Air exchanger for fish room? (1 Viewer)

[BlindSwordsman]

I just want to add a note to say: 'Thanks for all of your feedback!' .. I do appreciate it .

 

[Nickz]

Just wanting to add, air exchanger is mostly useless here in the summer time as it'll bring in the humidity. Mine turns off in like April until Oct basically

 

[asifiqbal2]

If you want to run it all year long , get an ERV
Also if you want to keep the furnace fun running continuously get a variable speed motor also stated above otherwise your electricity use will be prohibitive plus wear and tear on the motor

 

[spsick]

This would fit the bill nicely:

https://www.supplyhouse.com/Panasonic-FV-04VE1-WhisperComfort-40-20-or-20-10-CFM-Ceiling-Spot-Energy-Recovery-Ventilator

 

[BlindSwordsman]

I'm weaning myself off from coffee and there are many points to this topic, so I'll see if I can compose something legible here .

If you want to run it all year long , get an ERV

I believe there are a few problems with running the ERV/HRV. As @Nickz brought up above about the ERV and humidity, here's what I found online about running the ERV (I'm going to copy and paste here):

... "A common misconception about the energy recovery ventilator (ERV) is that it’s good for humid climates because it helps to dehumidify a home. ERV or an HRV (heat recovery ventilator) ... is not a dehumidifier.

... the ERV will usually raise the humidity in the home when the outdoor air is more humid than indoor air because it doesn’t exchange water vapor between the two air streams perfectly. ...
.. If you ventilate with an HRV, supply-only, or exhaust-only ventilation sytem, you’re bringing all the humidity in. " ..

So, running the ERV all year long might cause other issues, like increasing humidity in the house, especially in the summer time?

Also if you want to keep the furnace fun running continuously get a variable speed motor also stated above otherwise your electricity use will be prohibitive plus wear and tear on the motor

As I was spending too much money replacing pretty much everything inside/outside of the house, I only got the single stage furnace that was energy efficient enough for the tax credits, about the same year and with the same efficiency as @Chris Goetz's but not the fancy variable speed one. I don't think it's a good idea just to suddenly replace it now while it's working just fine . And based on what @Chris Goetz said, it would cost around $60 - 70/year? Or even if it even costs $300 - 600, I think I can deal with that. And maybe I should just run with what I have instead of spending a chunk of money to replace the whole furnace unit now?

my 2011 97% furnace costs me about $60-70 per year to run 24x7. Other brands/models can easily cost $300-600.

But, beside this additional cost, there are other points to consider as well for running the furnace fan 24/7. I'm going to copy and paste again:

... "Running your furnace fan all the time could save you money each month because having more even temperatures in the home results in the heat or air conditioner running less. "

So, maybe that would compensate for the electricity cost of running the fan constantly at least?? And as @zoolan70 pointed out before, they also say:

"Many people are under the assumption that running their furnace fan all the time will cause it to fail prematurely. Actually, the opposite is true. The most stressful part of any motor’s life is that when it starts. It is much easier on the motor to run constantly than to start and stop all the time."

..... I got cut off, doing something else while putting this together, so I kind of lose my thought here ... But I think that's it. Feel free to point out something if you think it's wrong . I've been running the fan 24/7 since last week. So far, I think it's improved things a bit. So, I don't know ...

 

[asifiqbal2]

Correct. ERV is a little more balanced as in .. in the winter time it helps maintain some humidity vs HRV which wipes it out. In the summer when it’s really humid out and you run a HRV it will bring all the humidity in. Vs ERV will bring some but your AC is running so it does act as a dehumidifier. I still run a dehumidifier in summer set to my preferred percentage but it doesn’t run all the time.

Running Furnace fan might not cause it to fail but check your bill before and after. I have tried this myself then swapped out for an ECM motor

 

[BlindSwordsman]

Correct. ERV is a little more balanced as in .. in the winter time it helps maintain some humidity vs HRV which wipes it out. In the summer when it’s really humid out and you run a HRV it will bring all the humidity in. Vs ERV will bring some but your AC is running so it does act as a dehumidifier. I still run a dehumidifier in summer set to my preferred percentage but it doesn’t run all the time.

Running Furnace fan might not cause it to fail but check your bill before and after. I have tried this myself then swapped out for an ECM motor

I will keep an eye out on the next bill of course. Hopefully, it's not too bad .

I really don't know much about these HVAC systems. So, an ECM motor is another sort of motor, just like they have a 'variable speed' motor, correct? .. Is it something that can be used to upgrade whatever motor I have for my single stage furnace? And that should keep the electricity cost down??

 

[asifiqbal2]

Yes it can be upgraded. Sometimes they are referred to as Green Motor.
It has 3 speeds
1) the constant on low rpm circulation mode which can be tied in with ERV/HRV using existing HVAC Duct
2) next level up, higher velocity for furnace
3) next level up, highest velocity for AC

 

[asifiqbal2]

Once wired correctly it will auto switch speeds based on your thermostat

 

[BlindSwordsman]

Once wired correctly it will auto switch speeds based on your thermostat

Thanks! .. I think I probably will wait to see how it goes with my electric bills, think about the long run cost and the cost to upgrade this, before I call the HVAC guys for this .