Any advice on heat recovery fans from Vent Axia and how good thier "h" humidity function works?

[diy_massacre]

Hi

I have an old house which has had double glazing fitted to the rear of the property, in the kitchen, good for heat retention but not for damp. I was expecting to buy a Vent axia in-room MHVR fan to help with drying out the room and maintaining its temperature.

The model which I think continuously runs 24/7 but can also detect higher humidity so when there is alot of cooking/boiling and humidity rises it ramps up its output. Has anybody had any experience if these work well or not?

Thanks

diy_m

 

[Murdoch]

Do you have an extractor fan and if so does it extract outside?

 

[diy_massacre]

Hi

Yes, it is but it will be from internal to external yes.

 

[Murdoch]

Hi

Yes, it is but it will be from internal to external yes.

Not sure I. Understand you

 

[diy_massacre]

Not sure I. Understand you

Hi

Sorry should have been clearer, I am expecting to use the device to vent air from the kitchen through a 100mm hole to the outside.

 

[Murdoch]

Hi

Sorry should have been clearer, I am expecting to use the device to vent air from the kitchen through a 100mm hole to the outside.

So the answer is no you don't have an existing extractor fan

You need a standard cooker hood that extracts to the out side

 

[Ric2013]

I have fitted a Vent-Axia humidistat fan to a bathroom, though without heat recovery. From the feedback the landlady has had from the tenants, I would comment:

The fact that it monitors RH and kicks in when it detects a quick rise in RH (even if the RH is below the setpoint) is useful. Someone starts the shower and the fan kicks in within seconds.

The constant monitoring of RH is possibly less useful as the fan struggles to know when it can switch off. Issues can arise as RH is not a terribly useful thing to measure in the British climate. If the incoming air is from outside, the RH of external air coming in can sometimes be high even if the absolute humidity of that air is low. The sensor simply cannot distinguish between comparatively dry cold air at a high RH and comparatively damp warm air at the same RH.

 

[Dannyk]

When I moved into my house we had mould behind furniture upstairs so I bought a dehumidifier which did the trick.
I found the cooker hood was on recirculate. I then ducted it to outside and the dehumidifier is now redundant.
Don't forget that for an extractor to work you need air to come in! I've worked in numerous buildings where fans were in sealed rooms. One had a 9" Ventaxia which you could hear speed up whenever the door was opened!

 

[Ric2013]

Don't forget that for an extractor to work you need air to come in! I've worked in numerous buildings where fans were in sealed rooms.

MHVR = Mechanical Ventilation with Heat Recovery.

The OP is considering an extractor which also introduces fresh air.

 

[diy_massacre]

I have fitted a Vent-Axia humidistat fan to a bathroom, though without heat recovery. From the feedback the landlady has had from the tenants, I would comment:

The fact that it monitors RH and kicks in when it detects a quick rise in RH (even if the RH is below the setpoint) is useful. Someone starts the shower and the fan kicks in within seconds.

The constant monitoring of RH is possibly less useful as the fan struggles to know when it can switch off. Issues can arise as RH is not a terribly useful thing to measure in the British climate. If the incoming air is from outside, the RH of external air coming in can sometimes be high even if the absolute humidity of that air is low. The sensor simply cannot distinguish between comparatively dry cold air at a high RH and comparatively damp warm air at the same RH.

Thanks Ric2013

I like your response, thats a good datapoint!

I always assumed the humidity detector would be on the internal inflow to the unit inside rather than the incoming air. But interesting so hear about the sensor not being able to distinguish.

Thanks

diy_m