Controlled residential ventilation with heat recovery

Hello everyone.

Maybe a stupid question, but I'll ask it anyway.

We are considering installing a controlled residential ventilation system with heat recovery in the new building.

Now I have the following question:

I once read that to make the system as efficient as possible, one should not do the well-known shock ventilation (heating off, all windows open), because the controlled residential ventilation takes care of the air exchange and energy only escapes through "normal" ventilation. That sounds reasonable to me at first.

But how is it in summer? Here we often have the terrace door open all day. In that case, the system doesn't make sense. Can these systems somehow be switched off (and ventilated manually as needed)? In summer, you don't really want to blow in warm air either.

Hello everyone.

Maybe it's a stupid question, but I'll ask it anyway.

We might want to install a controlled residential ventilation system with heat recovery in the new building.

But now I have the following question:

I once read that to make the system work as efficiently as possible, you should not do the well-known shock ventilation (heating off, all windows open) anymore, because the controlled residential ventilation takes care of the air exchange and energy only escapes through "normal" ventilation.
That sounds reasonable to me at first.

But how is it in summer? Here we often have the patio door open all day. Then the system makes no sense.
Can you somehow turn off these systems (and ventilate sufficiently manually)? You don't really want to blow warm air inside in summer.

Hi Wadi,

we also run our controlled residential ventilation system (Vaillant) in summer (with F6 filter against pollen).
We see the following advantages:

[*]Less pollen in the house (we suffer from hay fever)
[*]After showering / bathing, the moisture is removed without having to open the windows
[*]Fewer flies and other insects in the house, because we keep the windows closed and only open the patio door for going in and out
[*]“Cooling” in summer when the cooler summer night air is drawn in (of course not comparable to an air conditioning)

Completely switching off is only possible for us by unplugging.
But you can program time intervals when the system should run at "full" speed. In summer, we run the controlled residential ventilation approx. 6:30-7:00 in the morning and approx. 22:00-22:30 in the evening.

Best regards

Andy

Thank you for your quick response.

If you can at least program times there, that would also work.

I've been used to it since I was little - the terrace door is open in the summer.
Habits are so hard to break.

Hi,

yes, I also know that habit from my parents' house
They also stay fit every summer by chasing mosquitoes and flies...

We are definitely very satisfied with the [Kontrollierte-Wohnraumlüftung] system

Regards

Andy

This is how you save on the gym

But I have some questions right away.
We just had an appointment with a salesman.

He advises against the controlled residential ventilation system because, according to him, the systems

1. would be maintenance-intensive (about €200 maintenance per year)
2. fungi would develop in the system due to the cold supply and warm exhaust air.

What are your experiences here? Does anyone else have experience with this?

This is how you save on the gym

But I have some immediate questions.
We just had an appointment with a salesperson.

He advises against controlled residential ventilation because, according to him, the systems

1. Are maintenance-intensive (approx. €200 maintenance per year)
2. Fungi would develop in the system due to the cold supply and warm exhaust air.

What are your experiences here? Does anyone else have experience with this?

Hi,

1. Maintenance: With us, the controlled residential ventilation is serviced together with the gas heater; when we moved in (March 2011), we concluded a maintenance contract with our heating technician.
So the first maintenance is only due around March 2012 -> I think it costs about €100??
Operating costs (besides electricity) are incurred for the filters. They should be changed every six months - costs about €35 or €50 for the F6 version (for allergy sufferers).

2. Honestly, I haven’t really thought about that yet. I googled briefly just now but found no hits regarding Vaillant controlled residential ventilation hygiene problems or fungal infestation.
I’m not really knowledgeable about fungi, but don't they only develop when there is no fresh air? (like in bathrooms, if they are not ventilated properly)
And in controlled residential ventilation, air is constantly exchanged.

Regards

Andy