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AC_Hacker · 07-01-10, 12:49 PM

I came across information about a Passivhaus (AKA: Passive House) that was built in Illinois.

The house uses an HRV that is almost the size of a furnace, but uses only a tiny fraction of the energy (NOTE: there is an integrated 1 kWatt resistance heater for severe occasions).

This is the first time I have seen the kind of serious HRV that a Passivhaus would utilize. This really alters the definition of HRV... Now all the others seem like toys.

In this particular project, the Westaflex WAC 250 HRV utilizes a 100 foot ling, 8 inch diameter buried earth tube. The WAC 250 unit has sensors and dampers and can switch the incoming air between earth tube air or straight outside air as the situation demands (wow!).

This PDF has the picture shown below

It looks like there is a real-deal counterflow heat exchanger at the heart of it all (or could it be a dual-crossflow?).

I think I finally understand why someone would build a house around a HRV, especially if it was one of these.

Regards,

-AC_Hacker

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07-01-10, 12:49 PM	#64
AC_Hacker Supreme EcoRenovator Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Portland, OR Posts: 4,004 Thanks: 303 Thanked 723 Times in 534 Posts	When HRV is not an afterthought (a real game changer) I came across information about a Passivhaus (AKA: Passive House) that was built in Illinois. Here is a link to an HTML site. Here is a downloadable PDF. The house uses an HRV that is almost the size of a furnace, but uses only a tiny fraction of the energy (NOTE: there is an integrated 1 kWatt resistance heater for severe occasions). This is the first time I have seen the kind of serious HRV that a Passivhaus would utilize. This really alters the definition of HRV... Now all the others seem like toys. In this particular project, the Westaflex WAC 250 HRV utilizes a 100 foot ling, 8 inch diameter buried earth tube. The WAC 250 unit has sensors and dampers and can switch the incoming air between earth tube air or straight outside air as the situation demands (wow!). This PDF has the picture shown below It looks like there is a real-deal counterflow heat exchanger at the heart of it all (or could it be a dual-crossflow?). I think I finally understand why someone would build a house around a HRV, especially if it was one of these. Regards, -AC_Hacker * * * Attached Images