The Difference Between HRVs and ERVs
In order to fully enjoy the comfort of your home, you need a good ventilation system. While many homeowner’s think that this is just a bonus feature for your home, in reality it’s necessary to keep the air inside your house in good condition. A quality ventilation system ensures that there’s a continuous supply of fresh outside air, the temperature and humidity stay within comfortable levels and potential fire hazards are reduced.
Commercial air conditioning service provider Comfort Zone of North Florida discusses the difference between heat recovery ventilators (HRVs) and energy recovery ventilators (ERVs) in this post.
HRV
An HRV, or heat recovery ventilator, uses the heat in stale exhaust air to preheat incoming fresh air. This type of ventilation system is appropriate for colder climates where there’s excess humidity.
Your air conditioning repair professionals at Comfort Zone of North Florida can tell you that an HRV keeps a steady supply of fresh outdoor air coming into your home. The heat recovery core is responsible for warming the incoming fresh, colder air before distributing it to the different parts of your home. The outgoing air and incoming air never mix during this process, as they pass through different compartments in the ventilator core where the exchange occurs. This ensures that there’s a consistent supply of fresh air and a high level of comfort inside your home.
ERV
An ERV, or energy recovery ventilator, on the other hand, works best in colder climates where there’s no excess humidity during the heating process, and in warmer climates with higher outdoor humidity. Like the HRV, the ERV recovers heat, but also retrieves the energy trapped in humidity, increasing the overall recovery efficiency. Your HVAC contractor can explain that in conditioned homes, the ERV limits the amount of humidity coming into the house when it’s more humid outside. In homes with humidifiers, on the other hand, the ERV limits the amount of humidity expelled from your house when there’s low humidity during the winter season.
For more information regarding HRVs and ERVs, and for help in making the right choice, get in touch with Comfort Zone of North Florida. Call us today at (904) 406-0070 to get in touch with us in Yulee, FL.