Need advice on ERV/HRV for a full radiant, ICF house in Ohio - GreenBuildingTalk - GreenBuildingTalk - Green Building Forums on Insulating Concrete Forms (ICF), Structural Insulated Panels (SIP), Radiant Heating, Geothermal Heat Pumps, Solar Power, Green Construction Projects - Green Building Technologies

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Need advice on ERV/HRV for a full radiant, ICF house in Ohio

Last Post 16 Nov 2007 07:59 AM by Don Regan. 2 Replies.

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jim

New Member

Posts:58

13 Nov 2007 05:28 PM
We've built a 2000 sq ft (3000 including the basement) ICF house in Columbus, OH. The house is fully radiant - we have radiant in the basement slab, and warmboard on the both upper floors. The system runs off a Synergy 3 geo unit, and it has plenty of H2O heating capacity to run the radiant and generate domestic hot water. In the summer, we run the system as our AC, and it keeps the house quite comfortable - but we found we would open the windows whenever there was a break in heat to let in air, and we'd really only close it up during extended hot weather. I'm impressed with the comfort of the house so far, but as we head into our first heating season, I'm noticing some stale air issues. During the summer, the periodic window openings would keep the air fresh. Now that we're into the heating season, I'm noticing the air is more stale (we shut off the forced air during the heating months). 1. Do I need and HRV or an ERV? Or do I need both? 2. Will such a system work in the winter months with the forced air heat turned off? 3. Where is the system located? We have a 2 story with an attic space. 4. Is ducting required through the exterior walls? The walls, as mentioned, are ICF, and I'd prefer not to open them more than necessary. Thanks

PanelCrafters User is Offline

Advanced Member

Posts:680

13 Nov 2007 08:09 PM
Posted By ergnut on 11/13/2007 5:28 PM 1. Do I need and HRV or an ERV? Or do I need both? Yes and No! You need either an HRV or ERV, not both. But, in a tight house you need a method of introducing fresh air. 2. Will such a system work in the winter months with the forced air heat turned off? It must! I'm sure that a competent HVAC contractor can utilize your current ducting w/o needing the system to produce heat. 3. Where is the system located? We have a 2 story with an attic space. 4. Is ducting required through the exterior walls? The walls, as mentioned, are ICF, and I'd prefer not to open them more than necessary. Since you already have a forced air system, it would likely be located close to it. You will only need an duct through the wall for fresh air in and one for stale air out. You shouldn't need any ducting in the exterior walls. Just 2 passing through them. Good Luck!

....jc<br>If you're not building with OSB SIPS(or ICF's), why are you building?

Don Regan

New Member

Posts:14

16 Nov 2007 07:59 AM
I can't belive your heating contrator didn't put one in in the first place. A compentent HVAC guy will recommend an HRV or an ERV depending if you live in the northern or southern part of OH. Moisture control and some type of airfiltration system we normally install too. Good luck with that.