Fresh Air System

A “Fresh Air System” is typically called a “Heat Recovery Ventilation System” or short “HRV”. A continuous fresh air ventilation system supplies 24 hours a day fresh outdoor air into your home - it is one of the great benefits of living in a PASSIVE HOUSE. The incoming air is filtered typically with a MERV-13 filter (or more sophisticated if needed) providing clean , fresh and dust-free air. The fresh air is distributed to the living room and bedrooms, then exhausted from the kitchen and bathrooms typically via a heat recovery exchanger. The embedded energy in the air is transferred to the fresh incoming air without mixing the air streams – for 100% fresh air. There is no return air, no recirculation of stale or polluted air and no recirculation! The video clip below from Zehnder, one of the leading manufacturers of HRV system, provides a good overview how the different system components and options are working together in your new PASSIVE HOUSE.

An interesting graphic visualization for continuous balanced ventilation with heat and cooling recovery from Hammer & Hand was recently included in a webinar Higher-Performance Envelope + Balanced ventilation from 3C-REN.

Zehnder ComfoSystems heat recovery and ducting systems for high performance, low load and energy-efficient homes.