Within a whole house ventilation system with heat recovery (MVHR), there are ventilation points in different rooms which either pump in fresh air from outside i.e. living rooms and bedrooms or draw the moisture laden internal air out of the room i.e. from wet rooms like bathrooms and kitchens.
The incoming air is fed through a heat exchange unit where the two sets of pipes are brought together without the air mixing. As the two airflows pass each other in the heat exchanger unit, heat is released from the warm air due to a large surface area on the piping that is expanded through the use of fins. This warmth is captured directly into the cooler incoming air.
This type of heat exchange system is highly efficient and can successfully recover between 60% and 95% of energy.
The biggest benefit of a heat recovery system within your ventilation is that it reduces waste, however due to the improved air flow that results from whole house ventilation, MVHR also creates a more even temperature throughout your home than would otherwise be the case.
This can help reduce the amount of energy needed to warm your home, as rather than having hot and cold spots due to different sized rooms taking longer to heat, the air is distributed around the house, which means that your heating system works in concert.
