Why Use an Energy Recovery Ventilator?

For a long time, people thought that they had to choose between cool, comfortable temperatures in their home and indoor air quality. Energy efficiency was at the center of the debate. Fortunately for modern homeowners, though, this line of thinking is quite outdated. With the use of an energy recovery ventilator in Springfield, MD, you can enjoy efficient cooling along with great indoor air quality, all at the same time. Read on to learn more about the way that an energy recovery ventilator works, and how it can make your home a more pleasant place in which to reside.

 

What Is an ERV, and How Does It Work?

An energy recovery ventilator, or ERV, is a mechanical ventilation device. Obviously, when heating or cooling your home, you are not just going to throw open the windows in order to let fresh air into your living space. This would waste the energy that you’ve paid for in order to condition the air within. Because of this, the indoor air quality in your home can suffer greatly. During the summer, for instance, as you cool your home, the AC draws moisture out of the air. If your home is not sufficiently ventilated with some fresh air coming in, your house will get very dry, and the air very stale. Using an energy recovery ventilator allows you to let fresh air into your home without wasting all that energy that you’ve paid for. In the summer, the stale but cool air being vented out of your home is used to pre-cool the fresh but hot air coming in. In the winter, the outgoing warm air is used to warm up the fresh, cold air coming in. The airstreams also mix just enough to allow for the balancing of humidity.
 

Be sure to schedule your indoor air quality services with the pros here at Magnolia Plumbing, Heating & Cooling.