Hello All,

We are working on a project with Habitat and our trying to provide recommendations for ventilation. We would like to see them install a Spot ERV like Panasonic's Whisper Comfort, but the small (<1,500sf) home (4 bdr) requires just over 50cfm fresh air. The Panasonic can only provide 40cfm continuous and installing two brings the incremental cost over an air cycler strategy or supply ventilation strategy too far off budget.

Does anyone have any experience / recommendations for how to best address this situation?

We are in Climate Zone 4, in Middle Tennessee, mixed-humid.

Thanks for any information!

Stefan

Tags: 62.2, ERV, ashrae, ventilation

Views: 424

Reply to This

Replies to This Discussion

Buy a larger one & use a timer - trust me when I say you do not want them running 24x7, especially in a humid enviroment

Sean, help a cold-climate guy out here... what's the issue with humidity and 24/7 run-time?

The humidity inside rises to much & in small houses where the AC unit is oversized because we cant buy a small enough unit...

There are a couple of pretty nifty choices from Venmar.  The Kubix unit comes in either an HRV or ERV version.  It uses 60 watts, 77% Apparent Sensible Effectiveness (ASE).  It's like a 16" cube using 4" ducting.  A more energy efficient alternative is the EKO version.  The ERV version is 73% ASE.  It uses between 26 and 37 watts with flows up to 84 cfm.  It doesn't require a drain in the ERV version.

These are not ceiling mounted units like the Panasonic, but I think getting the supplies and exhausts separated is a better way to go if possible.

I also work with Habitat and like yours, our houses have oversized units because of the extreme tightness, low UA numbers and limitations on ASHP systems.  We use a cycle timer and motorized damper for supply air ventilation. We are also considering ERV/HRV but before choosing and ERV I would have to ask if the manufacturer  can supply a certification that the latent energy (water) recovery does not include any VOC, airborne pathogens or aerosols from toilets. My request to Venmar got circled back to our sales rep who was unsure if such a certification was required.

RSS

Home Energy Pros

Home Energy Pros was founded by the developers of Home Energy Saver Pro (sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy, under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act) and brought to you in partnership with Home Energy magazine.

Latest Activity

Edward Foskey just added their location.
(via Member Map)

31 minutes ago
Profile IconMartin Easley and Richard Vito joined Home Energy Pros
4 hours ago
Bud Poll replied to Bachi Brunato's discussion Boxing and Insulating Around Non-ICAT Cans
"This is a topic I have discussed many times, but unfortunately cost is all too often the deciding…"
8 hours ago
Sean Lintow Sr replied to Bachi Brunato's discussion Boxing and Insulating Around Non-ICAT Cans
"If you can't talk them into replacing with IC rated... Look into Tenmat - those are designed…"
9 hours ago
Bachi Brunato posted a discussion

Boxing and Insulating Around Non-ICAT Cans

I have a client with 16) 4" halogen recessed light fixtures in the attic.I'd like to cover the cans…See More
14 hours ago
Dennis Heidner replied to Patrick Michaelyan's discussion Hot Upper Stories
"Could you have them make a simple two line graph of the outside temperature, noting sun/clouds,…"
yesterday
Bob Blanchette replied to Jose Macho's discussion Why Are Energy-Saving Home Inprovements Down??
"You make some valid points, especially with the base rate charges. Increasing the base rate instead…"
yesterday
Bob Blanchette replied to Jose Macho's discussion Why Are Energy-Saving Home Inprovements Down??
"Amen, make energy show it's true cost instead of subsidizing it. We have some of the lowest…"
yesterday
Dennis Heidner replied to Jose Macho's discussion Why Are Energy-Saving Home Inprovements Down??
"The press report really doesn't give enough information to clearly answer why  they are…"
yesterday
Edward Foskey commented on Edward Foskey's blog post Preparing to Update the Heat Pump
"Gustavo, Thanks for the input. I agree with you in that I will be waiting till my system's…"
yesterday
Gustavo Melo commented on Edward Foskey's blog post Preparing to Update the Heat Pump
"Any system that is out of warranty is really a coin toss as to whether it is financially better to…"
yesterday
Dennis Heidner replied to J.C. Martel's discussion Disasters & sustainable energy
"Such as Greensburg…"
yesterday

© 2013   Created by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service