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This document assists you in General Heat Recovery Ventilation Installation

INTRODUCTION. NORTHERN EUROPE ...........................................................................................................2 WHAT DOES A FAHRENERGY HRV DO FOR ME?.........................................................................................2 ENERGY SAVED ......................................................................................................................................................2 SELECTING THE UNIT ..........................................................................................................................................3 KEEP THE AIRFLOW RESISTANCE LOW ....................................................................................................................3 General Filter Considerations............................................................................................................................4 PROFESSIONAL AND DIY INSTALLATION .....................................................................................................4 WHERE TO COLLECT THE FRESH AIR ......................................................................................................................5 Directly From The Outside .................................................................................................................................5 Preheated Fresh Air ...........................................................................................................................................5
Collect Fresh Air From The Loft..................................................................................................................................... 5 Collecting Free Energy.................................................................................................................................................... 6 Energy From The Cellar (HRV acts as a dehumidifier) .................................................................................................. 7 From The Crawlspace...................................................................................................................................................... 8 No Loft And / Or Cellar .................................................................................................................................................. 9

FIND THE BEST PLACE .............................................................................................................................................9 Short Ducts = Higher Energy Efficiency And Lower Price................................................................................9 Energy Reduction And Efficiency .......................................................................................................................9 SPECIAL INSTALLATION CONSIDERATIONS ............................................................................................................10 Make It Look Pleasant......................................................................................................................................10 TWO STOREY HOUSE HRV INSTALLATION ............................................................................................................11 ONE STOREY HOUSE HRV INSTALLATION .............................................................................................................11 AIR VOLUME NEEDED ............................................................................................................................................12 Buildings Regulations Part F: Ventilation .......................................................................................................12 Radon................................................................................................................................................................12 Smoking And Fireplaces ...................................................................................................................................13 MOISTURE AND CONDENSATION AT 80% HRV SYSTEM EFFICIENCY ...................................................................13 High Temperature Efficiency Gives Low Energy Efficiency.............................................................................14 Correct Installation Prevents Condensation ....................................................................................................14 COMBINE HRV AND HP ........................................................................................................................................15 WALL FAN DISPLACES DUCTS ...............................................................................................................................15 HOLES FOR DUCTS .................................................................................................................................................16 INSULATING DUCTS................................................................................................................................................16 How much insulation is needed? ......................................................................................................................16 Duct Insulation .................................................................................................................................................18 INSULATION / INSTALLATION EXAMPLES: ..............................................................................................................18 ATTACHING FAHRENERGY POWER HRV ..............................................................................................................19 ADJUSTING THE AIRFLOW .....................................................................................................................................20 MEASURING THE EFFICIENCY ................................................................................................................................21 APPENDIX ...............................................................................................................................................................21 TOOLS ....................................................................................................................................................................21 PARTS ....................................................................................................................................................................22 INSTRUMENTS ........................................................................................................................................................23 Efficiency measurements of a system................................................................................................................23 STANDARDS ...........................................................................................................................................................24 MOULD ..................................................................................................................................................................24 LOFT ENERGY MEASUREMENTS .............................................................................................................................25 AUTOMATIC CONTROL ERROR ...............................................................................................................................25 DISCLAIMER..........................................................................................................................................................26

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Recovered energy is free, does not pollute and use no resources

It is the best way to reduce ones energy need

Introduction. Northern Europe

This installation document is intended for northern Europe. Northern Europe is cold during the winter and mild during the summer. Longer warm periods are rare. It is mainly colder outside than inside.

What Does A FAHRenergy HRV Do For Me?

1: It exchanges old stale air with fresh air while recovering the energy of the old air. It means the HRV delivers fresh air heated up by the heat (energy) from the old stale air. This is called Heat Recovery. 2: It collects free sunenergy from the roof. No extra equipment or installation is needed. 3: It collects free energy from the cellar / crawl space. 4: It dehumidifies your house at no extra cost: Dehumidifier and the energy needed to run it is saved. 5: It reduces radon at no extra cost: Standard radon mitigation and energy needed to run it is saved 6: It saves energy and thus money. It reduces pollution. 7: As the fresh air continously exchanges the old stale air there is no air pressure change. Oldstale air is not passed through the house but leaves the house through the old air duct. 8: FAHRenergy uses the Short Duct concept: Short ducts are cheap and easily installed Short ducts lose little energy Short ducts need little or no insulation Short ducts give higher financial return Short ducts are easy to hide Short ducts creates less noise FAHRenergy Power HRV is designed for short ducts

Energy Saved
The HRV recovers energy from the old stale air before it is expelled from the house. The energy that can be saved mainly depends on the volume of air and the temperature difference between the old air and the fresh air passing through the HRV. In depth investigation of the energy savings that can be reached in a common home is found in the explanation: http://www.fahrenergy.org.uk/install/ Click on: Energy Reduction For Existing Homes See also: http://www.flobymetallprodukter.se/Energireduktion2.html Professional And DIY Installation.doc Copyright 2005 to 2013

