These days, everyone knows what air conditioning is. Air conditioning units re-circulate the air within a room and can either cool or heat this air based on your settings. But do you know what a heat recovery ventilation unit is? It might be just what you need for your home or business.
What is heat recovery ventilation?
Heat recovery ventilation systems, sometimes known as mechanical ventilation heat recovery (MVHR), work by extracting moist and stale air from rooms in your home. It recovers the heat from the extracted air, so you don’t lose any warmth. This is where it differs from ventilating your home by opening the windows – while it’s necessary to do in the winter to avoid mould growth, it often leads to rooms feeling a little chilly and you having to whack the heating up.
Usually, a central heat recovery ventilation unit is installed in a cupboard, loft or ceiling void and every room in your home or business is connected by a ducting network with ceiling or wall grilles added in each room.
A heat recovery system works independently of your heating system and it shouldn’t be used to heat your property. In each room, you’ll have ventilation valves with filters that supply air in and out of the room, and they all lead to the central heat recovery unit. The unit moves the extracted air through the pipes and draws in cold air from the outside via ducts.
The extracted air and the air from outside pass within the central unit without ever mixing. The unit transfers the heat from the extracted air to the new fresh air and supplies it through the pipework into each room.
Why should I consider a heat recovery system?
There are a few reasons why installing a mechanical heat recovery system in your home is a great idea:
- Eliminate damp, condensation and mould: By recovering up to 95% of heat extracted from wet rooms, like kitchens and bathrooms, you’ll see much less if any damp and mould occurring around your home
- Improve air quality: A ventilation system completely changes the air regularly, so it will remove any impurities in the air so you don’t have to breathe them in
- Constant filtered air: Since your heat recovery system will change the air regularly, you’ll have a constant supply of fresh, filtered air in your home, making it more comfortable for people with health problems such as asthma.
- Reduce your heating bill: Mechanical ventilation systems recover almost all the heat that would usually be lost due to ventilation, so you’ll notice a difference in your heating bills since you won’t need to turn the heating up to compensate for heat lost out of windows.
What happens in the summer when I don’t need the recovered heat?
In the summer, it won’t be a problem to lose heat through ventilation, so you might worry that your home or business premises will get too hot. Luckily, heat recovery ventilation units have a workaround called ‘seasonal bypassing’. This means that the system will bypass the heat exchanger so that the incoming air isn’t heated and the filtered air from outside is cooler, and will therefore help keep your property comfortable.
What’s the difference between mechanical ventilation heat recovery and mechanical extract ventilation?
If you’ve heard of MVHR, it’s likely you’ve also heard of MEV. Mechanical extract ventilation just extracts ventilations from wet rooms, such as bathrooms, kitchens and utility rooms. If you have a particular problem in these rooms, MEV can be a useful solution.
However, MVHR is a complete system, as it extracts heat and moisture from your wet rooms and supplies fresh, filtered air and recovered heat to all habitable rooms.
When should I consider MVHR for my property?
While mechanical heat recovery is a fantastic option, it won’t be suitable for all homes. A heat recovery ventilation unit will work best in a relatively airtight property, so often they’re best fitted in new-build properties. However, if you don’t live or work in a new-build property, it’s still worth asking for a quote so the installers can conduct airtightness and pressure tests to see if a ventilation system would be worth it for you.
Other reasons to consider a heat recovery ventilation unit include:
- Reduce noise: If you life near a busy main road or airport, you probably hate having your windows open – with a quiet MVHR system, there will be no need to have your windows open and you’ll still have adequate ventilation.
- Reduce humidity: If your home or business gets particularly humid, a ventilation system will dehumidify rooms when it’s colder outside than it is inside.
- Improve air quality: If you work in a business premises with lots of industrial smells or you live in a rural area, MVHR will help remove those smells. It can also filter pollen to reduce hayfever symptoms, and if you live in a high-pollution area your installers can position the air intake in the least-polluted area so this doesn’t affect the air quality.
- Added comfort: Everyone wants to be comfortable at home or at work, and good quality air paired with a pleasant room temperature will keep everyone happy.
- When you’re bound by Building Regulations: New-build homes need to meet a specific requirement for fresh air, so a MVHR system may be ideal. It’s particularly important to have air changes in commercial properties – for example, if you run a bar or pub, you should have between 20 and 30 air changes per hour since there will be lots of people moving in and out of your premises. We’re seeing lots more people enquire about air changes since the Covid-19 pandemic began.
Will a ventilation system’s grilles and pipework ruin the look of my property?
We don’t think so. Of course, you’ll be able to see the grilles that are installed in each room, but all the pipework can be concealed. At D-Air, we can source grilles of all kinds of designs, shapes and sizes to complement your room and even get them custom made and sprayed to a colour that suits your home or business.
If you think a heat recovery ventilation unit could benefit your property, get in touch with us. We work with a range of trusted brands to bring you a bespoke MVHR system that will keep your home or business safe and comfortable.
