Install-It-Yourself HRV
By Steve Maxwell
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Installation Considerations
Your first task is to find a location for your HRV that minimizes the length of ducts needed to connect it to the outdoors and to any existing duct system inside your house. Both intake and exhaust ducts that connect to exterior wall louvres must be factory-insulated, while both ducts leading to and from exclusively indoor locations should be plain, rigid metal. Typical duct size is 6 inches in diameter for both types. You could try to get away with 5-inch, but this size might not allow sufficient air flow. Why take a chance?
As you’re homing in on a final location, lean more towards shortening the insulated duct, rather than the smooth steel stuff. The rough internal surface of the insulated duct impedes air flow more than smooth duct does, plus the polyethylene outer wrap is fragile. These two reasons are why you want as little insulated duct as possible in your installation.
Connection to some kind of drain is another issue that affects HRV location. The amount of water produced by an HRV is relatively small, so you can connect the drain line to a sump hole in the basement floor, regular plumbing drain, or even a floor drain. You can tap into typical ABS drain pipe by drilling a hole for the flexible vinyl drain line from your unit, then use silicone caulking to secure the line within the pipe.
Think the HRV location issue through and give yourself a day or two to consider several options before choosing a final spot. The least important location feature is access to electricity. Adding a new outlet nearby is better than having long ducts or a long drain line.
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