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Selecting The Unit

Which is best: One large or two smaller units? FAHRenergy Concept: Smaller HRVs are always better General installation costs are halved by using two or more smaller HRVs compared to one large HRV. This concept also reduces the length of ducts, number of bends etc. Less energy is lost and thus more energy is saved. Several smaller HRVs prevents bacteria, virus, yeast and fungus from moving from one area to another. Noise is easier mitigated. FAHRenergys Power, Ultra, HRV-Solar and Berserk HRVs have been designed to utilise this concept Avoid One Large HRV: The standard concept uses one large HRV. It is expensive to install, uses excessive energy and transfers diseases from one area to another. Noise is difficult to mitigate. Keep The Airflow Resistance Low Ducts needed to excavate the stale air and exchange it with fresh air should be kept short and never extend between floor levels. Short Ducts Needed Short ducts are cheaper to install, easier to clean and lose less energy. Every meter of ducting creates a resistance against the flow of air. Reduce the energy needed to move the air by keeping the ducts short. By using as many HRV units as sensible the duct length is reduced to a minimum. Short ducts are easily cleaned. Over time dust settles in the ventilation system and it needs to be cleaned. Short ducts may be cleaned with a duct brush, similar or identical to a chimney sweeping brush. Long ducts with bends are expensive to clean. A powerful blower is needed to assist the cleaning action. No Ducts Between Floor Levels Warm air rises. Moving warmer air 2 meters down needs considerable extra energy. As the HRV always has a cold and a warm airflow you should NEVER use one FAHRenergy Power unit for two floors. By using at least one HRV unit per floor level, there will be no ducts between floors and the energy win is increased. Professional And DIY Installation.doc Copyright 2005 to 2013

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Avoid Bends Bends increase the airflow resistance. Sensible consideration and installation design reduce the number of bends to a minimum. By using more than one HRV unit further bends mat be excluded from the installation.
General Filter Considerations

Do only use a filter when it is necessary. Any filter needs energy to press the air through the filter. Use the correct filter. The larger the filter surface is the less the airflow resistance will be. Over time this offsets the extra cost. There is no reason to filter the OAI (old air into the unit) if you use FAHRenergy HRVs. The FAHRenergy design has increased internal airflow which reduces dust settling in the unit.
(Most HRV types needs a filter in the OAI. This reduces the energy recovered by such a HRV system)

There is no reason to filter OAO (old air out of the unit). In the country and near the sea the air is fresh and healthy. FAI (fresh air in) filter is not needed. Larger cities may have excessive carbon particles from car exhaust in the air. A FAI (fresh air in) filter may be needed. Use a filter type which is in-line with the duct. You will need to add an in-line fan to compensate for the airflow loss the filter creates. Pollen filter in the FAI is necessary if the occupier is allergic to pollen. Use a filter type which is in-line with the duct. You will need to add an in-line fan to compensate for the airflow loss the filter creates. More about filters in: www.fahrenergy.org.uk/install

Click on Filters For Ventilation

Conclusion: One large unit demands ducts penetrating the entire house. It is expensive to install, inefficient and noisy. One small unit which supplies a couple of rooms is easily installed. Short ducts will do. To supply further rooms or floor levels more units are used. This is more efficient, cheaper to install, has little impact on the interior of the house and noise is easier contained.

Professional And DIY Installation

A professional generally installs a FAHRenergy HRV in 8 hours. A DIY (Do It Yourself) person will use longer time than a professional. Make it a happy time. Do not rush. Professional And DIY Installation.doc Copyright 2005 to 2013

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You will probably need a few trips to various local stores or shopping centres for parts and tools. If you use three times longer than the professional, your actual hourly earnings (after tax etc.) will be the same! Where To Collect The Fresh Air The information below is thoroughly tested from 2006 to 2011 on several sites in Scotland and Sweden. To obtain the best energy recovery FAHRenergy has combined theoretical knowledge with practical tests. Equipment used are anemometers, pressure difference meters, various thermometers, IR thermometers, dataloggers with temperature and relative humidity sensors. The tests have shown that general ventilation knowledge is based on erroneous hearsay and anecdotes. About fresh air: www.fahrenergy.org.uk/install/FreshAir.pdf
Directly From The Outside

Extracting fresh air directly from the outside should be avoided. Energy will be lost and the humidity in the fresh air intake is increased. Read about other options below and you will understand why.
Preheated Fresh Air
Collect Fresh Air From The Loft

Hearsay and anecdotes about moisture, condensation and mould flourish. An example: In Wikipedia it was stated that air at temperatures below 0C turns into ice in the ventilation system. Air at temperatures below 0C does not turn into ice. If this was the case nobody could move in 0C air! Ice is frozen water, not frozen air. In this document we use years of practical and theoretical knowledge. By cooling the air the Relative Humidity is increased as colder air holds less water. Moisture occurs when the temperature has been lowered to or below the dew point. Moisture can never occur when the air temperature is increased as warmer air holds more water. Some mould may be wiped away. Not when it grows in the carpet, the walls etc. Be aware that any mould is a potential health source. See the appendix, mould. Professional And DIY Installation.doc Copyright 2005 to 2013

