ᐅ Central ventilation system – is humidity recovery necessary?
Created on: 30 Dec 2019 16:17
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ludwig88sta
Hello everyone,
for our planned single-family house with 2 floors and a basement, we have decided on a central ventilation system for all rooms with heat recovery within the thermal envelope. The brand and model are not yet determined.
I have read here on the forum a few times about an additional moisture recovery feature (MRF?), since otherwise the indoor air tends to become too dry (of course, the ventilation system also removes the moisture that naturally occurs in the room, which usually makes the air feel comfortable). I wanted to ask if anyone can confirm these issues and whether this is more common in timber frame houses or also occurs in brick houses?
Did you install additional moisture recovery in your ventilation system? How much extra cost does it involve? I assume there are also additional maintenance costs because it involves another motor and related components.
Best regards
ludwig88sta
for our planned single-family house with 2 floors and a basement, we have decided on a central ventilation system for all rooms with heat recovery within the thermal envelope. The brand and model are not yet determined.
I have read here on the forum a few times about an additional moisture recovery feature (MRF?), since otherwise the indoor air tends to become too dry (of course, the ventilation system also removes the moisture that naturally occurs in the room, which usually makes the air feel comfortable). I wanted to ask if anyone can confirm these issues and whether this is more common in timber frame houses or also occurs in brick houses?
Did you install additional moisture recovery in your ventilation system? How much extra cost does it involve? I assume there are also additional maintenance costs because it involves another motor and related components.
Best regards
ludwig88sta
L
ludwig88sta4 Jan 2020 13:36By heat exchanger, do you mean heat recovery? What I meant was, if I install a central ventilation system with heat recovery, would it be possible to retrofit an enthalpy heat exchanger (for moisture recovery instead of just heat) after 1-2 years if needed?
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ludwig88sta4 Jan 2020 13:46Okay, then it should be easy to replace the original heat exchanger without enthalpy with a new heat exchanger with enthalpy within 1-2 years as needed. Thank you.
ludwig88sta schrieb:
Okay, so it should be easy to replace the original heat exchanger without enthalpy with a new heat exchanger with enthalpy within 1-2 years as needed. Thanks. Yes, exactly, it is even recommended because then the construction drying is finished, and you can choose to use enthalpy in winter and without it in summer. Costs vary depending on the manufacturer. I know price ranges from 600 to over 1000 euros.
guckuck2 schrieb:
It’s just the more expensive option.
Retrofitting costs 800€ (about 900 USD), while choosing the upgrade at purchase is around 400-500€ (about 450-560 USD).
You don’t need to worry about construction moisture; that will also be removed by the enthalpy exchanger. I didn’t mean that you can’t get the house dry (except it might take a bit longer). But because of the drying time, you often don’t need an enthalpy heat exchanger at the beginning. You can still decide in 2–3 years whether you need one or not. As mentioned before, depending on circumstances, one might not be needed permanently.
Everyone has to decide for themselves if they want to save the 300–500€ (about 340–560 USD) compared to retrofitting.
I’d just like to point out again that with retrofitting you have the option to switch it later. In summer, you might even be more likely to get rid of moisture that way...
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