HRV's

jallingham · February 13, 2009, 11:30pm

I’m starting to see HRV’s in most of the new homes I inspect. Are they a code requirement now in Ontario?

rmisener · February 13, 2009, 11:58pm

To my knowledge it is a code requirement across Canada. Any home with 1.5 ACH or less requires an air exchanger, that I’m sure of.

mkyriacou · February 14, 2009, 2:11am

Short answer is NO, however to meet ventilation requirements builders use HRV’s.

This is a very complicated question, have you taken any Part 9 building Code courses? If not, it would help you in your business to take at least the 2 basic courses, Ontario Building Code (Part 9 - Health and Safety) and (Part 9 - Building Envelope). Taking this course will help you greatly IMO

clawrenson · February 14, 2009, 2:50am

Mario offers good advice.
If you have a new 2006 code check out 9.23.3 Mechanical Ventilation

If you want some good information on HVAC systems download the following document from CMHC.

Good info - I use it for my HVAC course. **[FONT=Arial,Bold][size=5][FONT=Arial,Bold][size=5]
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jallingham · February 14, 2009, 3:27am

Thanks guys. Got both Part 9’s but I guess things have changed a bit since then.

hjanssen · February 14, 2009, 4:49pm

Mechanical ventilation is found in 9,32,3
Harry

jallingham · February 14, 2009, 4:54pm

Thanks Harry

mkyriacou · February 14, 2009, 10:03pm

Harry you are correct 9.32 for both 2006 OBC and for the 1997 OBC.

jallingham · February 15, 2009, 9:46pm

I have the 2006 code but not the 1997 code. So what changed that I’m seeing many more HRV’s now. Did the ventilation requirements increase to the point that the bathroom fan doesn’t do the trick anymore for bigger homes.

yolhovsky · February 16, 2009, 1:16am

John, HRVs are mandatory only for detached ENERGY STAR homes. Attached homes are not required to have HRVs, and, of course, production builders are not required to install them per OBC either. Having said this, HRV or ERV (even better for our climate) is a sure way to healthy home. All new homes are built tight and bathroom fans cannot do the job properly. So if some production builders take a liberty of offering HRVs in their homes, they are doing a right thing for the homeowner.

mgratton · February 16, 2009, 1:33am

For The Record: An ERV is like a HRV in winter but also effective in summer in our climate.

yolhovsky · February 16, 2009, 4:52am

And that is why I said that it will be better for our climate.

dvalley · February 16, 2009, 11:43am

When I see HRV’s in my area, the home usually has a foam insulation throughout. The home is too tight with foam, so HRV’s are installed.

jkogel · February 16, 2009, 5:49pm

The filters in most HRV’s I see are so dirty they must be contaminating the air instead of cleaning it.

I wish I could post a pic of one a couple of weeks ago, you need a stepladder and tools to open it, ductwork attached to the panel and the owner had parked his brand new Harley directly below it. “Judging from the dust on the outside, this filter needs to be cleaned”.

John Kogel
www.allsafehome.ca

enorthe · February 16, 2009, 10:04pm

thanks for the link Claude, very cool.

jallingham · February 17, 2009, 12:03am

It’s 154 pages! Here’s the link for cheap guys like me that would rather have it mailed out.
https://www03.cmhc-schl.gc.ca/b2c/b2c/init.do?language=en&shop=Z01EN&areaID=0000000123&productID=00000001230000000034

vmitchinson · February 18, 2009, 5:47pm

Yuri care to explain the difference between hrv and erv?

dvalley · February 18, 2009, 7:04pm

Vern,

Here’s a link that’ll explain the difference between the two.

http://www.xpedio.carrier.com/idc/groups/public/documents/marketing/08er-v00-042104.pdf

clawrenson · February 18, 2009, 10:00pm

Thanks David - good points:

[FONT=Chalet-LondonNineteenSixty][size=2]If you live in a colder climate with a longer heating season such as Canada or the northern US, the HRV will provide the most comfort and efficiency.

In the midwest and southern states, where humidity removal is neededf or the incoming air, an ERV provides year-round efficiency.
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yolhovsky · February 19, 2009, 3:14am

Vern, David V. gave you a good link and Claude summed it up nicely. I said that ERV is better for Southern Ontario because we really have somewhat equal amount of cold and hot weather. We use almost equally furnace and AC. HRV does nothing for helping AC, but ERV helps it a lot by removing latent heat. In winter ERV removes humidity as well and goes through the same defrost cycle as an HRV does. HRV is much more effective in removing humidity, but if the family and the house are small, ERV does pretty good job. I can tell you that I have many phone calls from people complaining about having frost at the bottom of their newly installed windows when the temperature is low outside. I know from my own experience that the problem is not in the windows. Once you put an HRV in the house, condensation is no longer a problem.