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A typical house needs around 150m3 of air per hour. When this volume is excavated every hour from the loft, the air on the loft will be as fresh as the outside air in a matter of hours. All houses have fair trickle ventilation on the loft to hinder rot and mould. By extracting fresh air from the loft a constant larger volume of air passes through the loft and thus vastly improves the loft ventilation. Rot and mould have now much less chance to form than earlier.
Collecting Free Energy

Extracting fresh air from the loft and use it for ventilation has been done for many years. The new development is using a HRV. The HRV both recovers heat from the loft and the old stale air from the house. More energy is thus available. During the winter (northern EU) some energy (heat) percolates through the insulation between the ceiling and the loft. This raises the loft temperature a bit and reduces the humidity. By extracting the fresh air from the loft and feed it to the HRV, a part of this energy is recovered by the HRV. This has a similar effect as doubling the current insulation would have. More about this here: http://www.fahrenergy.co.uk/FAHRenergyAndHeatPump.html During spring and autumn quite some free sun energy is fed to the loft. It is our experience that the heating period ends one month earlier and starts one month later by recovering this energy with the HRV. You will also find that the better ventilation reduces the high loft summer temperatures and thus reduces the energy that now percolates from the loft to the rooms through the insulation (opposite of the winter). Your house is kept cooler at no extra cost. FAHRenergy HRVs automatically switches to cooling when the outside temperature is larger than the inside temperature. A HRV also saves energy during warm periods provided its CoP (Coefficient of Power) is high. FAHRenergy Power has a very high CoP of over 20.

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Fresh air insect filter. Flexible aluminium duct. Noise suppresser (duct muffler). HRV Power on the loft Insulated cardboard box Fresh air in from the loft
(adjustable)

Note the fresh air inlet from the loft. This type spreads the cooler fresh air over a part of the loft. It assists in levelling the temperature in the room and gives a nice fresh sensation. Shown above is the FAHRenergy Power with 100mm connections and no protective housing. It is the cheapest version. The home made cardboard protection shown above reduces the installation cost to a minimum. The insulation further reduces heat loss of the HRV when the loft temperature drops. FAHRenergy Power+ and FAHRenergy Ultra+ are protected by an aluminium housing and fitted with 125mm duct connections (terminations). This version is more expensive and intended for less secluded spaces than a loft. FAHRenergy HRV in an aluminium casing
Energy From The Cellar (HRV acts as a dehumidifier)

A cellar, in the discussion below, may be a non-occupied space below the house without any heating perhaps apart from a boiler. Which particular cellar space should be utilised depends on local circumstances. The boiler room or utility room would be the first choice. In a two-storey house it is wise to excavate the fresh air for the upper level from the loft. For the ground level it should be excavated from the cellar if such one exists. This concept reduces the installation costs as installation time and material is reduced to a minimum. It is also a less intrusive installation with a higher efficiency. Ducting should be made as short and straight as possible for the above reasons. Hearsay, anecdotes and unfounded assumptions make many believe that a cellar is moist, stale and unhealthy. Without sufficient fresh air it is. Not so when a continuous sufficient fresh air volume passes through the cellar. Professional And DIY Installation.doc Copyright 2005 to 2013

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Even a normally very moist cellar will become acceptably dry in a very few days. The air will be fresh. Fed through a HRV quite some energy is collected from the cellar in the winter. The now fresh cellar air will cool the excavated fresh air during the summer. Taking energy from the cellar during winter will cool the cellar but not much. As the cellar temperature decreases below the equilibrium temperature, energy will flow in from the surroundings. If a cellar lose too much energy due to poor windows and lack of insulation then improve the windows and insulate the walls with 7cm cellplast (or similar) to 0.6 meters below the ground level. This is sufficient to prevent freezing of water pipes in most areas. During the summer the cellar will have a bit higher temperature than earlier due to the improved influx of fresh air. This assists in reducing the cellar humidity. The consistent fresh air that passes through the cellar makes it reference the relative humidity to the outside. This further reduces moisture and thus condensation. Only very warm, humid days may result in condensation. Such days are rare in northern Europe. Our many years of experience has shown that dehumidifiers are not needed provided the HRV is active 24 hours a day and correctly installed
HRV installed at this time

Note the drop in moisture (RH%) from 100% to 90% in a couple of days after the HRV installation. The next four years RH% stayed below 90%: No cellar moisture since the HRV installation The yearly cellar temperature with no heating in the cellar and an active HRV in Sweden. Winter 2010 dropped to 24C yet no frost in the cellar. From The Crawlspace

When a two-storey house has no cellar but a crawl space, the fresh air for the ground level should be excavated from the crawl space.

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The function on energy collection and dehumidifying action is as for the cellar. It is important that foundation vents are open and free for the air to pass. The volume of the crawl space should be smaller than the hourly air volume exchanged by the HRV. Spider web and dust in the vents reduce the flow of air! Keep the vents clean.
No Loft And / Or Cellar

Where there is will there is way. FAHRenergy Power HRV needs little space. A kitchen cupboard will do.

