Air quality is literally on the daily radar screen for Los Angeles-area residents. But did you know the EPA warns that indoor-air quality in the average home is actually several times more polluted than outdoor city air? If you’re concerned about the indoor-air quality of your home, you can breathe a fresh sigh of relief after you install a whole-house ventilation system.
Ventilation systems for your Los Angeles-area home
The two leading mechanical whole-house ventilation systems are heat recovery ventilators (HRVs) and energy recovery ventilators (ERVs). In a manner of speaking, HRVs and ERVs could be described as a home’s lungs. Both systems bring in fresh air while discharging stale indoor air — odors, pollutants, allergens and all.
You can program your HRV or ERV ventilation system with the comfort-control device for fresh air throughout your home regardless of outdoor weather conditions. If enjoying fresh filtered air according your schedule isn’t enticing enough, consider that with an HRV or ERV ventilation system, you’re ventilating your home without wasting the energy dollars you spent to heat or cool the air. This means less wear and tear on your heating/cooling systems.
HRVs and ERVs employ a heat exchanger that transfers heat between the fresh inflowing air stream and the stale outgoing air stream. So, if you are heating your home on a chilly day, the outgoing heated air pre-heats the inflowing cold air. The opposite heat transfer is used for hot days.
HRV or ERV: Which is best for Los Angeles-area homeowners?
The primary difference between HRVs and ERVs are that ERVs provide humidity control by transferring moisture from the inflowing hot, humid air to the outgoing air. HRVs are primarily beneficial for moderate-climate regions like the greater Los Angeles area, which don’t experience severe humidity problems. Also, ERVs must slightly mix the opposing inflowing and outgoing air streams in order to transfer moisture. HRVs do not mix air streams at all.
For more information about a whole-house ventilation system, contact Around the Clock Air Conditioning and Heating. We’ve provided outstanding service and installation to Los Angeles-area residents for 45 years.
Our goal is to help educate our customers in Los Angeles, North Hollywood and surrounding areas about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about Ventilation Systems and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.
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