We have a split block 1970's home in Invercargill. There is insulation in the ceiling and underfloor, but not the walls. The house has new single glazed aluminium joinery. It had a very simple DVS installed but it is 10 years old and no longer works. The home is heated by a log burner and also a daiken heat pump. I would like advice as to whether or not another ventilation system is of any use. The occupier is at home all the time, so is able to open windows each day. thanks.
tweake,
Jun 11, 8:49pm
have you got brick exterior, wooden walls and crawl space under the house ? if so its a good thing the dvs is broken. they don't work on that type of house as it sucks up the air from under the house up between the brick wall and wooden wall, into the ceiling and then into the house. ewww.
you would need a balanced ventilation system. edit: or external air inlet.
as long as the person living there ventilates the house well it will be fine without. however many who can't afford good heating, tend to shut the house up when its old and that creates damp issues.
martin11,
Jun 12, 8:40am
Why new single glazed it should have been double glazed . Thought that would have been the building code laws in Invers .
jenny791,
Jun 12, 9:59am
The new glazing was installed before we bought the house. I think it's only new buildings that the building code applies to, but i may be wrong on that.
amasser,
Jun 12, 2:15pm
Better investment in long term is to replace with double-glazed windows. If aluminium joinery, ensure that they have a thermal break.
martin11,
Jun 12, 2:31pm
They are fairly new items the OP would probably consider d/g the frames not replace the whole unit .
mutation,
Jun 12, 5:56pm
We have an HRV system and I personally wouldn't have another. It displaced warm air out of our home while we were spending money on heating that air, a non-escapable fact. Follow the link , under "Ducted warm air transfer systems"
balanced vent systems are better than positive pressure, but its not perfect. your still going to loose heat. plus they cost more, more complicated, need separate vents etc. also they may not work well if the house is fairly air leaky.
mutation,
Jun 12, 6:18pm
Yes quite agree, we looked into one a few years ago. We got a heatpump in the end as the cost was around the same but a heatpump was going to be more useful. OP might be better served putting in extract fan from bathroom, venting dryer, kitchen etc, to remove moisture first. That kind of thing.
jenny791,
Jun 12, 7:58pm
Thanks for all the replies. They are most helpful. i will research all the options. Cost is a big consideration.
kiwitrader43,
Jun 12, 8:36pm
mutation wrote: We have an HRV system and I personally wouldn't have another. It displaced warm air out of our home while we were spending money on heating that air, a non-escapable fact. Follow the link , under "Ducted warm air transfer systems" Phone HRV and have them advise on how to turn the fan speed down. They have 22 speed settings. They work well when reset after your house has been dried out a few months after installation. You do need to lock all of the windows including the toilet window to keep sneaky heat in though.
johotech,
Jun 12, 8:57pm
Personally, I think the HRV or DVS systems are way overpriced. There's less than $1000 worth of materials, and way less than $1000 worth of installation costs - yet they cost $3-4000?
A proper heat recovery system is about the same price. And uses real fresh air from outside, not dirty air from in your roof.
Set the heat pump on dehumidify while using the log burner for heat.
planespotterhvn,
Jun 16, 9:24pm
This will chill down the room that the log burner is trying to heat. A stand alone dehumidifier is much more economic to preserve the heat in the house.
xs1100,
Jun 17, 4:17pm
what about those smart vent units
lythande1,
Oct 29, 5:15pm
Then don't waste your money.
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