Decentralised heat recovery ventilation

sheejo

I'm looking at heat recovery ventilation for my house and I'm looking for reviews from people who have installed a decentralized system. Basically they fit into the wall vents and installed in pairs from what I see so one would be in supply and the other extract.

It looks like a cheaper option compared to a centralised system but is it as effective?

hesker

I can’t comment on comparisons but I’ll offer this. I had two units working as a pair installed in an outdoor office which is insulated and heated. They work like a dream and the room is a pleasure to work in.

However, there is a little noise from the fans and because the pair work in tandem they alternate. I can’t imagine it would be that easy to sleep with that background noise.

I installed the same units (Twinfresh Comfo) as this guy and he recently added his experience of installing one in his bedroom.

http://mistersustainable.blogspot.com/2021/08/another-mini-energy-recovery-ventilator.html

L1011

I've just had single room units fitted, these ones, and the installation quality was... poor so I won't be naming the supplier/fitter.

Mainly got them as the rooms needed powered ventilation, so heat recovery was a secondary aim. Will probably need to wait to winter to see how the perform in that regard.

hesker

I went back and had a look at his earlier installation from 2014 where he fitted one in a living room. He had this to say about the noise

"At full speed the fan sound is noticeable from 10 feet, but the lower two speeds are almost inaudible. I would say that it is no louder than a refrigerator with the fan at full speed. It is certainly not obnoxiously loud and much quieter than a 100 CFM bathroom vent. You do notice the "breathing" cycle because the pause between directions is several seconds long."

It's that "breathing" cycle that I think will be difficult to sleep through.

sheejo

Thanks for info and the link to that site.

It's the noise level from them during the night in a bedroom which is what I would be concerned with mainly as I would like to put one in the living area and one in the bedroom.

I could always try to put them on a timer in the bedroom if it's an issue.

Yellow_Fern

Do different models have different noise ratings?

hesker

I might have been over playing the noise element now that I think about. I often fall asleep in front of the TV for example and have no problem sleeping in an air conditioned room. I had a good listen there now and they really are fairly quiet.