DVS vs HRV Systems
Printed From: OHbaby!
Category: General Chat
Forum Name: General Chat
Forum Description: For mums, dads, parents-to-be, grandparents, friends -- you name it! And you name the topic you want to chat about!
URL: https://www.ohbaby.co.nz/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=27613
Printed Date: 06 June 2025 at 3:14pm
Software Version: Web Wiz Forums 12.05 - http://www.webwizforums.com
Topic: DVS vs HRV Systems
Posted By: CuriousG
Subject: DVS vs HRV Systems
Date Posted: 21 July 2009 at 12:37pm
|
What is the difference does anyone know? Does anyone recommend one over the other?
Also, any ideas of costs? We have a heat pump so I am quite keen to get a heat transfer system also. I know DVS does them but not sure about HRV. I am getting quotes but am interested to hear others opinions. ------------- http://lilypie.com"> 
http://lilypie.com"> 
|
Replies:
Posted By: EmDee
Date Posted: 21 July 2009 at 12:41pm
|
We don't have one but are interested also (though we won't be able to do it for a couple of years.
I've also seen Moisture Master advertised and they have a transfer system and options for in-line heaters as well. Might be worth checking them out too.  ------------- DS 8 DD 6 DS 4 DD 2 |
Posted By: CuriousG
Date Posted: 21 July 2009 at 1:34pm
|
I have looked on their websites and the price of a DVS ranges between $1400 upto about $5000 so I was quite surprised! ------------- http://lilypie.com">
http://lilypie.com">
|
Posted By: cuppatea
Date Posted: 21 July 2009 at 2:20pm
|
We have just had a HRV system installed (in May) and it cost $3500, our house is 3 bedroom plus study so we have 2 fans up in the roof and 6 outlets, one in each bedroom, one in the study, one in the lounge an one in the dining room (the house is actually open plan but you still need the extra outlets). Basically they put outlets everywhere except the kitchen and bathroom as in those room you need extraction and normally have via extractor fans or oven hoods.
I don't know a whole heap about them as it was DH that looked into it, but HRV don't have a heater, they just use the warm air from the roof and it's computerised so that the fan speed adjusts automatically depending on the temp/ desired temp etc. The HRV has the largest fans which means that they actually push the wet air out of the house and get rid of the condensation and dry the house out so you stop getting any whereas DVS warm the air and circulate it so basically the air is warmer and there is no condensation on the windows but your house is still wet so turn it off and the condensation will come straight back. I'm totally impressed with HRV, best $3500 we ever spent, the house feels warmer, drier, nicer and no condensation, less dust also, and is suppose to cut flies down by 90ish % as well so looking forward to seeing if that is true in the summer. ------------- 
 
|
Posted By: CuriousG
Date Posted: 21 July 2009 at 3:10pm
|
Loulee - did you find that it helps with your condensation problems also though? ------------- http://lilypie.com">
http://lilypie.com">
|
Posted By: cuppatea
Date Posted: 21 July 2009 at 3:37pm
|
A heat transfer system won't sort out condensation, you need to remove the moisture. All a heat transfer system does is take heat from one part of the house (normally the lounge as that is where the main heating normally is) and transfers it to other parts of the house. If the air in that room is wet then you just move wet air from one place to another.
Even when it is freezing outside the HRV system is still running just on the lowest setting. When it's cold out with the sun up the roof gets quite warm so it ramps up. Plus the way it was explained to me is that because it will work on max when it is nice and warm it actually dries the house out so that when it is running on low it doesn't really matter as it would take years for the house to become wet again not just days or weeks. -------------
|
Posted By: KH25
Date Posted: 21 July 2009 at 3:53pm
We are also seriously looking at getting one of these. The only reason being to get rid of condensation. Our house is 6 months old and I have literally just finished cleaning all our aluminium joinery for the 2nd time this winter to get rid of all the mould  All of our windows are dripping in the morning. We have a heat pump so not worried about heating side of things, we just want a nice dry mould free house ------------- Kelly, mum to DD, 19Jun06 (26wks 1lb15oz) DS1, 24Oct10 (32wks 4lb11oz) and DS2, 31Dec11 (32wks, 4lb11) http://lilypie.com"> 
|
Posted By: caliandjack
Date Posted: 21 July 2009 at 4:26pm
|
We looked at both DVS and HRV they're very similar only reason we went with DVS is cause they gave us a better price.
Our condensation is almost non existant, i didn't realise how little we get until I went to other houses that have heaps. By drying the house out it does make it easier to heat and keep warm. ------------- http://lilypie.com" rel="nofollow">   [/url] Angel June 2012 |
Posted By: MamaT
Date Posted: 21 July 2009 at 4:30pm
|
We get DVS's installed in our rental properties for work. I think mainly because the price was better and the service was much better. -------------  
|
Posted By: Mamma2N
Date Posted: 21 July 2009 at 4:36pm
|
I have just been staying with my sister for a few days and they had HRV installed a few months ago - its awesome! Their house was so damp mouldy and now its so dry. They paid around $4000 I think for a 3bdrm, living, dining area (6-7 vents I think) and they say its definetly the best money they have spent (well paying off anyway).
