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busymum 
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Joined: 01 January 1900
Location: New Zealand
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 Topic: HRV Systems
Posted: 22 January 2009 at 5:48pm |
Does anyone have one of these and do you like/dislike them? Fire your comments at us cause we need to make a decision on whether to get one 
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myfullhouse
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Joined: 29 July 2007
Location: West Auckland
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Posted: 22 January 2009 at 8:26pm |
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We have had one for a few winters now and we are happy with it. The house seems drier and we definately don't get condensation nearly as bad as we used to.
If you are hoping that it will heat your house you will likely be disappointed. It does to an extent as the house is drier so feels warmer. Plus if the ceiling temp is higher than the house temp it can pump hot air into the house if you want. In winter it seems that most days have the ceiling temp higher than the house but not always and not by alot so it doesn't really heat the house.
We are hopefully moving soon. I would consider getting an HRV for there but I would also look at the ones that pump air in from outside
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caliandjack
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Location: West Auckland
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Posted: 22 January 2009 at 8:59pm |
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We got DVS which is the competition, we got them simply cause we got a better deal.
We love ours, it pays for it self mostly in the in-between seasons, especially autumn, we found we put our heaters on a lot later, as DVS was pumping the warm air from the roof into the house.
We have a gas heater, if we didn't we'd put a heat pump in this combined with DVS is the best combination, as heat pump works like an air conditioner, and the DVS uses the warm air you've got.
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  [/url] Angel June 2012
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scribe
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Posted: 22 January 2009 at 9:14pm |
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We got a combined heating and ventilation system (Brivis), and it's been awesome.
We live in a valley in Wellington and we moved in during winter when there was no sun... humidity was at max and mould started growing on the windowsills (eww, especially as I have asthma, and we had a newborn).
The system wasn't too expensive (about 6 grand I think, for a 120sqm house), considering it brought our power bill down (cos it runs on gas). And the humidity level came right down, improving the air quality a lot.
I don't know if you need heating at all, where you are, but just in case it's something you might consider... we were originally thinking DVS and heat pump but then did some reading on Consumer online and worked out that central heating would be most cost effective for us (as we were already on gas).
Oh, and if you do decide to get a ventilation system, get several quotes - the difference in price can be huge! (we also got a quote for double the price!)
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Chickaboo
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Posted: 22 January 2009 at 10:20pm |
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We have an Hrv and wouldn't be without it. We use to get little black dots of mould on our bedroom walls and since we have had it (3 years now) I haven't never had it the walls use to be wet to touch - and no more. kids don't get half as much colds as they use to either.. and we live near the mountain so can get quite damp and cold.
Its true it doesn't heat your house unless the roof is hotter but it keeps your house drier so your house is naturally warmer.
We also got Better homes to retrofit our house for free ( AS SON has a CC card) which has made a huge difference too.
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Chickaboo
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Posted: 22 January 2009 at 10:27pm |
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oh and just a negative - ours gets a black ring round the vent now and then ... something about static the guy said. not every vent does though just a couple of them
Edited by Chickaboo
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sweetpea
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Posted: 23 January 2009 at 10:40am |
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Slightly off topic but we don't have one i considered it but have heard some down points about it too. One thing i have heard is check to see how well it works if you have the windows open some older systems didn't allow you to do this. We have quite bad condensation in our bedrooms over winter it usually disappears in the 2 bedrooms as they get the sun from the north but because our bedroom faces west it gets sun late in the day. we are considering getting a panel heater in our bedroom and putting it under the window this is the best place fro heaters as its the way air circualtes in a room.
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Joscia
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Posted: 23 January 2009 at 12:51pm |
We have a DVS and it's fantastic!
It's really dried the house out - no more condensation or mould anywhere. It does make the house slightly warmer on winter afternoons if the sun has been on the roof during the day + we have a vent set up over our fire, which pushes the hot air back through the room. We have it off during summer though - which saves more money.
Plus it's great for clearing out cooking smells quickly - just turn it up high, open the doors & windows & any smoke / smells disappear in a couple of minutes...
I would highly recommend it - probably the best money we've spent on the house so far. AND it's really cheap to run.
(Sorry I sound like an ad! But it really is that good!  )
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sadie
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Posted: 23 January 2009 at 9:07pm |
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We put HRV in a couple of years ago and it has been fantastic. Our windows used to get covered in condensation, and now that never happens. The whole house is much drier, and even on really hot days it still feels quite cool inside - surprising when it is 27 degrees.
