Recuperation, or mechanical ventilation with heat recovery, is becoming increasingly popular. It is based on the intake of air produced by a machine. Recuperation has many advantages. What do you need to know about it to decide on it?
The name refers to a device which reduces heat loss during ventilation of rooms. This is necessary because without proper ventilation you can get damp in your home. However, gravitational ventilation systems, by far the most commonly installed ones, cause loss of valuable heat. The principle of this device is that it heats the air coming into the house
Recuperator is constructed from two fans: supply and exhaust. They are complemented by a heat exchanger, in which the air which enters the house is heated by contact with the exhaust (warmer) air. In the recuperator you will also find filters that trap impurities.
First of all, thanks to it you will reduce the costs associated with heating. To a large extent they result from heat losses due to thermal bridges. The best devices in this class allow you to recover up to 90% of heat that is normally lost. It is estimated that this allows to reduce the cost of heating by 20 – 30%.
Experts admit that the best time to decide to install a recuperator is during the construction of the house. Such an installation requires a properly drawn up plan. This is due to the fact that the heat supply and removal ducts are even several cm in diameter and it may be difficult to place them in the existing walls of the building – in any case such a procedure will require extensive modifications
Proper planning of recuperation facilitates the subsequent efficient operation of the system. The most convenient location of the device itself is to install it in the boiler room or in the attic. Proper calculation of airflows by a specialist allows you to accurately fit the recuperator model.
The basic parameter which should interest us is the heat recovery efficiency. The best performance in this parameter can have models with countercurrent heat recovery. Cheaper solutions are based on cross-flow exchangers with much worse parameters. There are also exchangers available on the market which, apart from heat, also recover moisture. It is also worth paying attention to parameters such as energy consumption of fans, reliability of the device and the possibility of automatic device control
When designing a recuperation system for your home, you need to remember that each person has different needs. For some people quiet operation of the device is the most important, while for others intuitive and easy to use control of recuperation system is of paramount importance. Sometimes a good solution will be a device containing a heater and bypass, allowing you to increase and decrease the temperature inside the room
Unfortunately, it is not advisable to install the recuperation system yourself. This is too complicated installation and it is better to entrust it in the hands of a good specialist. It is important that it is done by an experienced person – preferably by a professional authorized by the manufacturer of such devices. It is also important to receive a guarantee for the installation and the devices that make it up. Thanks to this we will be calm about this investment.
