Browse Forums Heating, Cooling & Insulation Re: Completely air tight homes? 27Dec 23, 2011 1:07 am . Block settled 07 June 2011 Our little piece of the Interwebs on HomeOne....... viewtopic.php?f=31&t=48577&start=0 Re: Completely air tight homes? 28Oct 09, 2014 5:05 pm cyclone i have a IC 300 installed http://www.air-change.com/Products/ERVInCeiling/tabid/75/Default.aspx So this was 3 yrs ago, is there any feedback on how they are running? are there any new installs of heat recovery units or ventilation systems? I am hoping to build an airtight house on the gold coast in the Hinterland, id does get quite cold in the winter and we have the wood fire on every night, I would like to not have to burn wood so a warm insulated house with fresh air would be great.. Re: Completely air tight homes? 29May 03, 2018 3:41 pm Hi to anyone still watching this thread. We're back to a new design with an architect and just got our model back from assessment - so far 9 stars. We're going with a Zehnder HRV, triple-glazed uniux glazing. Re: Completely air tight homes? 30May 04, 2018 7:05 am I have recently heavily researched ERV topic for my new house and came up with the following: 1) mostly, in Australia, ERV is considered something special and therefore, overcharged and not only on ERV system itself, but also on ducts, distribution boxes, adapters, grilles, etc. which can altogether comprise from 1/2 to 2/3rds of the supply quote. I have got a couple of quotes - one from Laros featuring SystemaAir based VSR 500 - $11.5K supply only, another from Stiebel Eltron featuring their LWZ 370+ system - $14.5K supply only. This is for the two storey 36 square house with 5 bedrooms, 2 living areas and 4 bathrooms. I have used the following Irish Web site to compare actual prices: http://www.ventilationsupplies.ie/produ ... ollers.php Can be delivered to Australia using https://www.shopandship.com/ and then you can also claim 20% VAT back. 2) rotor based ERVs are generally not only noisy, but also expensive in maintenance and not always as efficient as enthalpy ones, such as Mitsubishi Lossnay series (they position themselves as commercial ERV product though). They are not easily available in Australia, but can be bought in the UK and sent with DHL or ShopAndShip for some reasonable amount of money (http://swatengineering.co.uk/shop/en/mi ... ntilation/). 3) I continued my research and found out that actually Mitsubishi ERVs (as well as LG, Systemair, Haldes, Hitachi ones) are manufactured for Mitsubishi by one company in China called Holtop (http://www.holtop.com/) and they also have their own enthalpy-based ERVs which not only perform very well, but also have options with built-in heat pump for the supply air. This means that you can only install one system and have fresh air + complete climate control including back up cover for the strides of extremely hot or extremely cold days and nights. I have contacted the Chinese factory and they told me that they have distributor in Australia - a company called RecoveryVent (https://recoveryvent.com.au). As for now, I have contacted them and am awaiting for the quote for the fully integrated ERV/heating/cooling solution from them. Hopefully, I will be able to get a supply+install quote in the vicinity of $12K providing me with the full mechanical system for my house. Stay tuned! Re: Completely air tight homes? 31May 04, 2018 12:04 pm Thanks for the info Alex - are you Northern NSW? Either way a very different climate to my 500m altitude southern Tas ERVs are intended for controlling humidity along with recovering heat and are intended for very cold or hot humid climates. They do suffer a bit of an efficiency hit vs HRV as they use a different method. But yes generally high-energy homes are rare enough in Australia, let alone passivhaus and other highly air-tight homes. But if you are doing very highly air-tight then you do need to use an ERV or HRV to allow ventilation. Above all build quality is super important. Having a highly air-tight home can introduce a lot of issues if it hasn't been done well and checked. Re: Completely air tight homes? 32May 04, 2018 4:27 pm taththi Thanks for the info Alex - are you Northern NSW? Either way a very different climate to my 500m altitude southern Tas ERVs are intended for controlling humidity along with recovering heat and are intended for very cold or hot humid climates. They do suffer a bit of an efficiency hit vs HRV as they use a different method. But yes generally high-energy homes are rare enough in Australia, let alone passivhaus and other highly air-tight homes. But if you are doing very highly air-tight then you do need to use an ERV or HRV to allow ventilation. Above all build quality is super important. Having a highly air-tight home can introduce a lot of issues if it hasn't been done well and checked. I am in Upper Northern Sydney, but on plateau, so daily difference is there. Humidity controls are important for every tight house, in my opinion. Re: Completely air tight homes? 