Design Comfort Blog: Posts Tagged ‘Energy Recovery Ventilators’

Is an ERV Effective in the Winter?

Monday, December 7th, 2015

Heating one’s home is not to be taken lightly. The winter weather in this part of the country is far too harsh and long-lasting to take any chances with the performance quality of one’s heating system. Of course, you also don’t want to be paying an arm and a leg in order to heat your home, nor should you have to sacrifice sufficient ventilation and great indoor air quality in your pursuit of efficient heating. If you think that enjoying efficient, effective heating as well as high indoor air quality is asking too much, think again. Just use an ERV in West Jordan, UT. Read on, and contact Design Comfort if you think that an ERV is a good fit for your home.

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What Is an Energy Recovery Ventilator?

Monday, August 24th, 2015

At Design Comfort, we don’t think that our valued clients, yourself included, should have to choose between great comfort and great energy efficiency. However, because modern homes tend to be so tightly sealed in an effort to protect efficiency levels, there is one important facet in the overall comfort equation which frequently suffers: indoor air quality. Simply put, the failure to sufficiently ventilate your home is going to lead to problems with the quality of the air therein. As you may have guessed, though, we have a solution to share with you. Consider the use of an energy recovery ventilator in West Jordan, UT. If you decide, after reading the following information, that an ERV is right for, dial our number to schedule exceptional ERV services.

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The Benefits of an Energy Recovery Ventilator

Friday, November 7th, 2014

Energy efficiency is always important when it comes to heating our homes, but sometimes we can make our homes so air-tight that poor ventilation becomes a problem. How can you achieve energy efficiency while keeping your home well-ventilated? Consider the installation of an energy recovery ventilator (ERV). Upgrading your HVAC system with an ERV can help with both heating and cooling, as we’ll explain below. But to truly gain the benefit of an ERV, it’s important to hire professionals who can properly install the device into your system. Since 1982, Design Comfort has helped install every kind of upgrade available for heating systems in Salt Lake City, so call us today!

How Does an ERV Work?

An energy recovery ventilator works by transferring the heat energy and moisture from your stale indoor air to drawn-in fresh air. During the winter, the ERV vents your stale, warm air to the outside; at the same time, a small fan draws in fresh, cool air from outside. As the warm air is expelled from your home, the ERV removes the moisture and heat energy from this air and pre-treats the incoming cool fresh air with it. In the summer, the opposite happens: the cool, stale air is exhausted to the outside, but the dehumidified, exiting air pre-treats the incoming moist, warm air. The result is fresh, pre-treated, clean air entering the air flow of your HVAC system for dispersal throughout your home.

The Benefits of an ERV

Why install an ERV? Here are a few reasons to consider:

  • Increase in energy efficiency – pre-treating the incoming fresh air helps reduce the amount of work your HVAC system has to do, which helps reduce your system’s overall energy usage.
  • Balanced humidity levels – during the summer, the ERV helps remove excessive moisture from the incoming air; during the winter, the ERV adds needed moisture to the dry cool air, helping to balance the humidity levels in your home.
  • Improved indoor air quality – the steady stream of air the ERV brings in can significantly improve your indoor air quality.

Make your heating and cooling work for you: consider the installation of an energy recovery ventilator. The technicians at Design Comfort are ready to help, so call us today!

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What Are the Benefits of an Energy Recovery Ventilator?

Friday, September 19th, 2014

Proper ventilation is important for good indoor air quality. But how do you maintain proper ventilation while your air conditioner is running? A great solution is an energy recovery ventilator, aslo known as an ERV. Not only can you properly ventilate your home with an ERV, you can do so efficiently. An ERV is added to your air conditioning, so the upgrade is easy and seamless, and Design Comfort has the indoor air quality experts you need for professional installation.

What is an ERV?

An ERV is a ventilation system that allows you to exchange your stale indoor air for the fresh outdoor air – but it does more than that. The heat exchanger, which is at the core of the ERV, not only exchanges the two streams of air, it also pre-treats the incoming air with the energy from the outgoing air. During the summer, the incoming warm, humid air is cooled and dehumidified by the outgoing stale, cool indoor air. In winter, the cold, dry, incoming air is warmed and humidified by the outgoing warm, stale air – but the two airstreams never meet, so there is no worry about contamination. The result is fresh, continuous, incoming air that is pre-cooled (or heated), which gives your AC a big reduction in its work load.

What Are the Benefits of an ERV?

There are several benefits to installing an ERV:

  • Better indoor air quality – with a continuous stream of fresh air, you are assured of having healthy, clean air indoors all the time.
  • Better energy efficiency – when your air is pre-cooled (or pre-heated), you air conditioner has less work to do, which can mean less energy usage.
  • Longer lifespan for equipment – less work for your AC also means less wear and tear, which can help extend the lifespan of your system.
  • Improved moisture control – an ERV dehumidifies the fresh air before it can enter your home or system, which helps improve moisture control.

If you’ve been looking to improve both your indoor ventilation and energy efficiency, an ERV may be just what you need. Call Design Comfort today and schedule service for your ERV in Salt Lake City with one of our indoor air quality specialists.

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Why Should I Consider Installing an Energy Recovery Ventilator?

Wednesday, July 23rd, 2014

Energy efficiency is important for your air conditioning, home, family and finances in Salt Lake City. There are a number of things homeowners can do to be more energy efficient, and one way to really achieve energy efficiency is with an energy recovery ventilator (ERV) from Design Comfort.

What is an Energy Recovery Ventilator?

An energy recovery ventilator is a ventilation system that exchanges your indoor air with the outdoor air while using the energy from the outgoing air to pre-cool (or pre-heat) the incoming air. The component responsible for this exchange is the heat exchanger, which is the core of the ERV. Within the heat exchanger, the stale air from your indoors is sent outdoors while the energy of it is used to pre-treat the incoming fresh air.

For instance, during the summer, as your stale, conditioned indoor air is expelled, the heat exchanger inside the ERV removes heat from the fresh, hot air that’s coming in. This action cools the incoming air and reduces the amount of energy needed to cool it to a comfortable level inside. In winter, the opposite happens.

Benefits of an Energy Recovery Ventilator

  • Energy savings – the ability of the ERV to pre-treat the incoming air using existing energy from your indoor air decreases your air conditioner’s need to cool the air entirely on its own.
  • Decrease in humidity – ERVs transfer moisture with the air they remove. This helps maintain a comfortable relative humidity level in your home, which reduces the stress on your air conditioner.
  • Better air quality – ERVs provide a steady stream of fresh air into your living space, increasing indoor air quality and removing pollutants as the air exchanges.

Make the Most of Your Indoor Air with an Energy Recovery Ventilator

An energy recovery ventilator added to your air conditioning system in Salt Lake City can save you money and increase the quality of your indoor air, all at the same time. Since 1982, Design Comfort has helped many customers with their air conditioning needs. Call us today and see how an energy recovery ventilator can help you.

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