Heat recovery: what is the big fuss all about?

We all know that fresh air is vital for our wellbeing.

Historically, the simplest way of getting that air was usually to open the window. With the average annual temperature in the UK ranging from 8 to 11°C, we all begin to see the problem: significant heat loss. That heat is escaping through the windows, contributing considerably to global warming and weighing heavily on our household budgets.

Recent advances in technology enable us to minimise that problem, though: we can turn the tables when we install a heat recovery ventilator. This kind of ventilator supplies fresh air, but also removes humid, stale air from our rooms. Essentially, it is a two-in-one device: think of it as a fan delivering fresh air combined with an extractor removing stale air.

But how does it work?

Well, this is crucial: heat recovery ventilators are so useful because the fresh air they supply is heated by the warm air they extract from our homes. This is done through a heat exchanger incorporated within the device.

The higher the rate of this transfer, the more efficient the device. Market-leading brands like Ambientika by Südwind can achieve efficiency as high as 93%.

The advantages of heat recovery ventilators don’t stop there: with the right filters, they can minimise the pollen count indoors or reduce the levels of nitrogen dioxide, which is often present in our busy cities.

But for the sake of brevity, let’s leave the other benefits of heat recovery for another post.

If we all want to do our part in tackling global warming (and save some money in the long run), heat recovery is certainly the way forward!