SERVING 
Fresh, filtered air is essential for indoor comfort. But most homes are either improperly ventilated or barely ventilated at all.
Let the PV Heating, Cooling & Plumbing team deliver a house ventilation design that ensures you’re always breathing clean, healthy air!
What are the advantages of house ventilation design?
- Cleaner, healthier air
- Better humidity control
- Removal of indoor air pollutants
- Reduced airborne allergens, like mold and pollen
- Improved and consistent odor control
- Less humidity in summer and more humidity in winter
- Fewer issues with allergies
- Lower susceptibility to headaches and colds
- Fewer lingering odors from pets, VOCs, and cooking smoke
- Homes that feel less stuffy due to “old,” stale air
How to get started with home ventilation system design
At PV Heating, Cooling & Plumbing, we typically deliver house ventilation design as part of our HVAC consulting and design services.
In addition to designing and sizing your home’s heating and air conditioning system, we ensure you get a ventilation system that delivers exactly the right amount of fresh air to your home.
- A homeowner, contractor, or builder approaches us for a home energy audit, Manual J load calculation, or other HVAC consulting service.
- As part of the process, we determine whether your home is getting enough (or too much) ventilation per ASHRAE Standard 62.2, which is a common standard for calculating the right amount of ventilation for a given home.
- We also consider how you’re getting that ventilation now, whether it’s through negative pressure ventilation or the home’s passive ventilation (e.g., gaps and cracks where air enters and leaves).
- After that, we determine whether your home needs air sealing and filtration, and what kind of ventilation system, if any, is needed for the home.
- Given your home’s attributes and your HVAC design, we guide you to the right ventilation equipment for your needs.
Controlled ventilation vs. uncontrolled ventilation
Uncontrolled ventilation is what you probably have in your home today. Air infiltrates your home via gaps and cracks around floor and attic penetrations, not to mention doors and windows.
- With this kind of ventilation, there’s no way to control whether you’re getting too much or too little air. And never mind humidity and airborne pollutants! You’re at the mercy of mother nature and your home’s construction quality.
- It’s the “bad” kind of ventilation that people often call us to tame.
Controlled ventilation usually involves a mechanical system. After determining where unconditioned, unfiltered air infiltrates your home, a home performance or HVAC contractor seals the offending air leaks and installs a ventilation device that’s tuned to your home’s needs.
- The type of device depends on your home and your ventilation needs. In humid climates, the most common options are an energy recovery ventilator (ERV) or ventilating dehumidifier with fresh air. Occasionally, a custom system with ventilation fans and dampers is required.
- With a controlled ventilation system, you can control the amount of ventilation you receive, keep humidity levels at a comfortable level, and filter all incoming air!
Does home ventilation design mean I’ll need new equipment?
- Energy Recovery Ventilator (ERV): An ERV is a mechanical ventilation system that simultaneously removes air from the home and introduces air from the outdoors. It also transfers heat and humidity from the more humid airstream to the less humid airstream, so your ventilation efforts don’t result in too much or too little moisture in the air.
- Whole-House Dehumidifier: A whole-house dehumidifier interfaces with your home’s HVAC system and ductwork. It removes extra humidity from the air when your air conditioner can’t remove enough on its own. You can also set up the dehumidifier to pull in the fresh air and dehumidify it before introducing it to the home.
Other homeowners might also add fresh air systems or air cleaning systems, depending on their air quality priorities.
Those are the most common ventilation systems for homes here in the Southeast. When we provide ventilation design to clients outside this region, we might suggest a heat recovery ventilator (HRV), which works like an ERV except that it doesn’t transfer humidity among airstreams.
Why choose PV Heating, Cooling & Plumbing for home ventilation designs?
- We don’t just design ventilation systems. We install them, too. This means we can anticipate challenges that other consultants have never encountered since they don’t navigate sweltering attics or slog their way through crawlspaces as we do.
- Yours won’t be the first ventilation system we’ve designed. Our seasoned team has numerous successful projects under its belt and knows exactly what steps to follow so that you enjoy A+ ventilation design.
- You get a lot more than just home ventilation system design. When you work with us, we include ventilation as part of an overall HVAC consulting package that ensures your home is as comfortable and energy efficient as possible.