33May 04, 2018 4:46 pm Some good info here: http://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/blo ... hrv-or-erv I see what you're saying, but in climates like mine and other zones where HRVs are used we don't really run into many issues. I recently asked our consultant about it and his reply was: consultant Energy Recovery Ventilators use an Enthalpy core which is like a fabric type of material (HRV uses aluminium plates) to transfer vapour to the incoming and outgoing air (depending on the climate), these are only generally used in cold climates or hot humid climates. Your area is classified as Cool/Temperate and a HRV core is recommended, these cores perform much better than ERV cores because energy is lost (up to 15%) with the transfer process of the vapour. I have attached some information on Mechanical Ventilation with Heat Recovery, note that Zender uses Counter Cross Flow Heat Exchanger Cores. The misty frosty conditions will not be an issue as generally this will be a cool damp condition and the incoming air will be heated, therefore reducing humidity as the air expands and can carry more vapour. Re: Completely air tight homes? 34May 04, 2018 5:05 pm taththi Some good info here: http://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/blo ... hrv-or-erv I see what you're saying, but in climates like mine and other zones where HRVs are used we don't really run into many issues. I recently asked our consultant about it and his reply was: consultant Energy Recovery Ventilators use an Enthalpy core which is like a fabric type of material (HRV uses aluminium plates) to transfer vapour to the incoming and outgoing air (depending on the climate), these are only generally used in cold climates or hot humid climates. Your area is classified as Cool/Temperate and a HRV core is recommended, these cores perform much better than ERV cores because energy is lost (up to 15%) with the transfer process of the vapour. I have attached some information on Mechanical Ventilation with Heat Recovery, note that Zender uses Counter Cross Flow Heat Exchanger Cores. The misty frosty conditions will not be an issue as generally this will be a cool damp condition and the incoming air will be heated, therefore reducing humidity as the air expands and can carry more vapour. Not exactly agree with your consultant. As ERV transfers moisture, it can also cool house by several degrees in summer by removing humidity from the outside air and, therefore, significantly reduce the load on an air conditioning system (which will certainly pay off this 15% efficiency difference during the heating season). In TAS it might be less of an issue, though. Re: Completely air tight homes? 36Dec 16, 2019 8:13 pm alexp79 3) I continued my research and found out that actually Mitsubishi ERVs (as well as LG, Systemair, Haldes, Hitachi ones) are manufactured for Mitsubishi by one company in China called Holtop (http://www.holtop.com/) and they also have their own enthalpy-based ERVs which not only perform very well, but also have options with built-in heat pump for the supply air. ... I have contacted the Chinese factory and they told me that they have distributor in Australia - a company called RecoveryVent (https://recoveryvent.com.au). Hi alexp79 Been a while since you posted the above so hoping you read this. What was the outcome of your investigations into the ERV and enquiries into the products made by Holtop? I'm aiming for a high level of air-tightness with a new house in Sydney so have been investigating HRVs/ERVs. I also explored Mitsubishi Lossnay but couldn't find a local installer interested in quoting installation in a house. Strange, because there is a market opportunity - in NZ they are promoted for residential applications with integration into aircon. You can wash over existing pavers with 10% solution of water and hydrochloric acid, then wash off. The acid will provide for required bond key with new concrete. 1 36951 How do you remove one of these ceiling air con vents? And is it possible to disconnect the duct joined to the vent from inside the house, without going into the roof cavity? 0 5908 Hi all, sorting out the ducted air con for a 350sqm double story house. Does this placement sound reasonable to you? Also, I plan to have 6 zones I think. Living room… 0 0 |