Every home needs a certain amount of ventilation to keep the air clean and healthy. Without an exchange of air, pollutants in the air would build to unacceptable levels. The term, balanced ventilation, refers to systems that exhaust indoor air while simultaneously pulling in fresh air to replace it.
The most common kinds of ventilation systems in your home are the bathroom and kitchen fans. However, they only pull air out of the home unless you have air leaks in the structure or run the fans with a window open.
Dedicated Ventilators
Balanced ventilating equipment includes energy recovery ventilators (ERVs) and heat recovery ventilators (HRVs). Each of these is an energy efficient approach to providing fresh air ventilation for homes. They use two fans. One pulls out stale air and the other pulls in fresh air. A heat exchanger sits in the middle and extracts the energy in the air leaving your home. When the air coming in passes over it, it absorbs the energy.
ERVs and HRVs are the most energy efficient way to ensure you have adequate amounts of fresh air since they pre-cool or preheat the incoming air. Some come with air filters that trap the airborne particulates entering, like pollen and dust.
Their Benefits
Air quality and respiratory health go hand-in-hand and balanced ventilation with an ERV or HRV will help you keep your air quality high. Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) come from many common household products and are a common and significant source of pollutants. The dust, pollen, dander and dust mite waste also contribute to indoor air pollution.
You can place an ERV or HRV so that it ventilates a specific area or hook it to your HVAC system to freshen the air in your whole house. Some come with timers. Specific places where they improve air quality include kitchens and hobby rooms.
If you’d like more information about balanced ventilation and improving your indoor air quality, contact Hansberger Refrigeration and Electric Company. We provide trusted HVAC services for Yuma-area homeowners.
