What’s the Difference Between ERV & HRV?
Today’s homes are increasingly airtight. While this is great to ensure efficient heating and cooling, with minimal heat gain or loss, it creates one problem. An airtight home does not allow fresh air to enter, and this means any contaminants that are in the home, including dust and mold, stay in the home. Continually recalculating air through the home can cause these contaminants to build in the indoor air, hurting your indoor air quality. Poor ventilation can also trap excess humidity in your home, which can lead to water damage.
The solution to this problem is proper ventilation. Home ventilation protects your home from having contaminants build up and hurt your health. For homes in the Raleigh-Durham area, two different ventilation options are ideal, and those are HRV and ERV ventilation.
The team at Air Experts Heating & Cooling wants you to understand these systems so you can choose the right one for your home.
What Is An HRV System?
HRV stands for “Heat Recovery Ventilation.” This type of ventilation system uses the heat from the outgoing air to heat the fresh air that’s coming into the home. This reduces wear and tear on the HVAC system, because the incoming air doesn’t have to be heated quite as much. Of course, in the summer, the heat exchange reverses, and the incoming air is cooled when the outgoing air conducts heat on its way out of the home.
What Is An ERV System?
ERV stands for “Energy Recovery Ventilation.” This type of ventilation system allows for ventilation with humidity capture. The goal is to provide ventilation while keeping the humidity level on the inside of the home stable.
Here’s how this works. In the winter, when the system draws in fresh, dry air, an ERV system will pull humidity out of the indoor air before expelling it, and then infuse that humidity into the fresh air it’s drawing in. In the summer, the humidity transfer reverses, pulling humidity out of the outside air before bringing the air into the home.
Which System Is Right for You?
To determine whether an ERV or HRV system is right for you, consider the humidity levels inside your home. If you tend to have a home that’s too humid in winter, then you would be best served by an HRV, which will pull humidity out of the home along with the stale air. If your home is too dry in winter, an ERV would be a better choice.
Call Air Experts for Indoor Air Quality Services in Raleigh, NC Today!
If you’re having trouble deciding which type of ventilation system is right for your specific needs, let the Air Experts team help you make the choice. We can evaluate your home’s current humidity levels to help you make an informed choice for your home. We also offer ERV and HRV troubleshooting services, so you can protect your indoor air quality and comfort levels.
If you’re dealing with ventilation questions or concerns, call Air Experts at 919-480-2727 today for expert help from our trusted team of HVAC professionals!