FAHRenergy Power HRV

You may even hide it behind a curtain and add a Smokers Corner. The OAI intake holds an ashtray. Find The Best Place First we have to understand the basics: Old Air Out (OAO) and Fresh Air In (FAI) resides on the COLD side. Fresh Air Out (FAO) and Old Air In (OAI) resides on the WARM side. In this document OUT is out of the unit and IN is into the unit.
Short Ducts = Higher Energy Efficiency And Lower Price

The energy supplied to the fans forces the air through the ducts. As the air passes through the ducts, energy is lost. The less energy we lose the higher our return will be. Keep the ducts as short and straight as possible. Preferably less than 2 meters of ducting for each of the 4 terminations (duct connections) of the FAHRenergy Power HRV for 100mm ducts and 3.2 meters for 125mm ducts. As the duct length increases the air volume decreases. Less air volume carries less energy. Of course fan energy could be increased but this increases the loss and reduces the system CoP.
Energy Reduction And Efficiency

See http://www.fahrenergy.org.uk/install/Energy_Reduction_For_Existing_Homes.pdf

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Special Installation Considerations FAHRenergy Power HRVs are designed to achieve highest efficiency at the lowest installation and energy cost. To reduce the energy consumption the fans are of low pressure type. Sufficient to deliver to 90m3 of fresh air while extracting 90m3 of old air (i.e. it moves 180m3 of air) per hour. FAHRenergy Power is not designed to press fresh warm air down to a colder, lower level. Should you need this you will need to add an assisting fan. The reason: Warm air rises. To force it down extra energy is needed. Distributing warm air (max 45C) from a heater of any kind down to a lower level demands energy determined by the temperature difference between the two levels as well as the air volume needed. Avoid the above situation. Place the HRV at the level it shall serve.

Make It Look Pleasant

Although inlet and outlet vents may be bought for small money, not all fit into the style of the room. The inlet vent on the picture distributes the fresh air across the ceiling. Being a part of the lamp makes it fit right in. Click the link for a large picture
http://www.fahrenergy.co.uk/Do_something_today.pdf

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Two Storey House HRV Installation Extract old air from moist and smelly rooms.

Place the FAHRenergy Power HRV in the loft, attic, cellar and/or crawlspace. Supply fresh air to lounges and rooms. One Storey House HRV Installation

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Extract old air from moist and smelly rooms. Ridge vent

Place the FAHRenergy Power HRV in the loft, attic, cellar and/or crawlspace. Supply fresh air to lounges and rooms. Air Volume Needed As a good rule of thumb an air volume of 1.25m3 per m2 dwelling per hour is adequate air exchange for a private home. This covers a fair number of persons occupying the dwelling.
Buildings Regulations Part F: Ventilation

The government ventilation examples obtained from the link below are obviously made by bureaucrats. By shifting through it you will find that 25l/sec for a 84m2 heated area (dwelling area) is needed. This corresponds to 1.1m3 of fresh air per hour per m2 of dwelling area (2 persons occupying the house). http://www.planningportal.gov.uk/uploads/br/BR_PDF_ADF_2010.pdf Assure Loft, Cellar And Crawl-space Are Adequitely Ventilated It is our experience that loft and cellar are sufficiently ventilated if the air is exchanged at least once every hour. At this rate mouldy and moist air is quickly removed and will be as fresh as the outside air within hours. The crawl space may need more air if the ground is excessively moist.
Radon

Possibly the best way to keep a house below the radon limit of 200beq/m3 is by sufficient ventilation. As the volume of fresh air will be larger than demanded by the building regulation, you will need a HRV to recover the heat from the old air. In many cases you will need twice the normal air volume to stay below the radon limit. Without a HRV too much energy is lost. Professional And DIY Installation.doc Copyright 2005 to 2013

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More here: http://www.fahrenergy.co.uk/Radon.html Dust In The Rooms Radon mitigation, through HRV ventilation, also removes the dust suspended in the air. This is valuable as the radon daughters that are created through the radioactive decay of radon gases, become attached to dust particles which then enters the lungs through breathing. One dust particle may have several radon daughters attached and thus the danger is similarly increased. As it is the radon daughters that are dangerous through alpha ray emissions less dust particles means less radon daughters in the lungs. The danger is mitigated.
Smoking And Fireplaces

