Question
Should You Consider Installing an Energy Recovery Ventilator?
Answer
The answer for homeowners who want to improve indoor air quality is yes. Energy recovery ventilators (ERVs) and heat recovery ventilators (HRVs) provide a supply of fresh, outdoor air to the house while exhausting stale indoor air. They also help save energy because the supply and exhaust streams pass through a heat exchanger inside the unit, where energy is transferred from one air stream to the other. This heats the incoming air during winter and cools it in summer, reducing the load on the heating or cooling system. The most efficient models use less than 25 watts of electricity while supplying 40 to 50 cubic feet per minute of fresh, tempered air to the home.