Airflow reduction during cold weather operation of residential heat recovery ventilators

Conference · Mon Jun 01 00:00:00 EDT 1987 · ASHRAE Trans.; (United States)

OSTI ID:6234564

McGugan, C A; Edwards, P F; Riley, M A

Laboratory measurements of the performance of residential heat recovery ventilators have been carried out for the R-2000 Energy Efficient Home Program. This work was based on a preliminary test procedure developed by the Canadian Standards Association, part of which calls for testing the HRV under cold weather conditions. An environmental chamber was used to simulate outdoor conditions. Initial tests were carried out with an outdoor temperature of -20/sup 0/C; subsequent tests were carried out at a temperature of -25/sup 0/C. During the tests, airflows, temperatures, and relative humidities of airstreams entering and leaving the HRV, along with electric power inputs, were monitored. Frost buildup in the heat exchangers and defrost mechanisms, such as fan shutoff or recirculation, led to reductions in airflows. The magnitude of the reductions is dependent on the design of the heat exchanger and the defrost mechanism used. This paper presents the results of tests performed on a number of HRVs commercially available in Canada at the time of the testing. The flow reductions for the various defrost mechanisms are discussed.

• Research Organization: HRV Lab., Ontario Research Foundation (CA); Energy Systems, Ontario Research Foundation (CA); Residential Technology and Industry Development, R-2000 Home Program, New Housing Div., Energy, Mines and Resources Canada (CA)
• OSTI ID: 6234564
• Report Number(s): CONF-870620-
• Journal Information: ASHRAE Trans.; (United States), Vol. 93:2; Conference: Annual meeting of the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers, Nashville, TN, USA, 28 Jun 1987; Other Information: Technical Paper NT-87-07-3
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATION
VENTILATION SYSTEMS
HEAT RECOVERY
AIR FLOW
AMBIENT TEMPERATURE
BENCH-SCALE EXPERIMENTS
CANADA
CLIMATES
DATA ANALYSIS
FLOW RATE
HEAT EXCHANGERS
HEAT RECOVERY EQUIPMENT
LOW TEMPERATURE
PERFORMANCE TESTING
SAFETY STANDARDS
THERMAL COMFORT
THERMAL EFFICIENCY
EFFICIENCY
ENERGY RECOVERY
EQUIPMENT
FLUID FLOW
GAS FLOW
NORTH AMERICA
RECOVERY
STANDARDS
TESTING
320106* - Energy Conservation
Consumption
& Utilization- Building Equipment- (1987-)
320107 - Energy Conservation
Consumption
& Utilization- Building Systems- (1987-)