Smoking and burning fireplaces creates small carbon particles that especially attract radon daughters. Due to this both smoking and fireplaces should be omitted when radon is present. The danger from carbon particles is also reduced as the HRV ventilation system removes these particles. See: http://www.msha.gov/illness_prevention/healthtopics/hhicm09.htm In some homes the radon influx from cracks, pipes, electrical wires and other installations that enters the building is too high. By finding and closing these places it is possible to reduce the radon level below the current limit. Moisture And Condensation At 80% HRV System Efficiency Moisture is water molecules suspended in the air. A conglomeration of these molecules become droplets. The relative volume of water the air holds depends on the air temperature. This we call Relative Humidity (RH). At 100% RH the humidity condenses to water. As such water condensates build up moisture, mildew, mould and rot may appear. This we have to prevent. Some simple methods make it quite easy to prevent condensation in our ventilation system. First we must know a bit about relative humidity. A rule of thumb helps: For every degree Celsius the RH changes 3% When temperature increase the RH is reduced When temperature decrease the RH is increased Example-1: Outside temperature is 5C. Outside humidity is 99%. As this air is heated (increased) to the inside house temperature of 20C, the relative humidity (RH) of this air will be reduced. The temperature increase is 20-5 = 15C. The new RH will be reduced by 15*3= 45 RH%. Professional And DIY Installation.doc Copyright 2005 to 2013

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Thus the new RH will be the old RH the RH reduction = 99-45 = 54%. As the HRV constantly exchanges the inside old air with fresh, preheated air, any humidity added by the occupier is small. At 80% temperature recovery the inside 20C is reduced by 20-5 = 15C multiplied by the efficiency (80% means 80/100). This is 15*0.8= 12C. The OAO humidity is thus increased by 12*3 = 36%. This makes the OAO humidity 54+36 = 90%. There are still 10% to go minus the humidity added by the occupier before condensation in the OAO (Old Air Out of the HRV) may occur. This is an acceptable margin. At 80% HRV system efficiency the overall energy efficiency is high!
High Temperature Efficiency Gives Low Energy Efficiency.

Had the system efficiency been higher than 80%, the humidity margin would be smaller and excessive condensation could occur. To obtain a higher HRV efficiency many manufacturers mitigate the condensation problem by adding electric heaters. As such heaters are of much less efficiency than most other heating systems, the added HRV efficiency is wasted and the control of the heating system of the house is lost. Of course many HRV manufacturers add electronic control systems to reduce the use of the heaters and thus compensate the heating consumption. The effect is poor and added electronics make these devices more vulnerable to failure and fire. The CoP is very low. High HRV system efficiency reduces the overall energy efficiency! One may wonder why such designs are made. The reason is more understandable when one considers the past low energy prices. The customer would say that the incoming fresh air is cold as it is colder than the inside air and moving. By adding a heater the customer is made to believe the apparatus is improved. It is much more difficult to perceive that the recovered energy is used for condensation mitigation. At todays energy prices and demand for energy reduction this technique is questionable. Such a design carries a considerable price increase. Due to this it must ventilate the entire house. It becomes larger and more expensive to install.
Correct Installation Prevents Condensation

Obtain the old air (OAI) (Old Air Into the HRV) from a heated room and the fresh air (FAI) (Fresh Air Into the HRV) from a non heated space such as the loft, attic, crawl space or a cool cellar. This ensures that OAO (Old Air Out of the HRV) will be warmer than FAI. Professional And DIY Installation.doc Copyright 2005 to 2013

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This will prevent condensation in the HRV as the air is not cooled below the dew point.. The above is correct for north Europe. On some rare days in north Europe the outside temperature might be warmer than the inside temperature for a couple of hours a day. If this is associated with very moist outside air, condensation in the HRV could occur as the FAI is cooled by the lower temperature of the OAI. Should it happen you may switch off the HRV during such a period. During 5 years and hundreds of installations in Scotland an Sweden no condensation have been observed in a HRV installed as stated above. The outside temperature ranged from -25C to +32C. Condensation Tray In areas where condensation is observed or expected one should place condensation tray under the HRV. Attach a hose that leads from the tray to the outside. The FAHRenergy HRVs should be place such that the fans are up high. Combine HRV And HP A Heat Pump (HP) is an air conditioning unit in reverse mode: It heats inside and cools outside. This is achieved by an inside and outside unit. This heat pump mode has value during cold periods. a

The picture shows the fresh air duct from the FAHRenergy unit supplying the heat pump.

The inside unit passes the inside air through its heated radiator and thus heats up the inside air. As the inside air normally becomes filled with dust, the inside unit is provided with a coarse dust filter. A couple of weeks suffice to cover the radiator with dust. The efficiency is drastically reduced. By providing the heat pump with fresh air from the FAHRenergy heat recovery unit the dust problem is virtually eliminated. Maintenance has been reduced from weeks to month. A bit more about this is found here: http://www.fahrenergy.co.uk/FAHRenergyAndHeatPump.html

Wall Fan Displaces Ducts In some cases less energy is used by blowing fresh air from one room to another by means of a fan rather than by ducting. More here: http://www.fahrenergy.co.uk/WallFixtureGrid.jpg Professional And DIY Installation.doc Copyright 2005 to 2013

