We are building a home in Silicon Valley. It is a two story home. We plan to have radiant heating and mini splits for cooling.
I am looking for suggestions for a system which can exchange stale indoor air for fresh air from outside.

Weather here is mild. Winter lows in high 20's and summer highs in low 90's. No rain from May to October.

Thanks,
LM

I like the Lunos E2 from www.foursevenfive.com.

If you don't have a full duct system, this system doesn't need it and the cost is reasonable compared to a ducted system

Posted By MikeSolar on 25 Nov 2012 09:17 PM
I like the Lunos E2 from www.foursevenfive.com.

If you don't have a full duct system, this system doesn't need it and the cost is reasonable compared to a ducted system

Note that the maximum air flow for the Lunos E2 is 22 CFM, so for a two-story house it might take a number of them to achieve ASHRAE suggested ventilation rates for a tight house.

OTOH, there's not much science behind the ASHRAE recommended cfm rates, and if you control sources of indoor air pollution and moisture/CO2 levels aren't building up indoors there's negligible risk to undershooting the mark on those rates. Take it from somebody who actually measures stuff and knows how to do math:

http://inhabitat.com/interview-building-science-pioneer-dr-joe-lstiburek-on-the-good-bad-and-ugly-side-of-buildings/3/ )

But to have guaranteed ventilation in every room a heat recovery ventilation (HRV) system is well worth considering, no matter how you duty-cycle or otherwise control it. (Some people in very tight PassiveHouse homes run them under dehumidistat control, only turning them on when the humidity rises to a pre-set level, with typical ventilation rates well below ASHRAE standards.) The ductwork is very tiny compared to typical AC ducts (4-6" trunks,3-4" branches). In new construction it's not a very big cost-adder- usually under $5KUSD, sometimes under $3K, ducts & all. The outdoor dew points in your area are moderate enough that there's no advantage to using a somewhat more expensive ERV (which does a humidity exchange as well as sensible temp heat.)

So the research that I've been doing, I have concluded that we need an HRV but with all the manufacturers out there, what's best? The Broan looks nice (and cheap too) but I also like the fantech units. Any others we should consider?
The lunos ones are pretty cool but super pricey!

Panasonic ERV is a good alternative to Lunos. Price is about $350/unit + $75/vent.
http://www.panasonic.com/business/building-products/ventilation-systems/products/whisper-comfort.asp