One of the great difficulties that homeowners encounter with contemporary houses is circulating fresh air through them without either losing heat to the outside (during cold weather) or letting heat inside (during warm weather). Because the modern house has such effective heating sealing on it to prevent energy loss, there is little opportunity for outside air to move through and remove the stale air.
This is where energy recovery ventilators (ERVs) come in handy. These appliances, which professionals can install into your ventilation system, allow outdoor air into the ductwork, where heat is transferred either from it or to it. This fresh air that enters the house will have a negative impact on the indoor air quality. If you are interested in an ERV for your heating and air conditioning system, call our indoor air quality specialists at At Your Service Plumbing, Heating & Air today.
How an AC Benefits From an Energy Recovery Ventilator
Both your heating and air conditioning will need to work less thanks to an ERV, but in this post we will looks specifically at how it helps your AC.
During a hot day, outdoor heat will attempt to enter your house at any spot it can, which will make the indoors hotter and force you to use your air conditioner more. However, the heat sealing on your home (such as insulation) prevents most of this heat from entering. An ERV allows in some fresh, but hot, air to enter through an outdoor vent. Through a process called counter-flow heat exchange, the ERV runs the fresh, warm outdoor air past a current of stale indoor air. The incoming air loses its heat to the outgoing air, and so the outdoor air that enters into the rest of the ventilation system is much cooler.
Thanks to this process, your air conditioner will have less work to do because the ERV prevents extra heat from entering the home, and requires very little power to actually work: counter-flow heat exchange is a natural process that recovers energy from the outgoing air. You will receive an influx of fresh air that will make your home less stuffy and the air quality healthier, and your air conditioner will not need to overwork trying to compensate for additional outdoor heat.
ERVs need to have specialists to install them, otherwise they will not work correctly. If you want fresh air in your home and to save money, schedule air conditioning service in Salt Lake City, UT with our team at At Your Service Plumbing, Heating & Air today.