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Holes For Ducts Before you make any hole in any wall check for wires, pipes and beams in the wall. Instruments for sensing wires, metal and wooden beams are available in most building and DIY stores. The picture shows such a device You will have to get used to such an instrument. Try it out on a wall you know. Observe that some wall claddings change the sensitivity. Use common sense. Check for wires, metal and beams. Avoid making holes in beams. It may become a large task to make a hole in a 12cm beam. Solid wooden walls are common in Scandinavia. On such a wall you will have to work. Masonry Use a 102mm or 105mm hole saw for 100mm ducts. Common holes saws are for wood, gypsum board and similar. If you need a hole through a thick wooden wall you will need to assist the saw with a chisel. Concrete To make a hole in concrete use a Concrete Core drilling machine. The picture show such one having an attachment which makes holes in floors easier. Hire the machine. Many building stores hire such tools. Fix The Duct Every so often you will have to fix the duct. It is easy and often possible to do this by means of metal bands with holes. Insulating Ducts Some ducts needs to be insulated to prevent loss of energy and building of condensation. Use always a mouth filter when you work with insulation and in dusty conditions. 1: A duct surface that are colder than the space it passes through may create condensation on its external surface (cold duct that passes through a warmer space). It will need insulation to prevent condensation. 2: A warm duct which passes through a cold space will need insulation to preserve the heat and prevent internal condensation.
How much insulation is needed?

The insulation quality depends on the type of insulation material and thickness.

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Below is a general table of heat loss in watt per m2 per degree Celsius, as a function of the insulation thickness. Mineral wool 5cm loses 0.8[w/m2C] 10cm loses 0.4[w/m2C] 20cm loses 0.2[w/m2C] 30cm loses 0.13[w/m2C] 40cm loses 0.1[w/m2C] Insulation Of A Standard HRV Installation In reference to the picture to the right: The OAI and FAO are carrying warm air. They are shown in a yellowish colour. The part of the warm ducts that are on the cold loft be insulated.

must

If the lowest loft temperature is -9C and the internal duct temperature is 14C. then we have a temperature difference of 23C. The duct is 1m long and has a diameter of 100mm. This gives a duct surface of 0.31m2. By using a 5cm thick mineral wool we lose 0.8*0.31 = 0.25W per C. The loss would be 0.25*23 = 5.8W. During an average 100 days winter at a temperature of 2C outside and 20C in the house the duct would lose 100*18*0.25*24 = 10.8kWh per duct meter. As a common FAHRenergy installation uses a total of 3m ducting on the warm side (OAI, FAO) the loss would be 3*10.8 = 32.4kWh. This becomes twice as much during a whole year = 64.8kWh, which is acceptable. Without the duct insulation the installation would be near worthless and create condensation. In reference to the picture: FAI (shown blue) excavates the fresh air from the loft. If the duct is short no insulation is needed. OAO (shown blue) expels the old heat exchanged air. As this still has some energy left it may be warmer than the loft air. The OAO may be cooled by the colder loft air. Condensation could occur inside the duct unless it is short. If it is longer than 1m, insulation or a fair gradient which lets the condensate run out, is needed. During northern summers the temperature difference is relatively small and thus the RH change. Condensation is unlikely on short ducts. A HRV that is placed in a cold room needs some insulation or condensation may occur.

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www.fahrenergy.co.uk Short ducts are cheap and easily installed Short ducts lose little energy Short ducts need little or no insulation Short ducts give higher financial return Short ducts are easy to hide Short ducts creates less noise FAHRenergy Power HRV is designed for short ducts

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Duct Insulation

In loft spaces existing insulation may be used. Simply place the ducts that need to be insulated under the existing insulation. This is a quick, cheap and very effective method. Mark the position of the ducts that are hidden under the insulation to prevent unexpected visitors from walking on the ducts. In reference to the picture to the right: Under the floorboards the HRV has been positioned in a box for easier access. The two warm side ducts are placed in the existing insulation between the ceiling of the room underneath and the floorboards. The entire installation creates very little obstructions and is insulated at no extra cost. The floorboards above the HRV are modified to allow for easy access. The OAI (Old Air Into the HRV) and the OAO (Old Air Out of the HRV) use the existing toilet extraction duct. The duct was simply cut such that the one side would be OAI and the other OAO. FAI (Fresh Air In) was extracted from the loft. An insect hood was placed on the intake. FAO (Fresh Air Out) was led to two room through holes cut in the ceiling. The power supply was placed on the loft, out of the way of kids and pets. Insulation / Installation Examples: http://www.fahrenergy.co.uk/Examples.html
FAI insect hood will be attached here (cold side)

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Attaching FAHRenergy Power HRV The transport / installation brackets may be directly attached to the floor, wall or ceiling. I suggest that the installation brackets are attached to a board having a minimum size of 590mm*285mm. The board may be of MDF chip-wood or plywood. Place the HRV with the installation brackets attached to it on the board. Mark the 8 holes for the installation brackets. Remove the brackets from the HRV and screw them onto the board using very short and small screws. Do NOT tighten the screws. Ensure that the bracket can wobble. The HRV weighs less than 4kg. A 6mm thick board and similarly small screws are strong enough to hold it. To fix the board on a wall you need one hole at each end of the board. Attach the HRV to the board by gently pushing the installation brackets over the HRV terminations. A

If the HRV shall sit on a wall or a ceiling you will need to fix the brackets to the terminations of the HRV. Do this by drilling a 3mm hole through the bracket where it attaches to the termination and screw in a 3.5mm to 4mm thick small screw. See point A on the picture. The bracket is now prevented from losing its grip on the HRV To be able to remove the HRV from the brackets the first 30cm of ducting which connects to the brackets must be flexible.

