Is it redundant to open a window when we have an air-to-air heat exchange system?
Is it redundant to open a window when we have an air-to-air heat exchange system?
I've moved into a place with one of these systems and it seems to have a lot of benefits. But I prefer to open a window every day and get fresh air in. Doesn't that cancel out the advantages of the heat exchange system?
If it’s nice outside you could save money by not filtering the air through the HRV, but an HRV is also meant to condition the air so it’s not coming in cold/hot and you need to condition it with less efficient means.
What is the outside like when you open a window? These are great when the outside temperature is greatly different form uncomfortable.. When the outside temperature is comfortable you should turn off all the HVAC stuff and open all the windows. This is an either or situation - if the HVAC is on then windows should be sealed.
Comfort is subjective. I know some who never comfortable and thus would always have the HVAC on. However others are fine with wide swings of temperatures and so rarely use it.
The system is filtered, so the air feels lovely to breathe. There’s car traffic nearby so I imagine it’s better air quality via the system.
But at times it feels like there’s not enough of it, so opening the window in my room for an hour helps that.
The fans are running at 50% as recommended by the installer. The house usually has no more than one person during the day, so that seems logical. But I wonder now if it would be worth turning them up to 75% instead of opening the windows.