ERV for Bath Exhaust & in Cold Climates: FAIL or WIN from the Ventilation Manufacturers

Hear it from the people who manufacture fresh air systems, not just from me. ERVs are for very airtight homes (under 2ach50) to balance the exhaust air from pollution sources inside. Download our universal ventilation layout concept at: https://buildingperformanceworkshop.com/s/BPW-PerformanceVentilationLayout.pdf

Thanks to:
Nick Agopian, Renewaire (https://Renewaire.com)
Travis Rasch, Broan-Nutone (https://Broan.com)
Bruno Poitras, Fantech (https://Fantech.net)
Ken Nelson, Panasonic (https://Panasonic.com)
Szabi Fekete, Zehnder (https://ZehnderAmerica.com)

1:16 Continuity of Balanced Ventilation
2:23 Sizing Considerations
3:36 International Mechanical Code Minimum for Continuous Ventilation Airflow
5:04 Boost Mode
6:27 ERVs in Cold Climates
10:12 ERV vs. Dehumidifier

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TEASER for 'Home Diagnosis' Season 3: Accidents Happen

We can't wait to share season 3 of our PBS series 'Home Diagnosis' with you all! Coming this winter, see lots more at: https://homediagnosis.tv/season-3

Be part of our team and get exclusive access to us as we finish out the show: https://Patreon.com/HomeDiagnosisTV

Photos by Peter Essick: https://www.peteressick.com/aerials

The appearance of U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) visual information does not imply or constitute DoD endorsement.

HVAC Training Advice from an HVAC Pro Technician

Dustin Cole is a 23-year HVAC veteran (and a proud Patreon member of ours- join him at https://Patreon.com/HomeDiagnosisTV ), and he has successfully transformed his heating and cooling company from a regular old family business into a leader in delivering performance-based HVAC systems, using diagnostics and computer analysis. IT IS NOT ROCKET SCIENCE. IT IS NOT ROCKET SCIENCE. Say it back, everybody, and spread the word.

Find Cole Air at: https://www.airconditioninglakecharles.com/

Latest HVAC Trade Show: Highlights Tour of AHR EXPO 2023 (ERV, air cleaning, humidity, & heat pumps)

Ventilation! Filters! Blue Lights! Dehumidifiers and humidifiers! Tankless heat pump water heaters!?! Lots to see this year, here are my thoughts on applications of some of these products and systems.

0:20 Renewaire EV series ERV: https://www.renewaire.com/our-ervs/single-multi-family/ev-single-multi-family/

2:27 Bath fans

3:13 Broan AI series ERV: https://www.broan-nutone.com/en-us/broan-ai-series-fresh-air-systems

5:08 Spinning enthalpy wheels

7:57 Side effects of active air cleaners

9:52 Electric fireplaces: equally romantic?

10:14 Passive house multifamily research on long-term ERV performance with Jason LaFleur

11:58 Make Up Air dehumidification option

12:50 Humidification for homes with SteamOVap Modulating Humidifier

14:27 Atmox crawlspace ventilation control system

16:31 Parmesan cheese

16:36 Sealed combustion or power-vented?

16:55 Party load mobile air conditioners

18:31 Mitsubishi Hyper Heat Sumo Heat Pumps: https://www.mitsubishicomfort.com/residential/products/wall-mounted-heating-and-cooling?modelID=MSZ-FS

19:49 Lennox's biggest customers are production builders (why does that sound so fishy?)

19:56 Mr. Cool DIY Ductless Mini Splits

21:59 Underground duct thought experiment

23:02 Reflectix duct insulation system

25:16 Problems with spray foam insulation for ducts

25:49 Flex duct configurations

27:55 Duct cleaning equipment

28:44 Tankless heat pump water heater?

32:54 Directional vents and Manual T

34:22 The only ceiling fans I saw at the whole show?!?

34:25 The most beautiful woman in the world

Basement in Florida? Why Mold Took 20 Years to Fail this House...

A very cool client of ours named Niko came to us with a wildly different home issue- a finished basement. In Florida. That's vented to the outdoors. Watch us tour the home being renovated with Tony Gomes, my Tampa go-to-guy for advanced diagnostics on existing homes. We explore how it's possible that mold was held at bay for 20 years, until Niko did a 'good' thing and replaced an old HVAC system with a VRF (variable capacity) heat pump.

Find the brilliant Tony Gomes and Faraday Energy in Tampa Bay at: https://faradayenergy.com/

Test your home for airborne mold with this easy kit: https://GotMold.com

What Size Humidifier or Dehumidifier Do I Need for my Home? Humidity Calculations Demo

This is mathy, but it’s not anything too difficult for anyone to understand I think. There are lots of nuances and caveats, which I think make the whole thing more interesting! Ideal absolute humidity range is ~35-65 grains per pound.