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Deciding FAI, FAO, OAI And OAO The 2 fans blow into the HRV. Either of these terminations may be only appointed as FAI or OAI. The 2 remaining terminations may only be appointed as FAO or OAO The delivered FAI, FAO, OAI, OAO adhesive labels are to be attached to the corresponding selected termination. There are only 2 options:

Warm to the right

Warm to the left

Adjusting The Airflow The best energy recovery is obtained at maximum airflow of the FAHRenergy Power HRV. FAHRenergy Power HRV allows for selecting the airflow of balanced old / fresh air: At 13.5V around 90m3 of old and fresh air is moved (a total of 180 m3). Noise < 54dBA At 9V around 65m3 of old and fresh air is moved (a total of 130 m3). Noise < 47dBA 3 3 At 6V around 50m of old and fresh air is moved (a total of 100 m ). Noise < 45dBA Adjust the airflow in the installed system by adjusting the FAI and AOI. Adjustable air disc valves and diffusers both round and square are available from your ventilation store. Attempt to obtain the same FAO and OAO airflow. The best result is obtained by the installation design. If the duct length of fresh air and old air are the same and the bends are minimised you probably have a good balance by design. Measuring The Airflow Important: All electronic instruments are sensitive to magnetic pulses. Due to this you will find that you cannot measure with the instrument close to the ECM (Electronically Commutated Motors) which are used in FAHRenergys HRVs. Measuring the airflow is not easy at low airspeeds. Low airspeeds are used in FAHRenergys HRVs to obtain maximum energy recovery (minimum loss) and low ventilation noise. The simplest and cheapest method to evaluate the balance of the ventilation system is by using a large, soft plastic bag. Measure the time it takes to fill it to around 50%. Measure the volume of Professional And DIY Installation.doc Copyright 2005 to 2013

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air you have filled into the bag. Divide the volume with time and you have the airflow. As it is the same bag, the airflow restrictions the bag creates, are the same for both measurements. This method also gives an idea of the airflow provided you have some knowledge of the restrictions to the airflow the bag created. Vane anemometers are relative cheap with prices from 70. Most vane anemometers are inferior at low airspeeds. You will get a reading but the precision is insufficient. Measuring The Efficiency See Measuring Ventilation Energy Efficiency http://www.fahrenergy.org.uk/install/MeasuringEfficiency.pdf

Appendix
Tools Avoid anything with cables when you work in tight spaces. Drill bits As you will need several drill bit sizes a cheap drill bit container may be bought in most DIY stores. Use such a container for future drill bit storing. Battery powered drill Keep the costs down. Use as cheap a drill as possible. Many low cost types suffices. Buy at least two or even three. Should you forget one somewhere the loss is affordable. Hole Saws 44mm, 50mm, 102mm, 105mm and 127mm will make most of the necessary holes in a standard installation. Screw driver and nut driver bits. You should use the battery powered drill as a screwdriver. A couple of hand screwdrivers could be handy Head lamp for dark spaces Use a LED headlamp for dark spaces. At least a 1W LED is needed. As you will have to move around a common work lamp is mainly in way. Portable work bench Battery powered tiger saw

the

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Parts Wood and gypsum screw assortiment Self drilling and tapping screw for nut driver bit for duct assembly Round metal ducts Flexible aluminium ducts Chimney ventilation ducts are commonly flexible aluminium ducts of a good quallity. A bit more expensive but not as flimsy as the types commonly available. Flexible plastic ducts Round PVC ducts Square PVC ducts Noise reducing ducts (duct muffler, silencer) Holed metal band. Grills, Flanges 90 and 45 bend. Duct connections Parts shown to the right are found in common DIY stores. Note that square ducts often have a smaller area than a 100mm round duct. Due to this maximum usable length is reduced to 1m. Duct area should be 78cm2 or more. 100mm to 125mm adapter ducts (reducer) T and Y joints Holed metal band 90 bend Duct connector Drill bits

Where can I get ventilation parts? At ventilation retailers, DIY stores and building retailers.

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Efficiency measurements of a system.

