1. ERV/HRV Balancing Background and Overview
I decided to write this guide after reading through the Honeywell install manual for a ERV and HRV I installed and being very dissatisfied with the ventilator balancing instructions. I figured there must be others out there wanting some clarity on how to balance a ERV/HRV properly. Balancing a ventilation system is something normally left for the pros, but an extreme DIY’er can do it if they have a good understanding of the whole system. It is possible to balance your ERV or HRV without any special tools like a manometer or magnehelic differential pressure gauge if absolutely needed, which I will explain below, but still best to have some measurement devices. A word of caution, this is something you don’t want to mess up, proper balanced ventilation is absolutely essential in certain climates. In the north, where vapor barriers are used, if the house is under positive pressure you will be pushing moist air into the wall cavities in the winter where it can condensate. But regardless of the climate it is still important to have a balanced system. If you have any doubt get a pro in to do it. I will not dive too much into how to install a whole house ventilator as it is outside the scope of this article and something best left to a pro if you are unsure of how to do it.