Energy conservation with style
The airtight, energy-efficient home needs 90 percent less energy annually for heating than the average U.S. household, Suppes said. He added that although the California-based company has built passive-inspired houses in the past, this is its first home to meet all standards -- set by Passive House Institute US (PHIUS) -- for space-heating demand and total energy use per square foot, as well as airtightness. "Something that's really nice about the standard is that there are three absolute numbers for heat demand, energy use and air tightness. It doesn't matter if you're in Germany, or if you're in Minnesota, Truckee or (Menlo Park), you have to meet them," she said, adding that because the passive house standards were developed in Germany, they're relatively easy to achieve in California's mild climate. Although passive house regulations don't include a standard for water efficiency -- an area that Clarum addressed in its Menlo Park house with structured-zone plumbing, a re-circulating hot-water system that reduces time spent waiting for water to heat, and drought-resistant plants -- Suppes and Hollbacher said they believe the passive house standard is currently the most advanced standard for green building. "There's just no reason not to do this," Hollbacher said. Posting an item on Town Square is simple and requires no registration! Just complete this form and hit "submit" and your topic will appear online. Please be respectful and truthful in your postings so Town Square will continue to be a thoughtful gathering place for sharing community information and opinion. All postings are subject to our TERMS OF USE , and may be deleted if deemed inappropriate by our staffWe prefer that you use your real name, but you may use any "member" name you wish.
Heat And Energy Recovery Ventilators - News
Insulation, airtight window frames, solar power and a heat-recovery ventilation system helped Clarum Homes earn its first certification for building a passive house that the company says cuts energy use by 90 percent.
These standards include nearly air-tight construction, superior insulation and highly-efficient equipment such as triple-pane windows that provide passive solar heat in the winter, an energy recovery ventilator system and a hybrid heat pump- water
To this end, Greenheck (a leading manufacturer of air-movement and control equipment) manufactures ten different energy recovery ventilator (ERV) models that include construction features such as: The company's model ERV (appropriately named) includes

According to The Almanac Online, insulation, airtight window frames, solar power, and a heat-recovery ventilation system all converge here in helping the home cut its energy costs by 90 percent. While Clarum has built passive-inspired homes with
The house and is nearly airtight, has superior insulation and highly efficient triple pane windows, an energy recovery ventilator system and a hybrid heat pump water heater. The home also features eight solar panels which provide most of the needed
Understanding House Ventilation Options | Carney Plumbing, Heating ...
All the fancy air quality control tools in the world are useless if you don’t have a good ventilation system to circulate air through your home each day. An air filter removes larger particles like dust, dander and pollen, and an electronic air filter removes smaller particles like bacteria, mold, and gases. However, your indoor air will still be poor without a fresh supply of air constantly circulating in from outdoors.
Types of Ventilators
There are a few options here, depending both on the number of contaminants your home has and the amount of heated or cooled air you are willing to lose each day through vents.
The simplest method is an exhaust fan. Fans blow air from your home, creating a negative pressure zone inside. Air inlets then allow new air to enter your home and equalize that pressure. There are also balanced exhaust fans – one fan blowing indoor air out and another fan pulling fresh air in. If you have open flames or gas burning appliances, a balanced exhaust fan is necessary to keep the flames from going out due to the negative pressure caused by a single outlet exhaust fan.
Traditional ventilation, while simple, is also inefficient. In the middle of winter it blows all of your heated air outside and in the summer, it does the same to your cooled air. Your home comfort system likely can keep up with the loss of heat or cooling, so you won’t be less comfortable, but you will certainly pay more on your energy bill.
That’s why heat and energy recovery ventilators are popular in many homes. Especially if you went to the trouble of having your home sealed up tightly to minimize energy loss, these ventilators will save you money.
When air is ventilated through a recovery unit, the energy and heat is transferred between indoor and outdoor air as it passes. In the winter, this means the energy in your indoor air is retained and during the summer, the energy in outdoor air is removed before it enters your home.
Which Method is Best?
The method you choose will depend largely on your current cost of heating and cooling and what types of contaminants you face. Energy recovery ventilators have the added benefit of patching directly into your indoor air quality units, so you won’t need to worry about new contaminants coming in either.
Heat And Energy Recovery Ventilators - Bookshelf
Residential Energy, Cost Savings and Comfort for Existing Buildings
Heat and energy recovery ventilators The difference between heat recovery ventilators (HRVs) and energy recovery ventilators (ERVs) is that HRVs transfer ...Residential ventilation handbook, ventilation to improve indoor air quality
BALANCED WITH HEAT OR ENERGY RECOVERY PRIMARY VENTILATION SYSTEMS—HRVS AND ERVS It may seem counterproductive to spend money to condition air and then blow ...Common questions about heat and energy recovery ventilators
Green building products, the GreenSpec® guide to residential building materials
Heat Recovery Ventilators American Aldes Ventilation Corp. ... Heat/Energy Recovery Ventilators rated for 450-2900 CFM are also available. ...Popular Mechanics
A residential heat-recovery ventilator uses separate blowers to move Incoming fresh .... outdoor humidity, an energy- recovery ventilator is more suitable. ...Daily Data Directory
Energy Savers: Energy Recovery Ventilation Systems
There are two types of energy-recovery systems: heat-recovery ventilators (HRV) and energy-recovery (or enthalpy-recovery) ventilators (ERV) ...
Common Questions about Heat and Energy Recovery Ventilators
This publication provides information on selecting and maintaining heat recovery ventilators and energy recovery ... Common Questions about Heat and Energy Recovery Ventilators ...
Heat recovery ventilation - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Heat recovery ventilation, also known as HRV, Mechanical ventilation heat recovery, or ... Energy recovery ventilators (ERVs) are closely related, however ERVs also ...
Heat Recovery Ventilators
A heat recovery ventilator (HRV) brings in fresh air from the outside, preheats the incoming air during the winter and precools the incoming air during the summer. ...
Energy and Heat Recovery Ventilators (ERV/HRV)
Heat recovery ventilators (HRV) make ventilation more cost effective by reclaiming energy from exhaust airflows. Models exchanging moisture between 2 air streams are ...