Recapture the Warm Air in Your Home With a Heat Recovery Ventilator

There’s a well-known paradox in the HVAC world. To maximize your home’s energy efficiency, you want to keep the indoor temperature separate from the outdoor temperature — and air coming in (or going out) through windows, doors, air leaks, and other places is in violation of that principle. On the other hand, the tighter your home is sealed, the more pollutants will gather in your home and be concentrated there, lowering your indoor air quality. Adding a heat recovery ventilator (HRV) to your home is a way of resolving this paradox, bringing you fresh air without costing you heating or cooling dollars.

In essence, a heat recovery ventilator switches the temperature of incoming and outgoing air. In the winter, when your inside air is warm, the HRV will pull the heat out of the air before it vents it outside. Then, as it’s bringing in the cool outside air, it will use the heat it’s gathered to warm it before introducing it to your home air supply. That means you’re bringing in fresh outdoor air, but without the chilly outdoor temperature.

The more well-sealed and well-insulated your home is, the better it will perform when it comes to energy savings. It is also important for you to take control of your ventilation. If you’re worried about your indoor air quality, you can also look into central air cleaners, UV lights to destroy mold, mildew, fungal spores and bacteria, and humidifiers and dehumidifiers to keep your home at a balanced humidity all year round.

To learn more about what home sealing, indoor air quality, and ventilation challenges homeowners in the greater Cleveland area face, or to get personalized advice about your specific home, contact us today at Stack Heating & Cooling!

Our goal is to help educate our customers in Cleveland, Ohio about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about heat recovery ventilators and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.

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