See: www.fahrenergy.org.uk/install and click on Temperature And Energy Measurements Anemometer http://uk.rsonline.com/web/search/searchBrowseAction.html?method=getProduct&R=5066033 The link is for a pocket vane anemometer. It is relatively cheap but acceptable. Such an anemometer gives some idea of the airflow in an installed system. Note that the air in a ventilation system often is not laminar. Exact airflow measurements are thus quite difficult to obtain. You will have to make several measurements using a vane anemometer at different angles of the duct to get a feel for the airflow. Another way to obtain the airflow (air volume per time unit) is placing a very soft, reasonable large plastic bag around the duct (at least 50 litres). Just fill the bag to max 50%. Measure the time used and measure the volume in the bag. Divide the volume with the time and you have the airflow per time unit. Of course this method restricts the airflow such that the actual result is somewhat larger than measured using this method. Wire, Metal And Beam Tester Instruments for sensing wires, metal and wooden beams are available in most and DIY stores. The picture shows such a device. The price ranges from 25 to 100. Moisture meter Any DIY store It is always a good idea to have some knowledge of the moisture in walls and beams before the ventilation is activated. Measuring later one develops a good feel for the value of ventilation. A moisture meter using LED as indicator is cheap. It shos moisture present or not. Infrared thermometer http://uk.rsonline.com/web/search/searchBrowseAction.html?method=getProduct&R=5168454 An infrared thermometer is not cheap. It is a good immediate temperature indicator. A standard thermometer cannot be used to obtain temperature differences. To measure such you will need a datalogger. USB thermal and humidity datalogger http://uk.rsonline.com/web/search/searchBrowseAction.html?method=getProduct&R=4901064&cm_vc=av _uk A USB datalogger is the only one which may be left in a ventilation duct and elsewhere. It will collect data for up to one year. A data curve is automatically written as the data are transferred to your Professional And DIY Installation.doc Copyright 2005 to 2013

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Not everyone benefits from a datalogger. Two or more dataloggers are needed to obtain temperature and humidity differences. These might then be used to calculate energy movements and thus energy recovered. You may also get instruments from: Maplin http://www.maplin.co.uk/store-locator Farnell http://uk.farnell.com/jsp/home/homepage.jsp?CMP=KNC-GUK-FUK-GENPFB&s_kwcid=TC|13123|farnell||S|e|7342426749 Standards Recommended volume of fresh air per hour: 1.25m3 per square meter occupied space. Filter standards. See www.fahrenergy.org.uk/install Click on Filters For Ventilation Mould Daily Mail July 2010: the deaths of actress Brittany Murphy and her British screenwriter husband Simon Monjack might have been caused by mould http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1297862/Brittany-Murphy-Mould-home-kill-actresssdeath-linked-fungus-LA-mansion.html Extracts from the article: ..Stachybotrys chartarum, which is also known as the toxic mould. This fungus may produce spores which are poisonous by inhalation. The common places for mould to grow in houses is wallpaper, flooring, behind wall tiles and on window frames, explains Professor Richardson. It may seem extraordinary, but in fact mould in the home is a common health problem, affecting tens of thousands of people in the UK, explains Malcolm Richardson, Professor of medical mycology (the study of mould) at the University of Manchester. Professor Roy Watling, an authority on fungi and formerly head of mycology at the Royal Botanical Garden, Edinburgh, says: 'When you walk around on the damp carpet, mould spores are released into the atmosphere, which you can then inhale. For Christine and John Frost, from Mansfield in Derbyshire, it comes as no surprise to learn that mould can have a devastating effect on health. Christine, 62, first noticed black mould on a wall in their living room three-and-a-half years ago.. .The mould in our house totally destroyed us. It was just horrendous. Constant ventilation is necessary. Due to the high cost of heating, Heat Recovery Ventilation is valuable. It is a very effective method to obtain fresh air at a very low running cost. Professional And DIY Installation.doc Copyright 2005 to 2013

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Loft Energy Measurements

The above diagram shows the extra energy captured. The RH is safely above the dew point. Automatic Control Error Quite many ventilation and heat pump (air conditioning) devices are fitted with automatic controls which are manipulated by the user via a remote control. A ventilation system for a common home does not need such smart controls. It should be set up once and then left to work.

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Todays heating systems are optimised by various automatic controls. As they are controlled by temperature sensors they are easily confused. An example: The occupier enjoys the fireplace. As the fireplace heated up the temperature in the room increased. The inside unit of the heat pump was rather near the ceiling and the control (airconditioning unit) switched to cooling. The more the fireplace heated the more the HP cooled. The occupier had not perceived this. He became very surprised when he found his electricity bill increased after the HP installation. The error was to have the HP (AC unit) set to automatic by the manufacturer. In fact, the use of the HP remote control was sufficiently complicated to prevent correct use by the owner. This is not a special case. It is quite common. Most HP (AC) may only be controlled through the remote controls. Often the LCD screen and the writing on the buttons are too small. Quite many people cannot read such small letters. Only Necessary Electronics In FAHRenergy HRV FAHRenergy HRVs are not fitted with compromising electronics. When FAHRenergy HRVs are installed correctly they function correctly and do not interfere with controlled heating systems. Remote control is not necessary. A yearly CoP of over 20, i.e. the recovered energy is 20 times larger than the energy consumed, is the result. No complex manual is necessary. No remote controls. Less potential errors.

Disclaimer
This manual is advisory. It contains all information needed for the trained person. Professional installation demands a FAHRenergy installation training. All manuals prior to this edition are void and null.

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