What I found great was on Sunday it was a nice day but obviously by late afternoon it was starting to get a little nippy outside - the temperature in the house however remained fairly warm and it wasn't until quite late at night that we thought about lighting the fire. |
Posted By: Chickaboo
Date Posted: 21 July 2009 at 6:49pm
|
HRV does not heat UNLESS there is heat in the roof. We have one and best thing we got for this house - in winter I use to have to clean the walls in our room because of mould and I haven't done it since we got HRV in (which is going on 4 years) well worth it just for that. Our walls use to be really wet in the morning - nothing! BECAuse your house is dryer it warms up quicker and keeps the warmth for longer.
I had a friend who got a dvs and she was still getting mould in one of her south facing rooms - not something i would want to happen if I paid all that money just to get rid of it. ------------- http://lilypie.com">  
876 |
Posted By: Red
Date Posted: 21 July 2009 at 7:18pm
|
We have an HRV - have had it for 2 years now and for our small 3 bedroom house including ventilating the bathroom was $2,800.
From the day after it was installed we have not had any condensation (apart from when have a shower and not put the fan on!). The house heats a lot more efficiently as well as there is no dampness. Although I think that they do imply it heats more than it does. |
Posted By: Maya
Date Posted: 21 July 2009 at 7:31pm
|
Our HRV was just under $4000, that was including our four bedroom house plus the 2 bedroom flat downstairs.
We had HRV, Moisture Master, DVS and one other company quote, HRV weren't the cheapest but the guy seemed to know what he was talking about and was really helpful. -------------  Maya Grace (28/02/03)
 (02/01/06)
The Gremlins:Sienna Marie & Mercedes Kailah (14/10/06)
Lil miss:Chiara Louise Chloe (09/07/08)
Her ladyship:Rosalia Sophie Anais (18/06/12)
|
Posted By: Chickaboo
Date Posted: 21 July 2009 at 7:47pm
|
Cheaper doesn;t always = the best. You get what you pay for basically. ------------- http://lilypie.com">
876 |
Posted By: Rovic
Date Posted: 21 July 2009 at 8:52pm
|
We checked this out for our rental as didn't think the tenants would wipe the windows and sill every mornring as we had. We went with HRV in the end as from what the guys said to us, we believed it sounded better (and you can't turn it off. It turns itself on again after 8 hours. Good for tenants). we have a DVS in our place. Generally it works well, although when we have had frosts, there has been condensation in the mornings on most of the windows. One thing with DVS is that they don't believe there needs to be a vent in all bedrooms, despite the fact that people lose over a litre of body water over night. Also, they say it won't work if the house isn't heated well and they say there needs to be a gap in the curtains, especially if you have pelmuts (sp) and air can't get out the top. There is a temperature control/setting on the HRV which I like the sound of (my sister likes this feature on theirs). If we won lotto lol I would look at putting in an HRV to replace the DVS. Sorry for the novel, but we did look into it a bit ------------- http://alterna-tickers.com"> 
http://lilypie.com"> 
|
Posted By: peachy
Date Posted: 21 July 2009 at 8:52pm
|
We have a DVS in our house (a 1950's bungalow style house) and we have next to no condensation. I totally rate it! It was already here when we bought the house so we were stoked!
We were also recently contacted by DVS to say that they now have those heat transfer kits to add to it and they start at around $400. Would be so worth it to get that installed as well, but haven't managed to convince the DH yet 
We also have an open fire so that helps reduce the condensation too unlike gas heaters that increase it! ------------- http://lilypie.com">  http://lilypie.com">
|
Posted By: sadie
Date Posted: 21 July 2009 at 8:54pm
|
We installed HRV in our old house (3 bed bungalow). I think there were 4 vents, and from memory we paid around $2,500 or so - I honestly can't remember. This was a couple of years ago.
The system was great at drying out the house, but it didn't heat at all. Although with the air being dryer in the house, it was a lot quicker to heat with the fire & heaters. We have just moved into a modern house with amazing insulation, but a pretty bad condensation problem. Moisture Master came over this evening to quote us for an install. Even though we have 4 bedrooms, they prefer to put the vents outside the bedrooms as if doors are shut then it doesn't work as well. Thus for a 3-4 vent system the quote was just over $3k, and they have an optional heat transfer system for a further $895 My advice would be to get a couple of different people around to give you quotes, and then go with what you feel the most comfortable with. Different systems work better in different houses. |
Posted By: Konagirl
Date Posted: 22 July 2009 at 8:51am
|
Another vote for HRV. We've got a old house which last winter every morning had to wipe the windows. Put one in late last year and it's been amazing! No condensation and the house feels so much more comfortable.
