RETROFITTING WITH ENERGY RECOVERY VENTILATORS

ENERGY RECOVERY VENTILATORS

An energy recovery ventilator (ERV) pulls in fresh outdoor air and uses recovered energy from the building’s exhaust air stream to pretreat it. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, ventilation systems without ERVs waste energy because they exhaust air that the system has already heated or cooled, without being able to capture any of its energy to bring the new supply air to a comfortable temperature.

PAIRING ERV AND HANDLING UNITS

The diagram to the right shows one way to integrate an ERV with an air handling unit (AHU) inside a school. Air is exhausted out of a restroom through the ERV, which draws on the air’s energy to precondition fresh outdoor air. It feeds this air into the AHU, mixing it with recirculated air from the space. The AHU finishes conditioning the air so that it enters the classroom fully treated. 

Pairing an ERV and AHU allows the AHU to last longer and use less energy, while helping to meet energy code requirements for fresh outdoor air in indoor spaces.

FIND THE UNIT THAT BEST FITS YOUR APPLICATION

Valent offers two classes of ERV units: the M-Series, which has a smaller footprint and is for indoor use, and the E-Series, which is more robust and can be installed indoors or outdoors. Read about Valent’s ERV products and their applications here. The experts at Valent can help you select and install the right ERV for retrofitting a building to add energy recovery.