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Is an Energy Recovery Ventilator Useful in Cold Weather as Well as Warm?

Life in Georgia presents a significant challenge to maintaining indoor comfort in a house since we have to deal with a large range of temperatures during the year. To keep homes comfortable requires effective insulation and heat sealing to keep out hot temperatures out during the summer and trapping heat indoors during winter. This has the unfortunate side effect of preventing fresh air from circulating through a house, creating unpleasantly stale and humid air.

An energy recovery ventilator (ERV) is one of the best solutions to this problem. You may have heard about how effective an ERV is at bringing in fresh air during a hot summer day, then pre-cooling it before it reaches the air conditioner by running in through a stream of cooler indoor air. An ERV also controls humidity, since it transfers the moisture from the outdoor air to the outgoing stream of indoor air.

However, an ERV works well for cold temperatures as well. These devices are designed to operate in two directions when it comes to transferring heat between the indoor and outdoor air, which means they are useful throughout the year. During the winter, the ERV pulls in a cold but fresh current of outdoor air through a vent. This air moves through a current of the warmer indoor air, and the heat from this indoor air transfers to the outdoor air, warming it up before it reaches the heating system. Humidity also moves between the two currents, which will help prevent the dry air that is often a major problem for indoor comfort during the winter.

Premier Indoor Comfort Systems LLC installs and services energy recovery ventilators and other indoor air quality solutions in Peachtree City, GA. Call us 7 days a week for a personalized response to your needs. If we don’t have the answer, we’ll find it for you!

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