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Heat Recovery Ventilation
Featured in the Enertran™ "Quad" Introduction Homes are being built to be tighter with more emphasis placed on, "efficiently and comfortably using all living space" therefore, it is becoming more and more common to use Hydronic In-Floor Heating in the basement slab floor. This allows the homeowner to take advantage of the basement, as comfortable living space. The On Demand Hot Water option is commonly used to accomplish this goal while also offering, a central "Forced Air Heating and Cooling System" with a separate on board PHW heat exchanger for Domestic Hot Water heating. This system, known as the Enertran™ Quad System is an all-in-one package that sits in the basement. The Enertran™ GEO/HRV Integrated Indoor Environmental Control System The "Enertran™ Geothermal Heat Recovery Ventilation (GEO/HRV) Integrated System" offers unsurpassed efficiency and comfort levels, while offering a healthier indoor environment for occupants. The "Leading Edge Enertran™ Integrated Geothermal Central Heating, Cooling and Heat Recovery Ventilation (GEO/HRV) System" has been specifically designed to eliminate odours and moisture problems associated with what is commonly referred to as "Sick Building Syndrome" (SBS). It will also virtually eliminate the damage that is commonly caused by high humidity levels in the living space. "Sick Building Syndrome" will occur in any tight home or office, where ventilation is not adequate. Many symptoms can be attributed to this syndrome. With the GEO/HRV Heating, Cooling and Ventilation System, this problem now can be virtually eliminated while offering lower operating cost benefits. Although SBS is commonly associated with large office complex's, the same problems exist in standard "tight Residential" buildings. This is the way all systems will be designed in the future. However, the Enertran™ GEO/HRV Integrated System offers an economical solution now. Why wait? In our increasingly health conscious society, there is a growing awareness of a link between the environments we live and work in and our health. Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), a Canadian Federal Government Agency, has done extensive research into "Healthy Housing" in an effort to better understand the relationship between your homes, our health and the environment. There is a definite link. Without proper ventilation your tight home will trap moisture and pollutants in your home, which you and your family will re-breath.
Even if you and your family generally feel well, pollutants and allergens are always present in the air. Over time pollutants can cause health problems and can even case the development of allergies. To protect you and your family, the replacement of fresh air is necessary. Different building codes in North America suggest that the complete replacement of interior air should occur once every three hours, while certain international codes recommend air replacement every two hours. Studies clearly show that the air quality of your house effects your health. It is therefore important to remove pollutants and humidity. Even if you do not see or sense humidity problems, there are several advantages to using a properly balanced ventilation system. Ventilation systems dramatically reduce humidity problems, as well as, health problems related to air quality. Opening the windows of your house will not change the air; It will also allow pollutants (pollen, allergens, etc.) to enter your environment. A central ventilation system filters the air particles, which enter your house.
The ideal humidity in winter should be between 30% and 40%. In the summer it should be between 60% and 80%. Since each person is different, the level may vary slightly. Most of the humidity in your house is a result of people, baths, showers, cooking, pets, aquariums, basements and other moisture-emitting products stored throughout the home.
Air distribution systems measure air as CFM, which is the acronym for "cubic feet per minute". This measurement unit is necessary to measure the ventilation capacity of a room or a house in order to conform to appropriate home or building ventilation standards. These standards are commonly available from the local building codes. They would generally be measured in a certain number of air changes per hour. The most common method of installation is to install stale air ducts in the bathrooms, kitchen and moist air areas. Since these areas would be under a slight negative pressure, the stale air would gravitate towards these areas, reducing the opportunity for odor transfer to the other areas in the living space. The stale air would flow through the HRV core to transfer indoor air temperature to the incoming (outside air) stream recovering the energy before it is exhausted out of doors. The fresh and exhaust air streams are separated in the cross core design, to reduce the opportunity for cross contamination. The fresh air that is drawn in, is then mixed with the return air and transferred to every room within the building, via the existing furnace ducts and registers.
The integrated HRV section of the GEO/HRV works much like a standard heat recovery ventilator with many general efficiency exceptions. Since the HRV is integrated, as an integral part of the home heating and cooling system, it offers an application designer/homeowner, the opportunity to incorporate all the benefits associated with a standard Geothermal and a Heat Recovery Ventilation System into one complete system. This integration offers many enhanced features. The integration guarantees fresh air to every room in the living space, dramatically enhancing creature comfort. In the winter operation, the integration offers an enhanced defrost system without causing the transfer of smells from the bathrooms to other areas in the home and it will not create a negative pressure in the home while in the defrost mode. These defrost issues are common in most standard HRVs resently available. The Heat Recover Ventilator (HRV) essentially draws fresh air, at a specified flow rate through an internal heat exchange core by using the standard geothermal air distribution fan. When the fresh air is drawn into the one side of the passive cross flow heat exchange core, stale air is simultaneously being drawn through the other side of the core by using a dedicated exhaust/stale air fan, located within the integrated system. The fresh air is drawn in at approximately the same airflow rate as the stale air is exhausted. As the stale and fresh air pass through on opposite sides of the core, the energy from the indoor air is transferred to the incoming fresh air and transferred t the living space. The energy transfer occurs when the outdoor air temperature is either higher or lower than the indoor air temperature. If the outdoor air temperature is lower, as is common in the winter, the air is then also dehumidified prior to redistribution throughout the living space. After the outdoor temperature has been increased in winter or decreased in summer, the fresh air is then transferred to the return air mixing point. The air is then mixed with the return air from the living space and then transferred to every room that has supply air registers within the living space. The HRV system can be set up to run continuously on low speed, then jump up to high speed when the heating or cooling system is operating. When the heating or cooling system is operating a slight positive pressure will be created to increase creature comfort and keep the outdoor air out. The HRV section will activate based on a unit mounted dehumidistat. The stale air is drawn from the bathrooms, kitchen and other moist areas within the living space by a dedicated stale air fan. If a kitchen exhaust register were used, then a grill complete with a grease filter would be used at the register to reduce the possibility of coating the core with grease. There are also two filters at the induction point at the HRV core within the system. Since a constant negative pressure is caused at the bathroom, kitchen and moist air areas, no smells will transfer to the rest of the living space. In tight homes, as commonly designed today, an HRV is a must to offer constant ventilation while maintaining total system efficiency.
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