No, they don't heat but they push heat from the roof into the house. Which this winter hasn't worked so well as its been so grey. But the house is still warmer and the last week or so it's been sunnier and we've had the house very comfortable till early evening. Ours was $3300 - 5 vents, 2 fans. Worth every cent! A brilliant investment. ------------- Angel babies Mar '04, Oct '08 and Sep '09. |
Posted By: caliandjack
Date Posted: 22 July 2009 at 10:03am
|
With DVS they start off with a basic price around $1500-1800 which is for the fan system and 2 vents, and then you add on $450 for each extra vent. They're bigger than HRV, and HRv put more in they were talking about putting in 8 in our house compared to the 4 we got with DVS.
We got vents put in the lounge, dining and only 2 bedrooms. The one we use as an office didn't think was worth it. We can add another one later if we choose to. We got a good deal with DVS by going to the Akl home show. Both are excellent, and great and getting rid of condensation. ------------- http://lilypie.com" rel="nofollow"> [/url] Angel June 2012 |
Posted By: ellen
Date Posted: 22 July 2009 at 7:51pm
|
We had an HRV installed about 6 weeks ago and from that day on we've had absolutely no condensation in the living areas and only a little bit in a couple of the bedrooms (we have pelmets so I'm thinking they'll be going). We have aluminium windows and we (I mean I) used to have to use a couple of towels each morning to mop all the water up. Even when I'm cooking at night with all the steam - there is never any condensation on the windows.
It cost us $3500 which gave us a vent in each of the 4 bedrooms, lounge and dining rooms. The other thing I'm finding great is that we can now leave the windows closed which gives us added security. Before I was having to leave them open on latches to help air the house out while we were at work. There is a thermostat in the hallway which we've set at 22 degrees so as long as the temperature in the ceiling is higher than the temperature in the hallway it will pump the warm, filtered air into the rooms with vents. It pushes the cold, moist air out through natural vents in your home. I've only noticed a couple of days so far where I can feel a change in the room temperature, however, it's been easier for the gas wall heater to heat the lounge/dining/kitchen. We didn't look at any other options or get quotes so can't compare but I'm really happy with the money we've spent. |
Posted By: KH25
Date Posted: 22 July 2009 at 8:08pm
|
Can you feel the air coming out of the vents? And if so, does it feel warm or cold? And is it noisy? Can you hear it at night? We have HRV coming tomorrow to give us a quote. Still waiting to hear back from DVS and Moisturemaster. ------------- Kelly, mum to DD, 19Jun06 (26wks 1lb15oz) DS1, 24Oct10 (32wks 4lb11oz) and DS2, 31Dec11 (32wks, 4lb11) http://lilypie.com">
|
Posted By: cuppatea
Date Posted: 22 July 2009 at 8:22pm
|
You can only hear it if you try to listen for it, if that makes sense. We have heat pumps and they are far noisier.
Because your roof space cools down at night it would only run on the lowest setting anyway. When ours was first installed DH turned the heat pumps off to see if we could hear it and we could but only just. No you can't feel it, they are designed to push the air along the ceiling and down the walls so they aren't blowing air down at you. The display is great, tells you what the roof temp is, what you're desired house temp is (ours is set to 22) and what the actual temp is. I have my heat pumps running at 22 and the house is at 22, the roof temp is 14 and it says the fan is running on the lowest setting at the moment. Today I've had both heat pumps off cos it was warm enough not to need them and only switched them on as the sun started going down. The other great thing is the burnt toast mode as they called it where you can set it to do a mega blast for an hour and push out any bad cooking smells or we've used it when DH has painted and the smell is gone quickly which is great. -------------
|
Posted By: Candkids
Date Posted: 22 July 2009 at 8:48pm
|
we have a DVS its fantastic, we got it installed when we got the house in 2005 it has a vent in each of the 3 bedrooms & 1 in the lounge/dining area, we just have it on low mort of the time and cant hear it or feel it but the temp of the air really depends on the temp of the air in the roof, we can never really hear it no matter which setting its on but can definatly feel it on the other 2 settings but the vents in the rooms can be adjusted to let more or less air in
we did learn however that in summer switch it off during the day!!! as it sucks all the hot air out of the roof into the house lol nice at nite tho with the cool air. they did tell us that if your using a gas heater ( without a flu) the 1s with a bottle that they need to be on the highest setting as they cause alot of condensation ------------- http://lilypie.com" rel="nofollow">  DD 10.5yrs DS 6yrs DS 11mths 5 little angles watching from above |
Posted By: CuriousGeorg148038
Date Posted: 08 July 2014 at 3:07pm
| Hi there, I've just had the HRV people come through for a quote. They said it'll cost me a total of $4133.56 for 1 fan and 5 vents. I thought it was kinda pricey. Just wondering if I could get your thoughts regarding the price and HRV in general? Thanks! :) |