Journal article
Gas-phase chemical transfer through heat and energy recovery ventilators
Indoor environments, v 3(1), p100160
Mar 2026
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Abstract
Heat and Energy Recovery Ventilators (HRVs and ERVs) improve the energy efficiency of mechanical ventilation, but concerns exist that ERVs may also transfer water-soluble chemical contaminants, impacting indoor air quality. In this study, we tested ventilator units with two different stationary cores; a HRV core, which transfers sensible heat across supply and exhaust air streams, and an ERV core, which transfers both latent and sensible heat. We measured formaldehyde (HCHO) and formic acid (HCOOH) in the supply, return, exhaust, and outside ducts of a residential test facility from December 2024 through April 2025 at various duct flow rates to quantify possible transfer across the stationary cores. Additionally, we measured ammonia (NH3) for several days in December 2024. Our results show that these chemicals do not transfer across the HRV core but may transfer across the ERV core. Moisture and chemical transfer across the ERV core were affected by the climate regime and ventilation air flow rate. The contaminant’s solubility in water (i.e. Henry’s law constant) additionally influenced chemical transfer across the ERV core. Modeling shows that switching from an HRV to an ERV can contribute to a 5.5–15 % and 19–37 % increase in indoor HCHO and HCOOH concentrations, respectively but also contribute to a total yearly, whole house energy savings of 2.0–4.7 % (depending on flow rate).
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•Water soluble gas-phase chemicals may transfer across the ERV core but not the HRV core.•Water-soluble gas-phase chemicals’ ERV transfer efficiency is influenced by flow rate, water solubility, and climate regime.•ERV use may cost less than HRV use, but ERVs will result in higher indoor concentrations of water-soluble chemicals than HRVs.
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Details
- Title
- Gas-phase chemical transfer through heat and energy recovery ventilators
- Creators
- Bryan C. Berman - National Institute of Standards and TechnologyMichael F. Link - National Institute of Standards and TechnologyAndrew M. Shore - National Institute of Standards and TechnologyBenjamin A. Nault - Johns Hopkins UniversityBenjamin S. Werden - Johns Hopkins UniversityBrian P. Dougherty - National Institute of Standards and TechnologyMichael S. Waring - Drexel UniversityPeter F. DeCarlo - Johns Hopkins UniversityDustin G. Poppendieck - National Institute of Standards and Technology
- Publication Details
- Indoor environments, v 3(1), p100160
- Publisher
- Elsevier Inc
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Language
- English
- Academic Unit
- Civil, Architectural, and Environmental Engineering
- Scopus ID
- 2-s2.0-105030983073
- Other Identifier
- 991022164640004721