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#1
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Efficiency of Air to Air / Air Exchange / HVAC
Moved into the newly bought house and notice someone had not installed
the proper vents on the Air Exchange. I had 2 exhaust vents. Went to the local hardware store and swapped the vent. Great...easy. Since then my heating bills have sky rocketed. Even after filling in 'gaps' with spray insulation and other DIY jobs. I've come to the conclusion that the air to air system is the problem. We all know the 'X' pattern of air going trough the machine warming up the cold exterior air before exiting and circulating trough the house. Great... Fresh air! But wait! I'm throwing out heat aren't I??? The system is a few years old yes, but the 'X' pattern is the same as my parents' 2 year old house... WTF. I've talked about this to my father and he's also noticed that new houses now do not hook-up the intake to the wall vent. They just let the 4" hose hang there. I have to double check if it's the intake or exhaust but this is were I'm not certain what should/could be done. Your feedback is much appreciated. cln |
#2
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Efficiency of Air to Air / Air Exchange / HVAC
On Aug 16, 12:12 pm, cln wrote:
Moved into the newly bought house and notice someone had not installed the proper vents on the Air Exchange. I had 2 exhaust vents. Went to the local hardware store and swapped the vent. Great...easy. Since then my heating bills have sky rocketed. Even after filling in 'gaps' with spray insulation and other DIY jobs. I've come to the conclusion that the air to air system is the problem. We all know the 'X' pattern of air going trough the machine warming up the cold exterior air before exiting and circulating trough the house. Great... Fresh air! But wait! I'm throwing out heat aren't I??? The system is a few years old yes, but the 'X' pattern is the same as my parents' 2 year old house... WTF. I've talked about this to my father and he's also noticed that new houses now do not hook-up the intake to the wall vent. They just let the 4" hose hang there. I have to double check if it's the intake or exhaust but this is were I'm not certain what should/could be done. Your feedback is much appreciated. cln What do you mean two exhaust vents? You mean two vent hoods with flappers or what? A HRV is not perfectly efficient, but your heating bills should not skyrocket. It should also be balanced so that your house is not negatively or positively pressured excessively. Sounds like you need to call either your builder or an HVAC guy. |
#3
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Efficiency of Air to Air / Air Exchange / HVAC
marson wrote:
On Aug 16, 12:12 pm, cln wrote: Moved into the newly bought house and notice someone had not installed the proper vents on the Air Exchange. I had 2 exhaust vents. Went to the local hardware store and swapped the vent. Great...easy. Since then my heating bills have sky rocketed. Even after filling in 'gaps' with spray insulation and other DIY jobs. I've come to the conclusion that the air to air system is the problem. We all know the 'X' pattern of air going trough the machine warming up the cold exterior air before exiting and circulating trough the house. Great... Fresh air! But wait! I'm throwing out heat aren't I??? The system is a few years old yes, but the 'X' pattern is the same as my parents' 2 year old house... WTF. I've talked about this to my father and he's also noticed that new houses now do not hook-up the intake to the wall vent. They just let the 4" hose hang there. I have to double check if it's the intake or exhaust but this is were I'm not certain what should/could be done. Your feedback is much appreciated. cln What do you mean two exhaust vents? You mean two vent hoods with flappers or what? A HRV is not perfectly efficient, but your heating bills should not skyrocket. It should also be balanced so that your house is not negatively or positively pressured excessively. Sounds like you need to call either your builder or an HVAC guy. If you have an ERV or HRV unit that exchanges with the outdoors, you NEED to call and HVAC expert. This is an expensive piece of equipment and is not for the DIY. -- Zyp |
#4
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Efficiency of Air to Air / Air Exchange / HVAC
On Aug 17, 2:16 am, "Zyp" wrote:
marson wrote: On Aug 16, 12:12 pm, cln wrote: Moved into the newly bought house and notice someone had not installed the proper vents on the Air Exchange. I had 2 exhaust vents. Went to the local hardware store and swapped the vent. Great...easy. Since then my heating bills have sky rocketed. Even after filling in 'gaps' with spray insulation and other DIY jobs. I've come to the conclusion that the air to air system is the problem. We all know the 'X' pattern of air going trough the machine warming up the cold exterior air before exiting and circulating trough the house. Great... Fresh air! But wait! I'm throwing out heat aren't I??? The system is a few years old yes, but the 'X' pattern is the same as my parents' 2 year old house... WTF. I've talked about this to my father and he's also noticed that new houses now do not hook-up the intake to the wall vent. They just let the 4" hose hang there. I have to double check if it's the intake or exhaust but this is were I'm not certain what should/could be done. Your feedback is much appreciated. cln What do you mean two exhaust vents? You mean two vent hoods with flappers or what? A HRV is not perfectly efficient, but your heating bills should not skyrocket. It should also be balanced so that your house is not negatively or positively pressured excessively. Sounds like you need to call either your builder or an HVAC guy. If you have an ERV or HRV unit that exchanges with the outdoors, you NEED to call and HVAC expert. This is an expensive piece of equipment and is not for the DIY. -- Zyp- Hide quoted text - - Show quoted text - Ya I should've tought twice when I sent the post. Its not a HVAC but just an Air exchanger. Not the compressor ones but just the fan. |
