Modern residential construction seals a home tight to prevent the interior of the home from being negatively impacted by the weather conditions out of doors. Because homes are sealed and insulated so well, there is little natural ventilation or air exchange happening. To keep the air in our home from becoming stale, fresh air ventilation systems are installed as a part of our HVAC system. These systems bring in fresh air and circulate in through the house via our heating and cooling air ducts. There are a couple of different types of ventilation systems; they are heat recovery ventilation and energy recovery ventilation systems.
Both ventilation systems do an air exchange, taking in an equal amount of fresh air to the amount of stale air being sent out of the home. During the exchange, the outside air is warmed during the heating season and cooled during the cooling season. The heat energy is actually transferred from the exhausting air to the incoming air, which means you aren’t loosing all that heat in the winter.
The energy recovery system goes a step further and also removes the humidity from the outside air, as well as adjusting the temperature. This second option saves additional energy over the first option by taking on another portion of the work your AC system would need to do otherwise.
Different fresh air ventilation systems will have different efficiency ratings and pricing. Your HVAC contractor can give you professional guidance in choosing the right system for your home.
