Heat Recovery Ventilation (also known as a heat exchanger, air exchanger or air-to-air exchanger) is a ventilation system which employs a counter-flow heat exchanger between the inbound and outbound air flow. HRVs provide fresh air and improved climate control, while also saving energy by reducing the heating (or cooling) requirements.

As building efficiency is improved with insulation and weather stripping, buildings are intentionally made more air-tight, and consequently, less  ventilated. Since all buildings require a source of fresh air, the need for HRVs has become more important.  Stale, moist air is removed from bathroom, kitchen, laundry, and crawlspace.  The outgoing air transfers it's heat to the incoming fresh air going to the bedroom, living area, dining area and crawlspace.  The main function of an HRV is to control the humidity level within the house. An HRV is designed to replace stale moist air with fresh dry air while recovering over 80% of the energy already spent to warm up the incoming air.

The latest improvement in HRV technology is the controls.   Many of the older HRVs were designed to run continuously, with boost buttons to make them run even faster.   Alaska has cold, dry, arctic conditions.  When an HRV operates continuously it cools down and dries out a house and makes it uncomfortable to live in.  In this instance, many people unplug their HRV because they lack control over the ventilation.  The new HRV controls now sense the indoor temperature and humidity levels as well as the outdoor temperature. The control automatically adjusts to the most efficient ventilation rate to meet the needs of the house based on actual conditions.

We service and repair any brand of HRV on the market. 

We are the preferred Venmar service providers in the Fairbanks, Alaska area.

Call our office at 907-374-6838 to schedule maintenance on your HRV and Air Filtration System.

HRV's are designed to remove polluted air from inside the home and replace it with fresh outside air.  But what can you do when the air outside your  home is worse than the air inside?  Road dust, pollen, wood smoke from forest fires or wood stoves, industrial pollutants, and obnoxious odors can all be brought in through the HRV and transfered to your bedrooms and living areas.

Our three-stage Air Filtration Systems are designed to remove large particulates, small particulates and odors: 

A one-inch MERV 8 prefilter removes the large particles, and prolongs the life of the main particle filter. 

A two-inch MERV 11 filter removes the smaller particles. 

A two-inch woven carbon mat filter adsorbs odors, VOC's and aerosols from the air. 

The result is fresh, clean air delivered to your home regardless of the outside air conditions.

Most new homes built today focus on energy efficiency.  A properly designed and installed ventilation system can go a long way towards increasing the comfort level within a home by providing fresh air and removing excess moisture, thereby creating a healthy indoor living environment.  

Richard Musick can assist you with installation of the proper ventilation for any new home being built. 

Bring us your plans or schedule a visit to your site.  We can help you decide on the most appropriate method to ventilate your new home. 

Many existing homes are now undergoing extensive upgrades to improve energy efficiency.  The major source of heat loss is air leakage.  However, that air leakage also provides natural ventilation which can help limit moisture build up within the home.  Anyone tightening up their home needs to consider the effects of reducing the natural ventilation.  When the home reaches a certain level of air tightness, mechanical ventilation is required to provide the ventilation necessary to control the indoor air quality. 

We have retrofitted hundreds of homes in the Fairbanks, Alaska area. 

Call us today to see what we can do for your house. 

You may be suprised at how unintrusive it can be.

Many engineer reports require that the HRV be serviced within the last year.  We work with several real estate companies to complete any ventilation related work.  We also provide dryer duct cleaning or replacement, and installation of dryer booster fans if needed.

We can install a mitigation system that best suits the needs of your house.  Sometimes its sub-slab depessurization, other times its blocking the entry points and balancing the pressures within the house while increasing ventilation with the use of an HRV.

Recently we have been having a high level of sucess at reducing radon levels by increasing the ventilation rates through the use of panasonic exhaust fans on a timer switch.  Houses on a crawlspace with no crawlspace ventilation or houses with fully finished basements with radiant slabs are the perfect canadates for this simple yet highly successful remediation method.

Our Do It Yourself package includes the unit and all the parts, fittings, and hardware needed to install your own HRV * 

You provide the labor and some basic tools -- we provide everything else.

DIY packages also include delivery to your job site, an on-site walk through with the homeowner, a drawing of the installation, and our many years of experience figuring out how to run the ducts through houses that are already built.  We show you the tools, tips and tricks needed to install your own HRV.  After you finish installing, we come back to inspect your work, balance the HRV, and go over the operation and maintenance.  We will also sign off the BEES / PUR 101 upon request. 

* Unused parts may be returned for a full refund. 

We also install central vac systems for both new and existing homes.  Most vacuum's suck the dirt off the floor and a lot of the fine particles become airborne.  A central vac has more suction, a variety of attachments, and the fine dust that makes it past the bag is removed from the house.  A good vacuum can make a lot of difference in the indoor air quality of a home.

Attached garages are the prime source for pollutants to enter your home.  Car exhaust, gas and oil fumes from tools, snowmachines and four wheelers, paint, solvents, and all of the other cleaning stuff that you do not want to store inside the house.  These toxins can easily migrate from the garage into the house if there is not an air tight barrior between the house and the garage.
We can install an exhaust fan with a timer and a motion sensor to turn on whenever the garage door is opened.  By turning on an exhaust fan when cars come in and leave the garage, the pollutant levels inside the house can be lowered significantly.

We can install an inline fan to move air around inside of the house.  We use panasonic inline fans that are quiet, energy efficient, and move a lot of air.  We have a couple of different options of filtering the air as it moves.  The main reason for installing recirculation sytems is to help move heat from a wood stove, pellet stove, or monitor heater to the rest of the house.  They can also help to clean up the air if a filter system is installed.

Over time, dirt, dust, and debris can accumulate inside the ventilation ductwork in your house.  Our Rotobrush AirXP duct cleaning equipment can clean the inside of your ductwork and collect all of the dirt with its built in HEPA filter equiped dust collection system.  With cleaning heads from 4" up to 36", we can handle any size and type of ductwork.  We also have a camera that can be attached to the cleaning head to visually inspect the ductwork.

We also have a 5000 CFM Hepa filter equiped vacuum and the Viper air duct cleaning system.  After removing the dust, dirt and debris from your ductwork, we can deodorize and sanatize the entire duct system with our fogger machine.