Whole house MVHR and windows

3 years ago

last modified: 3 years ago

I’d love to hear from folks who are living with whole house MVHR and how it has affected their use of windows. I know that the MVHR is installed as a balanced system and so should be relied upon for fresh air rather than windows, but is that really the case in practice?

I am planning a new build with MVHR and am considering where to opt for fixed glazing rather than opening windows. I am also worried about bedrooms feeling hot and airless at night - often, especially in the summer it’s just really nice to sleep with the window open!

thanks in advance!

Featured Answer

Victoria

3 years ago

Yes, I have MVHR, windows all have facility to open though and we use bypass overnight as 1sandyh says. The bypass makes it cooler overnight than having windows open but open windows allow rapid cooling as the temperature drops in the evening.
Make sure you don’t have trickle vents.

Comments (19)

Sonia
3 years ago
Er what is MVHR?
R B
Original Author
3 years ago
Mechanical Ventilation and Heat Recovery.
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E D
3 years ago
Every day is a school day... 😄
Sonia
3 years ago
Well if I had to live in a house without opening windows, it would be on the market the next day. 😊
R B
Original Author
3 years ago
To be perfectly clear the design of the house I am building has cleared all building regs and every room has opening windows. As I stated in my first post, I am more interested in people’s actual real world experience with MVHR systems and how it has affected their window usage.
1sandyh
3 years ago
Summer bypass switch - you don’t run mvhr in summer
R B thanked 1sandyh
1sandyh
3 years ago
Fire regs for bedrooms - must be at least one opener for means of escape. Imagine being trapped in your bedroom
1sandyh
3 years ago
We open our windows in summer because the mvhr is only for ventilation, not air con. It is roasting if you can’t open a window, especially with all the insulation. We just use the summer bypass switch. Hope that helps
R B thanked 1sandyh
R B
Original Author
3 years ago
Thanks so much 1sandyh and Victoria, that’s really useful info. By ‘bypass’ I am assuming that means just turning off the heat recovery, but leaving the ventilation active, right?

It looks like the unit we’re going for also has a cooling option available - seriously considering going for that too!
Victoria
3 years ago
Ours reverses automatically overnight when exterior temperature is lower than interior, so it blows cooler air around.

Cooling option probably worth a look.
R B thanked Victoria
R B
Original Author
3 years ago
Great info thanks - got a bunch of questions to put to our supplier now so this has really helped!
Rowland
3 years ago
we live in a house with mvhr and we find it great generally and only open the windows in extreme heat to provide ventilation. it is great and the difference in general air quality is noticeable.

we also installed a water tank to recycle rainwater using it to flush toilets. this was a huge expense and something that in hindsight we probably wouldnt have installed. the payback period is long. but it gives us an advantage as we have water for the garden during hose pipe bans..

good luck with your build!

best

Rowland
Victoria
3 years ago
We have the rainwater tank too, use it for flushes and washing machine. Our water bills as a result are about £25 a month, 4 people in the home. Been in the house 5 years, it will have paid for itself in another 5 easily.
R B
Original Author
3 years ago
Thanks Rowland and Victoria - this is something we considered bit have decided instead to put budget towards solar thermal water heating for hot water. I hope we’ll be able to add solar electric at some point down the line, when battery tech comes down in cost.
R B
Original Author
3 years ago
I guess another question is what you do about kitchen extraction? Do you have a recirculating system there or leave it to the MVHR? I really want to put in an externally vented separate extraction for the hob as it’s open plan and we cook a lot. I think this can be done, but just needs careful selection of kit and planning In terms of interaction with MVHR.
Rowland
3 years ago
R B

we have a recirculating extractor and have filters on the extract vents to the MVHR.

I think it is a trick that the companies are failing to cover . I researched this at length and there were not really any sensible solutions.

best

Rowland
R B thanked Rowland
Victoria
3 years ago
I do the same, recirculating extractor with vent near MVHR vent. Can boost MVHR when cooking. We also have solar thermal and solar PV.
R B thanked Victoria
R B
Original Author
3 years ago
Thanks again Rowland and Victoria!

Whole house MVHR and windows

Victoria

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Whole house MVHR and windows

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