Air Quality

[mcalearm]

Hi there,
I'm looking for some advice please. At quarter to six this morning I woke up gaging because my whole house smelled of tar, as my builder decided to fix part of the road it destroyed last week.

I have a HRV that pulls in fresh air all the time and I have come to realize that if there is anything that really smells outside, then my whole house instantly smells. Considering I've got a really sensitive nose for smells, this isn't really a good thing.

I also found out my HRV intake was positioned right beside my neighbors outtake (as I live in an end unit of a townhouse). The other day they decided to varnish the hardwood floors and my whole house smelled of so strong of varnish that we had to clear the house.

Anyone have any solutions to how I can get my intake and outtake of my HRV switched? As the outtake is on the side of the house versus the back? OR any other suggestions as to what to do? As if I get a neighbor that loves to cook spicy foods or Indian food, I'm a dead man.

Thanks,
Mark

[mart242]

Just swap the intake / outake yourself. Look at the HRV and swap the flex ducts. Buy some more if you need and just attach them together with tuck tape (the red one).

I'd also take a look at the user manual / installation manual to see what they say about the air intake proximity to other sources of pollutants. It will definitely mention something about not putting the intake within <x feet> from the exhaust (6' I think)...

[Mark & Lynda]

The intake has to be 6 feet away from any exhaust source. Also if you switch the intake for the outtake on the HRV the system will have to rebalanced by a professional. Hopefully they balanced it when they installed in in the first place.

Some other things you can try is put the HRV on low speed instead of Hi-speed or put it on intermittent. Mine has a setting 20min on/40min off.

Are you also running the furnace fan continuous?

[Joseph]

Mark,

Could it be the builder actually made a mistake when connecting your HRV (swamping the intake with the exhaust and vice versa?)

Maybe call your builder to come check this out.

[mcalearm]

Originally Posted by Mark & Lynda

The intake has to be 6 feet away from any exhaust source. Also if you switch the intake for the outtake on the HRV the system will have to rebalanced by a professional. Hopefully they balanced it when they installed in in the first place.

Some other things you can try is put the HRV on low speed instead of Hi-speed or put it on intermittent. Mine has a setting 20min on/40min off.

Are you also running the furnace fan continuous?

Very handy to know this - as it's no where near 6 feet away from my neighbour exhaust. I called my builder up and they said that the'll "look into it".

I wish my HRV had a timer but and my furnace fan is continously on. Should it not be?

Thanks everyone for the help. It's appreciated. Not sure what I would do without this forum.
Mark

[mart242]

Run your HRV on low all the time (except winter I think). 20/40 is for when you're away and it's only available on "fancier" controls.