Over the past few decades, homes have been designed to be more and more airtight. This was to help improve the efficiency of insulation, to make climate control easier. Unfortunately, this had the unintended side effect of cutting off the interior of the home from fresh air flow. Without fresh air flowing into the home, indoor air quality can become substantially degraded due to an imbalance in humidity. Fortunately, there’s a solution to this problem in the form of energy recovery ventilators. Read on to find out more about the benefits of installing an energy recovery ventilator.
What is an energy recovery ventilator?
Before we get to the benefits of energy recovery ventilators, let’s take a look at what they are. An energy recovery ventilator (also known as an ERV) is a device that is installed in the ductwork, typically right before the air return vent. Rather than the same air being recycled endlessly through the system, an offshoot of ductwork leads outside the home. The energy recovery ventilator uses this extra ductwork to draw in fresh air and introduce it into circulation. Humidity levels are also transferred from the outside air into the home, unlike the similar heat recovery ventilators, which only transfer air.
The benefits of energy recovery ventilators
Energy recovery ventilators restore indoor air quality by introducing fresh air into the home. This not only prevents the air inside from becoming stale, but corrects humidity imbalances that can have some nasty effects on the health of the people in the home. Energy recovery ventilators provide all the benefits of opening a window to allow air to circulate, without the accompanying loss of climate control that open windows would cause.
If you’d like to know more about energy recovery ventilators, call Sound Heating. We provide energy recovery ventilator services throughout Tacoma, WA.