What type of hrv system should I put in a 4 year old home?

Well first a clarification – your house may be tight, but is not TOO tight because no house in the world is too airtight. The less air leakage the better, and yes, you should have an HRV to remove moisture and provide fresh air.

I would say you are best to start by familiarizing yourself with the idea of mechanical ventilation, you can do that starting here on this page –

Does a house need an HRV / ERV air exchanger?

It is true that houses are being build more airtight in this day and age than in the past, and that is a very good thing. It means less energy loss as heated or cooled air escapes, and that escaping air carries moisture with it as it escapes, which in cold climates can condense and leave moisture in your walls, this is also a bad thing.

The tricky part of installing a ventilation system after a home has already been built, is that you need to run duct work, and you can no longer do it easily within framed walls, ceilings and floors if they are already finished. Is your basement ceiling finished? It is easiest if not, that way you can run ducts the length of the house at least without any demolition or having to build bulkheads. You will still need to run it to upper floors (unless you have a bungalow) so you may need to create build outs to hide it.I would suggest you let that company provide you with a quote on the job, but also call a second company to quote on it as well and see what they say to get the best price but also to see if the work they suggest doing matches. In an ideal world you would provide fresh air to each bedroom and the common areas, but if that turns into too much interior demolition then at least changing the air in general is a very good idea still.

Aside from the layout of the system, you will need to choose a brand, not to mentionchoosing between and HRV and ERV, (heat recovery and energy recovery ventilation). Units will have an ‘efficiency’ rating, meaning how much heat the recover before air is expelled from the home. You will pay more for a more efficient one, but it will also save you money on heating and cooling. Feel free to check back with us if you get a quote and need further advice.

One last page to look at as an option, would beductless air exchangers which are great for renovation projectsas they can dramatically reduce the amount of interior work you need to do since you are only running a low voltage wire to each unit, which is much easier to hide than ventilation ducts.

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