An airtight home needs to breathe on purpose. Heat-recovery ventilation brings in a continuous supply of fresh, filtered air and passes the outgoing stale air across a heat exchanger, so the warmth stays inside while the moisture and stale air leave.
Ventilation is designed alongside the airtightness layer, never bolted on afterwards. Duct runs are planned with the structure, intakes and extracts sit where they work hardest, kitchens, bathrooms and laundries, and the system is balanced at handover. The result is a home without condensation, without stuffiness and without the heating bill that open windows bring.
Balanced at handover
Every heat-recovery system is designed with the airtightness layer, guided by PHINZ design principles, then balanced before you get the keys, on real Ecotectural homes across Nelson Tasman.
We are working back through our builds with professional photography, so images of this system in our own homes will be added over time.
Good questions
It brings in a continuous supply of fresh, filtered air and passes the outgoing stale air across a heat exchanger, so the warmth stays inside while moisture and stale air leave. An airtight home needs this to breathe properly, since it can no longer rely on gaps and draughts.
Yes, heat-recovery ventilation, HRV and MVHR (mechanical ventilation with heat recovery) all describe the same balanced system: fresh air in, stale air out, warmth kept.
Yes. The Green House at Upper Moutere has its ventilation designed alongside a continuous insulated envelope built to the Passive House standard, guided by PHINZ design principles.
Every home we build except Tasman View and The Cedar House, including Horton Road and The Blue House at Upper Moutere, both designed with heat-recovery ventilation behind a Pro Clima airtight layer.
No, you can still open windows whenever you like. The system runs continuously in the background so the home stays fresh and dry even when everything is shut, rather than relying on you to air it out.
Book a free one-hour consultation with founder Daryl Combes. No obligation, just an honest conversation about your site, your brief and your budget.
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