heat recovery ventilation
an introduction

Today's modern housing has, quite rightly, concentrated on the various sources of heat loss from the home, by introducing better insulation, (cavity wall and loft), double glazing and draught proofing.

Cosiness, however, has brought other problems to our homes. Reduced ventilation means the internal airflow is negligible, allowing the build up of water vapour and stale air from sources such as bathing and cooking.

the problems

The average family home has around two gallons of water vapour released into the atmosphere every day.

that is about the same as pouring a two gallon watering can over the carpets and walls throughout the house.

The most obvious effect is that moisture appears on the windows, causing them to mist up. But moisture also condenses on masonry and timber as well.

This is definitely harmful - and can lead to telltale signs such as peeling wallpaper, and the growth of black mould followed ultimately by damage to timber caused by dry or wet rot.

Poorly ventilated homes are also generally stale, musty and stuffy - cooking smells, pet smells, tobacco smoke and toilet odours linger in the air.

the solution

You could leave a window open, or use a standard extraction fan, but what about draughts and heat loss, or you could control any or all of those problems with a RegaVent Heat Recovery Ventilation (HRV) system from Thermsaver.

This system extracts stale, damp air from your home and supplies clean fresh air where you need it, while also recovering in excess of 75% of heat from the outgoing airflow.

The 'How It Works' page shows the extraction and supply ducts, and the loft mounted heat exchanger, which make up the HRV system. Quiet in operation, this system works economically in the background removing stale, damp air, replacing it with filtered clean, warm air.

The HRV system also offers major benefits to asthma and hay fever sufferers - research shows that HRV systems provide a low cost, effective method of killing the dust mite and preventing re-infestation. Smells, smoke and harmful gases are removed, and pre-heated clean filtered fresh air is introduced.