ResourcesGlossary: fixing
Heat recovery ventilator
Short answer
A heat recovery ventilator, or HRV, also called an air-to-air heat exchanger, increases ventilation by bringing in outdoor air while using the heated or cooled air being exhausted to warm or cool the incoming air. More ventilation helps reduce the radon level in a home.
What heat recovery ventilator means
EPA lists heat recovery ventilation among the techniques that can be used in any type of home, with sealing, house or room pressurization and natural ventilation. It rates the HRV as of limited use: its effect is limited by the radon concentration and by the amount of ventilation air available for dilution.
It has running costs. EPA says there could be a significant increase in heating and cooling costs with an HRV, though not as great as ventilation without heat recovery.
What the filters cost
EPA says the filter in an HRV should be changed twice a year and prices replacement filters between $10 and $25. Each row multiplies those two figures out.
| Period | Filters | At $10 each | At $25 each |
|---|---|---|---|
| One year | 2 | $20 | $50 |
| 5 years | 10 | $100 | $250 |
| 10 years | 20 | $200 | $500 |
What it means for your home
An HRV is not the usual first choice. EPA generally recommends methods that prevent the entry of radon, and soil suction does that where ventilation only dilutes what has come in.
If one is used for radon, it cannot be run now and then. EPA says HRVs used for radon control should run all the time.
Where to go next
- Radon mitigation cost estimator. Price the soil suction system EPA generally recommends first.
- How to reduce radon. The methods that work, in the order EPA favors them.