We had this HRV installed in our home
We’ve had problems with condensation on our windows for years. Then we decided to have an indoor air quality assessment done when we had constant headaches. The result of the assessment was that our carbon dioxide (CO2) levels in our home were more than 3x normal (well over 1600 ppm. normal is 500 or so).
The simple answer to both was to install an HRV. The Canadian and Ontario governments even offered a rebate of $750 for doing so.
In essence the cause of our headaches and also our condensation was simply that the home was too air-tight. This was before we even started plugging up all the remaining holes the eco-auditor told us about. The air (and water vapour in the winter) couldn’t get out, and no new air was coming in. The basic act of breathing was making us sick and showers were fogging up the windows throughout the house.
Our Trane CleanEffects filter
This was a chronic problem with mid-90′s construction that was hell-bent on being air-tight at the start of the green movement. It seems our home was built in the window between leaks-like-a-sieve-construction and the HRV becoming standard in new homes.
We had a local heating contractor supply and install a Venmar HRV after a thorough references check. While we were at it we upgraded the furnace filtration system with a Trane CleanEffects that “delivers air that is meticulously filtered and cleaned of up to 99.98% of allergens”.
The basic idea behind an HRV is that new air is brought into the home in a very controlled way, such that the warm air on its way out heats the new air as much as possible. As a result we’re not wasting as much heat as if we simply opened the windows every day to vent the bad air. We’re sure there are other ways to get the job done, but this system works very well.
In the end we’re quite happy with the result. We don’t have headaches and the dust is all but gone from our flat surfaces. It’s too early to tell if the Trane is killing things that would otherwise make us sick. That would be quite a feat with a newborn and our son starting kindergarten last year. I don’t think anything could have kept us healthy between the influx of new germs and the complete lack of sleep.
At the very least our windows don’t fog up and the filters are washable instead of disposable.
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