smelling fresh and free of humidity we are willing to pay.

 

[1973 Banker Clone]

We owned a custom built very tight & extremely energy efficient home in Altoona that we loved. It was so tight that we had moisture on our windows in cold weather. I learned that Hunziker who built very energy efficient homes in Ames & Ankeny installed HRV's in all their new homes. I purchased one from the same company that they used. It worked perfect in our home. I was very pleased. It was easy to adjust & little upkeep. Just clean the filters. Find out from Hunziker who the HRV company is. We now live in Columbia, MO & I can't remember their name but I'm sure they were located in Ames.

 

[kbud]

I am a HVAC technician. I have one in my house. It works to keep the humidity at the appropriate levels and also keeps the odors down. I have two dogs in my home and it is very effective at keeping their smells at bay. I’m very happy with it. I will have one in all my future homes. Your welcome to message me if you have questions.

 

[stateofmind]

I am a HVAC technician. I have one in my house. It works to keep the humidity at the appropriate levels and also keeps the odors down. I have two dogs in my home and it is very effective at keeping their smells at bay. I’m very happy with it. I will have one in all my future homes. Your welcome to message me if you have questions.

Does that price sound reasonable for a Lifebreath installed?

 

[IcSyU]

If you have frost in your windows this isn't a "it's certainly going to fix it" type of thing. You could drop $3,000 and if your house is already at 20% humidity it won't fix anything.

If it was an automatic fix every house in the upper Midwest would have one.

 

[kbud]

Does that price sound reasonable for a Lifebreath installed?

It’s not unreasonable but sounds like a ball park figure. A HRV can be ducted in different methods. It depends on how much ducting is required, what type of remote controller is used and the size of the unit needed vs the size of the house.

 

[kbud]

If you have frost in your windows this isn't a "it's certainly going to fix it" type of thing. You could drop $3,000 and if your house is already at 20% humidity it won't fix anything.

If it was an automatic fix every house in the upper Midwest would have one.

If you check the amount of relative humidity with a hygrometer, its pretty simple to figure out.