What an ERV Is and How It Can Benefit Your Home in Shepherdsville, KY

Although energy efficiency is essential when heating your living space, sometimes it can make your home too air-tight, leading to poor ventilation. The good news is that you can install an ERV (energy recovery ventilator) to keep your house well-ventilated and achieve energy efficiency. Here is a comprehensive guide on ERVs and how installing one can benefit your Shepherdsville, KY home.

What Are ERVs?

An energy recovery ventilator (ERV) is a device that features a ventilation system combined with a heat exchanger to provide controlled ventilation in a building. It works by exchanging moisture and heat between the air outside and inside your home.

In the winter, the energy recovery ventilator vents the indoor warm and stale air outside while a small fan pulls in fresh air from outdoors and preconditions it before pushing it through the ductwork. As the heated air gets expelled from your house, the ERV removes heat energy and moisture from the air and pre-treats the cool and fresh air entering your living space with it. However, the opposite happens during the summer season.

The stale, cool air gets dispelled outside and pre-treats the incoming warm and moist air. This process results in clean and fresh air entering your HVAC unit for distribution throughout your home.

Benefits of Installing an ERV

An energy recovery ventilator comes with a host of benefits for every homeowner. Whether you are thinking of installing one in your newly built home or adding to an existing residential property, there are some common benefits you’ll enjoy.

Enhanced Air Quality

Apart from flushing out stale indoor air from your house, an ERV also removes contaminants from the air circulating in your living space. It also filters the air entering your home by capturing dust particles, pollen and other air pollutants, improving air quality. As a result, there will be fewer respiratory issues, and your family will enjoy better concentration and improved sleep.

Better Moisture Control

When an ERV is transferring heat between the incoming air and the air flushed out of the house, it also transfers the humidity in them. As the two streams of air enter your energy recovery ventilator, the system removes some moisture from the moister airstream and applies it to the airstream with less moisture. Therefore, an ERV will allow some humidity to remain indoors during the cool and dry months and help keep most of the moisture out of your residence during the warm and humid months.

Prolonged HVAC Lifespan

Installing an ERV in your home can extend the lifespan of your air conditioner and heating unit by reducing wear and tear. Since your HVAC equipment won’t have to keep running as long, you will avoid high energy costs, premature breakdowns and costly repairs. An ERV will also keep your ductwork and HVAC air filters cleaner for longer, which means less HVAC maintenance and an extended lifespan for the unit.

Energy Savings

The heat exchanger in an ERV works like a heat pump or an air conditioner since it can cool or heat incoming air by transferring heat energy away from or to outgoing air. It transfers heat energy from the incoming air to the outgoing air during the summer months, and the flow reverses during the cooler season to warm it. Although an energy recovery ventilator can be a significant investment, it pays for itself through better comfort and increased energy savings.

An ERV can help you keep your residence comfortable by removing stale air and bringing in some clean and fresh air, reducing the times you need to adjust the thermostat to maintain the desired indoor temperatures. Installing this device can help you enjoy better indoor air quality, improve moisture control, save energy, eliminate unpleasant odors and prolong the service life of your HVAC unit. If you want to improve your residential property’s indoor air quality, contact our air quality professionals at Birkhead Co., and we’ll be glad to serve you.

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