True that it isn't a heating system, but as the air is drier it is much easier to heat, so effectively you don't need to run your heaters for as long to get up to a comfortable temp in winter.
It's nice in summer too at night time. Even if the house is still really warm, it pushes the cooler air from the ceiling through the house.
From memory, we paid around $2,400 I think for a 4 vent unit - sufficient for a 3 bed house. Definitely negotiate with the salesman, we got him to knock a big chunk off the original price.
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Chickaboo
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Posted: 23 January 2009 at 9:25pm |
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oh ours cost $3200 but we got two filters units plus 6 vents (we have a four bedroom home)
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Konagirl
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Posted: 24 January 2009 at 8:14am |
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Another happy HRV customer here. We put one in about 4 months ago, and we love it. So far, as it's summer, I like that the ambient temp on the whole house is comfortable, we used to have cold rooms where they didn't get much sunshine. Looking forward to not having condensation over winter as we dried our windows off every morning!
I think the thing to consider is what you want it for? Where you live, so what sort of conditions you have. We're in North Cant, so get lots of heavy frosts over winter but clear, sunny days. House gets really cold over winter, and like I said, lots of condenstation. We wanted it to clear that up. Maybe if you are way up North you'd have other things to consider.
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Angel babies Mar '04, Oct '08 and Sep '09.
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busymum
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Posted: 24 January 2009 at 10:26am |
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Thanks all. We have a five bdrm, two-storey home in Palmy so have been quoted $3500 for 8 vents. Sounds about as good as it can get really. Our house is built for the sun so we wouldn't use it for heating very often but the saleswoman had a dampness tester and while our upstairs is very good, the bedrooms downstairs are quite damp - to our surprise! Since one of our girls has light asthma and we have another new baby coming soon, we've decided to go right on ahead and get it installed - exciting!!
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newme
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Posted: 08 February 2009 at 10:26am |
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We have an HVS - it is fantastic - i shopped around and found the price and customer service to be better than HRV and DVS.
Home is much drier, heating costs wayyy lower. I don't know anyone who has regretted geting one. And they pay for themselves after a few years cos of the money you save on heating. Plus our health has been better.
If you're in Christchurch PM me and I will give you the details of the person we bought off. He was great to deal with.
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Chickaboo
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Posted: 08 February 2009 at 10:54pm |
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Teresa - as others have said depends what you are getting it for - we got it to take the dampness out of our house - which it did and I have also noticed the kids don't get half as many colds as they use to and not sick alot. Our house is a wooden 1930's villa type so not built for warmth/sun etc...
My parents got one simply cause even though their house is brick and build for sun etc... (it was built in 1980's) they got alot of condensation on their alluminuin windows - and now they don't.
As for some one said about not opening your windows - you can if you want and in these hot days I have been - its just espec in winter it doesn't work as effective with windows open BUT you don't need to open your window simply to air the house out t oget the smells of dampness and get rid of consation when you have a HRV (sorry can't vouch for DVS as don't have one) - the HRV gets rid of that.
i have never regretted getting ours its the best thing we did to this house so far.
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LeahandJoel
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Posted: 09 February 2009 at 9:03am |
Ours was in the house we bought and its been great. No condensation at all last winter so with 2 under 2 that was great. If we were putting one in, not sure if I would stick to HRV, most likely would get one that brings in air from outside.......but am happy with what we have at the moment.
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Saffy
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Posted: 07 March 2009 at 1:51pm |
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We LOVE our HRV system, now.
We didn't at first though.... turns out the installers calculated the air volume of our house incorrectly (didn't allow for the high studs of the old house!), and once we sorted that out and got upgraded to a much bigger system it has been frickin brilliant.
Can't speak highly enough of the dryness, lack of condensation, warmth on cold winter days etc etc. It's a no brainer investment now and I wouldn't want to live in a house without one.
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Bumble
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Posted: 08 March 2009 at 9:19am |
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Dont forget about the Moisture Master.
This is the only system where there is a heater unit attached, so if the roof air temp is lower than indoors, it will take the chill off the air. We have this and love it!!
It also has a combined heat transfer system (taking from one room, to the rest. for us this is lounge (fireplace) to the rest of the house)
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formerly known as "Bee"
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Andie
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Posted: 09 March 2009 at 3:54pm |
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Ooohhh ask Jono about them too - he's heard heaps about them through work and has a good idea of what works for what style house. You could ask Kathleen too... they got a DVS I think it was.
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Andie
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HRV Systems