∆Gr/lb = Inside gr/lb - Outside gr/lb

Gr/hr = ∆Gr/lb x CFM x 4.5

Lb/hr = Gr/hr / 7000

Lb/day = Lb/hr x 24

Gal/day = Lb/day x 0.12

Pints/day = Gal/day x 8

Tips for HVAC Quality Control Targets and Specs for Builders and Contractors

Controlling a home's performance is pretty simple as an idea: set targets, and verify that they were met. In reality, it's a lot more complex, which is why we need to talk about the foundations for thinking through what quality control methods you'll need to use to achieve your specific goals for the specific home where a specific family will live.

How Much CO2 is Healthy in my Home? Carbon Dioxide Targets Planned and Proven

CO2, carbon dioxide, is a gas we exhale. It's used as a marker for indoor environmental quality because if our emissions of that are hanging out in the home, then any of our other odors, viruses, skin particles (which make up a lot of household dust), etc are also filling up the home. On an airplane, for example, which 'they' say is one of the most ventilated indoor places you can find, you can easily prove when they turn the outdoor air off while you're sitting on the ground, because the CO2 spikes upward of 2000 or even 3500 in our experience (and therefore, any of the COVID laden particles are also obviously building up). CO2 is not everything, in fact you might have a low CO2 level only because there aren't many people in the home, or the home is big enough to dilute it- you might have other markers showing the home suffers from poor ventilation, like formaldehyde, humidity, particles, TVOC, radon, and so on. But it's something that can be easily measured, so let's measure it and try to optimize for 1000 ppm as the max in homes, along with all the other factors. The two devices I use in this video, and everyday in our own home, are the Aranet4 (https://aranet.com/products/aranet4/) and the Airthings Wave Plus (https://www.trutechtools.com/AirThings-Wave-Plus-Indoor-Air-Quality-Radon). The 5 Factors of Ventilation are: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FOJ8fsAVUaI Learn WAY more about how to strategize the 5 Factors of Ventilation with our Ventilation Course at: https://buildingperformanceworkshop.com/ventilation See the Broan Overture system for controlling all of this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=slNPHuIXwnw Consult with Corbett on tuning any home, anywhere: https://buildingperformanceworkshop.com/video-consulting Watch the first-ever TV series about the Science of Homes: https://homediagnosis.tv/season-2-episodes

3 Rules for Kitchen Make Up Air Systems: Planning Home Ventilation that Performs

The 3 rules are: don't blow make up air on people, don't blow it on surfaces, and keep the circuit short.

See our own full kitchen exhaust and make up system at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bMkvCn1sGvk

See a demo of the calculators for sizing and selecting make up air at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CSmwDGxtlHU

Airtight Home Ventilation: Where to Place ERV Exhaust and Supply Grilles

I only recommend ERVs for very airtight homes (less than 2 ACH50), and in those cases balanced ventilation is the ONLY way to exhaust from bathrooms. More coming on that for those who are scratching their heads. If you DO need an ERV or HRV (hear the difference at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QOe4lluGwCg) then where do you put the supply and exhaust ports? How many CFM should they each push and pull? Here's my simple breakdown of what you'll need to consider.

Learn more about home ventilation at: https://buildingperformanceworkshop.com/ventilation

Tips for High Performance Home Floorplan: Designing Out Condensation, Odors, Discomfort, and Hassle

There are so many simple tricks you can incorporate into a home's layout that will improve performance, including closet orientations, bathtub and toilet locations, mechanical shafts, room arrangements, and useful buffer spaces.

Gas Stove Reality Check: Why Banning Gas Cooking is Not the Whole Story

As we've learned, and continue to learn, from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation's 'HOMEChem' and 'CASA' experiments (https://indoorchem.org/projects/), the chemistry, microbiology, and physics of the indoors is complicated. That's why doing something 'nice' like banning the manufacture or sale of gas cooking ranges might be a misguided step that'll make regulators feel good, but leave us hanging on a TON of other side effects that are still not addressed.

Learn to select and install a kitchen exhaust hood: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y08HOnzafM8

See our ultimate kitchen exhaust system: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bMkvCn1sGvk

See Broan's SmartSense Infrared Heat Sensing range hoods: https://bestrangehoods.com/product/built-in/hbn1246ss

See AirCycler's RangeRelief make up air controller: https://www.aircycler.com/products/rangerelief