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Heat Recovery Ventilator Greg 10-11-2006
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Posted by Greg on October 11, 2006, 9:14 am


I'm considering adding a Heat Recovery Ventilator to my 1200 sq.ft.
house heated by solar thermal with a wood stove backup. However, most
of these devices that I've found seem suited only for larger houses
(>2500 sq.ft.). Can anybody recommend a good brand of 'mini' heat
recovery ventilators?

thanks,


Tankless Water Heaters 468x60
Posted by Paul M. Eldridge on October 11, 2006, 10:19 am


Hi Greg,

I have a Venmar HEPA 3000 model, which is rated for up to 3,000 sq.
ft. I'm very pleased with the performance of this product. I run
mine mostly in "recirc" mode as a way to distribute heat from my
ductless heat pump (located in the living room) throughout my home;
you could do the same with your wood stove.

See: http://www.venmar.ca/Product.aspx?productId=3

If you don't require this much capacity (it provides 105 cfm of fresh
air for a total of 270 cfm of filtered air), you could operate it on a
timer so that it runs only at set times of the day, e.g., three or
four hours in the morning and likewise in the early evening. Since it
is plugs into a standard wall outlet, an inexpensive lamp timer (e.g.,
the ones with the multiple pin settings) is all you need.

Cheers,
Paul


>I'm considering adding a Heat Recovery Ventilator to my 1200 sq.ft.
>house heated by solar thermal with a wood stove backup. However, most
>of these devices that I've found seem suited only for larger houses
>(>2500 sq.ft.). Can anybody recommend a good brand of 'mini' heat
>recovery ventilators?
>
>thanks,


Posted by Robert Gammon on October 11, 2006, 11:50 am


Paul M. Eldridge wrote:
> Hi Greg,
>
> I have a Venmar HEPA 3000 model, which is rated for up to 3,000 sq.
> ft. I'm very pleased with the performance of this product. I run
> mine mostly in "recirc" mode as a way to distribute heat from my
> ductless heat pump (located in the living room) throughout my home;
> you could do the same with your wood stove.
>
> See: http://www.venmar.ca/Product.aspx?productId=3
>
> If you don't require this much capacity (it provides 105 cfm of fresh
> air for a total of 270 cfm of filtered air), you could operate it on a
> timer so that it runs only at set times of the day, e.g., three or
> four hours in the morning and likewise in the early evening. Since it
> is plugs into a standard wall outlet, an inexpensive lamp timer (e.g.,
> the ones with the multiple pin settings) is all you need.
>
> Cheers,
> Paul
>
>
>
>> I'm considering adding a Heat Recovery Ventilator to my 1200 sq.ft.
>> house heated by solar thermal with a wood stove backup. However, most
>> of these devices that I've found seem suited only for larger houses
>> (>2500 sq.ft.). Can anybody recommend a good brand of 'mini' heat
>> recovery ventilators?
>>
>> thanks,
>>
>
>
Any of the HRV models will work in your home.

Run the calculations for volume of the air in your house and divide that
by the amount of fresh air you want brought into the house. Divide the
answer by 60 to get hours to exchange rate

Answers of less than 3 hours and you may want to cycle the unit on a timer.

For example 1200sqft with 8 ft ceilings is 9600 CU FT.

Using Paul's installation as an example above, it brings in 105CFM

A constant 105CFM does a complete change out of the air in your home in
1.5 hours.

So a reasonable approach is to use a timer that will allow you to run it
20 minutes out of every hour for a complete change out in 4.5 hours
Paul's lamp timer idea is useful, but you may want a slightly more
flexible timer for this application.

For example, this timer has a remote control and allows 20 on/off
cycles. Not enough to cover all 24 hours, but close and very inexpensive.

http://www.smarthome.com/1125.html

Posted by Paul M. Eldridge on October 11, 2006, 1:32 pm


Hi Robert,

Some good points. A fully programmable timer with a remote control
would be a smart way to go and at under $25.00, the price is
reasonable.

I should add this particular Venmar operates at two speeds ("normal"
and "boost") and at this lower setting the outside air portion is 70
CFM. As mentioned, I run mine in "recirc" mode most of the time and
only use the fresh air option when showering and at other times as
required for humidity and odour control (a simple wall control located
in the main bathroom allows me to change these modes and to turn the
unit on and off).

Depending upon occupancy load and living habits, showering and cooking
can be major sources of indoor humidity. Here in Nova Scotia, it's
not uncommon for people who heat with wood to store a portion of this
wood inside their basement; as you can imagine, the amount of moisture
given off by this wood as it dries can be significant. I would
closely monitor indoor humidity levels and adjust run times
accordingly. With the remote control timer you've recommended, that's
a fairly simple matter.

Cheers,
Paul

wrote:

>Any of the HRV models will work in your home.
>
>Run the calculations for volume of the air in your house and divide that
>by the amount of fresh air you want brought into the house. Divide the
>answer by 60 to get hours to exchange rate
>
>Answers of less than 3 hours and you may want to cycle the unit on a timer.
>
>For example 1200sqft with 8 ft ceilings is 9600 CU FT.
>
>Using Paul's installation as an example above, it brings in 105CFM
>
>A constant 105CFM does a complete change out of the air in your home in
>1.5 hours.
>
>So a reasonable approach is to use a timer that will allow you to run it
>20 minutes out of every hour for a complete change out in 4.5 hours
>Paul's lamp timer idea is useful, but you may want a slightly more
>flexible timer for this application.
>
>For example, this timer has a remote control and allows 20 on/off
>cycles. Not enough to cover all 24 hours, but close and very inexpensive.
>
>http://www.smarthome.com/1125.html


Posted by m Ransley on October 12, 2006, 8:39 am


Do you really need one, only a blower door test will determine if your
house is tight.


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