Improving Indoor Air Quality: ERV vs. HRV Ventilation for Washington Homes
The upside of a well-insulated and tightly sealed home is energy efficiency, reduced noise, and consistent indoor temperatures.
The downside? It traps cooking odors, pet dander, moisture, Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs), and other contaminants, giving them nowhere to go.
At Resicon LLC, we’ve seen the results of poor ventilation firsthand. Stuffy rooms, window condensation, and even mold growth in closet corners can drastically reduce indoor air quality (IAQ) in “green” buildings, including your Puyallup, home.
If you want to live in a healthy, comfortable environment, you must employ balanced ventilation strategies that allow even the most tightly built home to breathe. Energy recovery ventilators (ERVs) and heat recovery ventilators (HRVs) are two effective methods for ventilating your living space, keeping indoor air fresh.
In this blog, we’ll explore how these systems function, their potential benefits for your home, and the importance of balanced ventilation.
What Is Balanced Ventilation?
Many older homes rely on natural ventilation, which includes leaky windows, open windows, and exhaust-only ventilation, such as bathroom fans. When an exhaust fan pulls stale air out of your home, it creates a very slight vacuum as the air pressure in the room drops.
The pressure difference between inside and outside the space draws air into the house through cracks and gaps around doors and windows, in the attic, in the crawlspace, or even through dedicated vents.
Balanced ventilation is different. It uses two fans: one to exhaust stale indoor air and one to bring in an equal amount of fresh, filtered outdoor air. This maintains your home’s air pressure at a neutral level, preventing the “vacuum effect” and ensuring the air you breathe comes from a clean, dedicated source rather than your crawlspace.
How HRVs and ERVs Can Benefit Your Puyallup Home
HRVs and ERVs make balanced ventilation energy-efficient. These systems feature a heat exchanger core that allows the outgoing warm air and incoming cold air to cross paths without actually mixing.
In an HRV, the outgoing warm air is able to transfer heat to the incoming cold air, preconditioning the air, so your furnace doesn’t have to work overtime. An ERV does everything an HRV does, but it also manages moisture. In our damp climate, an ERV can help prevent outdoor humidity from entering your home during a muggy spell or help keep some essential moisture inside during the dry winter months.
Both systems use filters to screen out pollutants from incoming air.
Which Ventilation System is Best?
In the Pacific Northwest, both systems are excellent choices. Traditionally, HRVs were the go-to for cold, wet winters. However, with newer, tighter construction, ERVs are becoming increasingly popular because they provide superior comfort by stabilizing indoor humidity levels.
As Washington State building codes require homes to be increasingly airtight, the need for mechanical ventilation like an ERV or HRV has become a necessity rather than an upgrade.
The Benefits of Home Ventilation
The benefits of a professionally installed HRV or ERV system go far beyond just fresh air.
Reduced Allergens & Pollutants: These systems use high-quality filters to capture pollen, dust, and wildfire smoke before they enter your living space.
Mold Prevention: By continuously moving moist air from “wet” areas, such as bathrooms and kitchens, a whole-home ventilator prevents condensation that can lead to mold and mildew.
Energy Savings: Standard ventilation is like throwing money out the window. HRVs and ERVs can recover 70 to 80 percent of the energy from the air they exhaust and deliver it to the incoming air, minimizing energy loss.
Quiet Comfort: Compared to window fans or noisy portable units, these systems are quieter, delivering a gentle, consistent airflow.
How Much Does HRV or ERV Installation Cost in Puyallup
Installing a whole-house ventilation system is an investment in your indoor air quality and your family’s health.
The cost depends on where you live, the size of your home, the accessibility of your ductwork, the complexity of the installation, and the model ventilator you install. According to Trane, an ERV will cost more than an HRV because it manages humidity as well as heat.
If your home does not have ductwork, installing dedicated ventilation ductwork for the ERV or HRV will increase the cost of whole-home ventilation.
ERV and HRV Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Q: Is an ERV or HRV better for Washington’s climate? [h3]
In the Pacific Northwest, both systems are effective, but they serve different needs. An HRV is ideal for our cold, wet winters as it focuses on heat recovery. However, an ERV is becoming the preferred choice for newer, airtight homes because it also helps manage indoor humidity, preventing your home from feeling overly dry in winter or damp during a “muggy” spell.
Q: Does the Washington State Energy Code require whole-home ventilation? [h3]
Yes. Under the most recent updates to the WSEC (Section R403.6), new homes and significant additions must include a mechanical ventilation system. Because modern Washington homes are built to be extremely airtight for energy efficiency, these systems are required to ensure a consistent supply of fresh, filtered outdoor air.
Q: How much maintenance do these systems need? [h3]
For optimal performance, both HRV and ERV systems require minimal but regular maintenance. You should check and clean the air filters every 3 to 6 months, especially during wildfire season in Washington. The core of the unit should also be inspected and cleaned once a year to ensure maximum energy recovery efficiency.
Choose Resicon for Home Ventilation
At Resicon LLC, we take a whole-home approach to ventilation, and our technicians are experienced installers of whole-house fans, ERVs, ventilation controls, and other solutions. Our team even includes a Building Performance Institute Building Analyst who understands exactly how air moves through your home.
Because we handle electrical, plumbing, and HVAC in-house, we never use subcontractors. When you hire Resicon for your Puyallup, home, you get a team that is OSHA-certified and deeply experienced in local building codes. We’ve spent years working with government weatherization programs, meaning we know exactly how to make a home both airtight and healthy.
An ERV or HRV can take your living space from stuffy to airy. Let our Resicon experts help you choose the best ventilation strategy for your home. Call Resicon LLC at 253-342-2482 or request service online.