With winter on its way in the Bridgeville, DE area, homeowners will be looking for any advantage they have to keep those energy bills down. There’s a number of ways you can do so, ranging from turning the thermostat down to a wholesale replacement of your heater. In between that, there are a number of upgrades you can perform to augment your HVAC system. We’d like to talk about a specific upgrade today, one which can make a huge difference in your home’s efficiency in winter and summer alike. It’s called an energy recovery ventilator. Here’s a quick breakdown on how it works.
Energy recovery ventilators, or ERVs, are placed in the attic of your home and usually connected to the rest of your HVAC system. (A winter-only version, called a heat recovery ventilator, is available as well.) The ERV consists of a pair of ducts, each with a single fan. One fan blows air in your home outside, and the other pulls outside air into your home. The ducts never cross, but a heat exchanger in the middle swaps the temperature so that the incoming air is the same temperature as the outgoing air.
So why go through that trouble? What does that exchange do for you? In the first place, it helps keep your air fresh in the cold of winter, when you never open doors or windows and a certain stuffiness can predominate. More importantly, it helps to ease the strain on your heating system (and your AC system in the summer), which lowers your bills considerably. (Up to 40%, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.) The reduced strain also lowers the chances of a more serious breakdown in the system, and when applied over time can even extend the life of your system.
Call Atlantic Refrigeration and Air Conditioning to discuss your options further!