When we purchase a home, one of the biggest things that we’ll need to be aware of is the HVAC unit for the house. This will be the system that will help regulate the air conditioning and heating services of your home. Especially with the summer months approaching, there’s no better time than now than to make sure your HVAC unit is in tip-top shape.
Another big part of your home’s heating and cooling system is the energy recovery ventilator (ERV). This device is a ventilation system that transfers stale air from your home with fresh outdoor air. Since maintaining good indoor air quality is important, the ERV is a great addition to any home. This energy recovery ventilation system is just as important as its sister system, the HVAC system. We’ll focus today on why energy recovery ventilators are so helpful.
You receive indoor air quality.
An energy recovery ventilator can help with improving the air quality of your home. The air in your home is composed of various particulates that float around, in many cases unseen. These particulates can include dirt, pollen, pet dander, dust, and stale air. These contaminants can be harmful to the health of adults. The health of children is also put at risk by allowing these particles to float around your house unheeded. One of the benefits of using energy recovery ventilators is that it can help to clear out these airborne particles.
You want your air to have an acceptable indoor air quality so you won’t find yourself coughing all of the time. In addition to ridding your home of the aforementioned contaminants, the energy recovery ventilator also helps to reduce volatile organic compounds (VOCs) which circulate throughout your home. These include ethanol, xylene, acetone, and benzene.
You’ll often find these in commercial cleaners and air fresheners. With an ERV, your home will be able to get rid of such VOCs, while also providing better air quality and energy savings. High indoor air quality is a great reason why you should invest in an energy recovery ventilator for your home.
Energy savings are good.
We touched on this a little in the previous section, but saving on energy is one of the many reasons why energy recovery ventilators are helpful. An energy recovery ventilator can help with heating or cooling air. The machine does this by transferring heat or away from the outgoing air. Working through such a method, an ERV can help with energy savings, ultimately lowering your utility bills.
An ERV unit is a solid investment for any home and will help you to save money over time. Over time, it can also help to increase the value of your home for potential buyers. If your goal is to increase your energy efficiency while also save money, it might be best to add an ERV system to your house.
Increases the life of your HVAC system.
In addition to cycling out contaminants through its ventilation system, an ERV will also be able to increase the life of your HVAC system. An ERV will help to keep your heater and air conditioner from running so often. It can also prevent such contaminants as dirt, pollen, pet dander, dust, and stale air from clogging your air filter. Ultimately such clogs can lead to dirty or leaky ductwork.
When this occurs, you don’t have to worry so much about costly HVAC system repairs. Your HVAC system will continue to work longer and will stay in perfect shape. These repairs can be extremely costly, taking money out of your pocket. These types of repairs fall between $150 to $450.
On average, homeowners spend $319 on air conditioning service, while they pay approximately $268 on repairs involving a furnace. Your energy recovery ventilator will help to prevent you from having to spend these large amounts of money. Increasing the life of your HVAC system is one of the many reasons why you should invest in an ERV.