#5
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Efficiency of Air to Air / Air Exchange / HVAC
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#6
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Efficiency of Air to Air / Air Exchange / HVAC
On Aug 17, 10:20 am, cln wrote:
http://www.tinmanheating.com/images/perfectaire.jpg Have you measured the outside air temp and the air temp being exhausted outside from the exchanger? If there is a big delta, then you know the exchanger is the source of your high heating bills. |
#7
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Efficiency of Air to Air / Air Exchange / HVAC
cln wrote:
On Aug 17, 2:16 am, "Zyp" wrote: marson wrote: On Aug 16, 12:12 pm, cln wrote: Moved into the newly bought house and notice someone had not installed the proper vents on the Air Exchange. I had 2 exhaust vents. Went to the local hardware store and swapped the vent. Great...easy. Since then my heating bills have sky rocketed. Even after filling in 'gaps' with spray insulation and other DIY jobs. I've come to the conclusion that the air to air system is the problem. We all know the 'X' pattern of air going trough the machine warming up the cold exterior air before exiting and circulating trough the house. Great... Fresh air! But wait! I'm throwing out heat aren't I??? The system is a few years old yes, but the 'X' pattern is the same as my parents' 2 year old house... WTF. I've talked about this to my father and he's also noticed that new houses now do not hook-up the intake to the wall vent. They just let the 4" hose hang there. I have to double check if it's the intake or exhaust but this is were I'm not certain what should/could be done. Your feedback is much appreciated. cln What do you mean two exhaust vents? You mean two vent hoods with flappers or what? A HRV is not perfectly efficient, but your heating bills should not skyrocket. It should also be balanced so that your house is not negatively or positively pressured excessively. Sounds like you need to call either your builder or an HVAC guy. If you have an ERV or HRV unit that exchanges with the outdoors, you NEED to call and HVAC expert. This is an expensive piece of equipment and is not for the DIY. -- Zyp- Hide quoted text - - Show quoted text - Ya I should've tought twice when I sent the post. Its not a HVAC but just an Air exchanger. Not the compressor ones but just the fan. Hmmm... you mean like H=Heating, V=VENTILATION, AC=Air Conditioning, You mean like that? If I'm not mistaken, it is an exhaust VENTILATOR tied to the HVAC system, with a diesicant wheel for performing an energy exchange with the exhausted air. If the energy wheel becomes overloaded with material or moisture, it won't work. Call your local HVAC shop, ask if they are familuar with an ERV [Energy Recovery Ventilator] or HRV [Heat Recovery Ventilator] or if they could recommend someone who is. -- Zyp |
#8
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Efficiency of Air to Air / Air Exchange / HVAC
On Aug 18, 6:15 am, wrote:
On Aug 17, 10:20 am, cln wrote: http://www.tinmanheating.com/images/perfectaire.jpg Have you measured the outside air temp and the air temp being exhausted outside from the exchanger? If there is a big delta, then you know the exchanger is the source of your high heating bills. I will try this when the temperatures drops. The weather has been the same as the inside. (Ironically there is a risk of frost! sick that we are only august and I bet we won't even have a white x-mas either) I will keep you posted. |
#9
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Efficiency of Air to Air / Air Exchange / HVAC
On Aug 18, 5:19 pm, "Zyp" wrote:
cln wrote: On Aug 17, 2:16 am, "Zyp" wrote: marson wrote: On Aug 16, 12:12 pm, cln wrote: Moved into the newly bought house and notice someone had not installed the proper vents on the Air Exchange. I had 2 exhaust vents. Went to the local hardware store and swapped the vent. Great...easy. Since then my heating bills have sky rocketed. Even after filling in 'gaps' with spray insulation and other DIY jobs. I've come to the conclusion that the air to air system is the problem. We all know the 'X' pattern of air going trough the machine warming up the cold exterior air before exiting and circulating trough the house. Great... Fresh air! But wait! I'm throwing out heat aren't I??? The system is a few years old yes, but the 'X' pattern is the same as my parents' 2 year old house... WTF. I've talked about this to my father and he's also noticed that new houses now do not hook-up the intake to the wall vent. They just let the 4" hose hang there. I have to double check if it's the intake or exhaust but this is were I'm not certain what should/could be done. Your feedback is much appreciated. cln What do you mean two exhaust vents? You mean two vent hoods with flappers or what? A HRV is not perfectly efficient, but your heating bills should not skyrocket. It should also be balanced so that your house is not negatively or positively pressured excessively. Sounds like you need to call either your builder or an HVAC guy. If you have an ERV or HRV unit that exchanges with the outdoors, you NEED to call and HVAC expert. This is an expensive piece of equipment and is not for the DIY. -- Zyp- Hide quoted text - - Show quoted text - Ya I should've tought twice when I sent the post. Its not a HVAC but just an Air exchanger. Not the compressor ones but just the fan. Hmmm... you mean like H=Heating, V=VENTILATION, AC=Air Conditioning, You mean like that? If I'm not mistaken, it is an exhaust VENTILATOR tied to the HVAC system, with a diesicant wheel for performing an energy exchange with the exhausted air. If the energy wheel becomes overloaded with material or moisture, it won't work. Call your local HVAC shop, ask if they are familuar with an ERV [Energy Recovery Ventilator] or HRV [Heat Recovery Ventilator] or if they could recommend someone who is. -- Zyp- Hide quoted text - - Show quoted text - Not an HVAC just air exchanger. |
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