MVHR, or Mechanical Ventilation with Heat Recovery is a method to ventilate a property with better energy efficiency and less heat loss, compared with a conventional non-MVHR home ventilation system. A Mechanical Ventilation Heat Recovery ventilation system is compact and can be retrofitted into conventional masonry - even in relatively old buildings - or built into the masonry of new-build properties.
Including an MVHR unit in new-builds helps to ensure better circulation of air inside the property, which not only improves indoor air quality, but can also reduce the risk of condensation damp forming in parts of the property with poor circulation. With the importance of ventilation also a concern during the post-pandemic period, the cross-ventilation capabilities of an MVHR system can also help to make new-build properties appeal to would-be buyers.
The heat recovery system extracts thermal energy from the air as it leaves the property, returning it to the room to keep heating bills down and improve occupant comfort when the vents are in operation. Each MVHR unit can be controlled by a rail-mounted or flush-mounted controller, to switch between air supply only, cross-ventilation and heat recovery, and to adjust the speed to suit occupied and unoccupied properties, or to activate a higher 'boost' mode.
These sophisticated yet simple-to-operate MVHR systems can be incorporated into all kinds of refurbishments from remedying damp problems, to plumbing work that requires its own ventilation to be added to the property.