Ventilation with Heat Recovery

A heat recovery system extracts stale, moist air and replaces it with fresh air from outside, recovering heat energy in the process. A positive pressure system, on the other hand, often brings in air from the ceiling space. This can result in cold air being distributed on cold days if there is no sun to warm the roof space.

An energy recovery ventilation system extracts warm, contaminated air from your home and replaces it with fresh air from outside. A heat exchanger recovers most of the heat energy from the outgoing air to warm up the incoming air. This process extracts moisture from the stale air, resulting in a dry, fresh indoor environment with minimal heat loss.

Natural ventilation from opening windows and doors may not always be practical, especially during colder months. Opening windows in winter can lead to significant heat loss. A heat recovery ventilation system overcomes this issue by continuously providing fresh, dry air while retaining most of the existing heat energy.

Mould thrives in moist environments, and damp air requires more energy to heat. A heat recovery ventilation system extracts damp air and introduces drier air, creating an environment that is less likely to have condensation and mould growth.

Yes - we install home ventilation systems and these are becoming more and more common as people seek to improve their indoor air quality and reduce the amount of condensation in their homes. We recommend balanced heat recovery ventilation systems over positive pressure systems.

A balanced heat recovery ventilation system brings fresh air into the house at the same rate that it exhausts out the stale damp air. This is done through an air to air heat exchanger where the two air streams never physically touch but the heat energy from the exhaust air is used to warm up the fresh air coming into the home. This allows the home to be properly ventilated without loosing most of the heat (or cool) energy that has been paid for. Positive pressure systems just force air from the ceiling cavity into the home. On hot summer days this air can be very hot which can make the home too hot, and on winter days this air can be very cold which can increase the amount of heating required. Positive pressure systems can still be effective at reducing condensation on windows etc but they will remove some of the heat (or cool) energy from the home in the process which can increase overall energy consumption.