[Greenbuilding] ERV's

[Chris Koehn]

My experience with HRV's is limited to more severe climates, but I'll  
offer it FWIW.
I generally set them up to be controlled by a humidistat, mounted on  
the wall next to the thermostat.
All of the HRV's I've worked with rely on a separate air handler  
(forced air furnace being the most common) to push the fresh air  
through the house. An HRV with it's own air handler would be a  
substantially bigger deal and more expensive than the one you have.
I remain unsatisfied by HRV's ability to dry air in the summer. In a  
humid environment, an HRV is bringing fresh air in to the house which  
is humid. If it's hot and humid out, the RH of the outside air will  
have an even higher RH when cooled to indoor temps. Mechanical  
dehumidification seems to me to be the only way to substantially  
lower humidity levels: central dehumidifiers or air conditioners are  
the usual choices.

Chris Koehn
Macdonald & Lawrence Timber Framing Ltd
PO box 10
Cobble Hill, BC V0R 1L0
(250)743-8840
<www.macdonaldandlawrence.ca>