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ERV & HRV Installation in Bloomfield, New Jersey
A house that's sealed tight holds its heat, and it also holds its stale air. An ERV (energy recovery ventilator) solves both sides of that problem: it brings fresh outdoor air in and pushes stale indoor air out, while recovering the energy from the air it exhausts. Its close cousin, the HRV (heat recovery ventilator), does the same job but recovers heat only. Basic Refrigeration Heating & AC has been installing ventilation systems for North Jersey homes since 1997, and ERV and HRV installation is where tight construction and healthy air stop being a trade-off. Our Master HVACR-licensed technicians size the unit to the house, tie it into the ductwork correctly, and balance the airflow so the system actually exchanges air instead of just running a fan.
Kitchen Exhaust Fan Installation Done Right
A kitchen exhaust fan is only doing its job if it discharges outdoors. Code requires range hoods to vent outside through smooth, rigid metal duct, with a backdraft damper, and never terminate in an attic or crawl space, where exhausted grease and moisture would just accumulate inside the structure. Recirculating hoods filter some grease and return the air to the kitchen; they remove no moisture and no combustion byproducts. Proper kitchen exhaust fan installation means sizing the duct to the fan, keeping the run short and smooth, and terminating it correctly at the exterior. A powerful hood strangled by an undersized or corrugated duct performs like a weak one.
What an ERV System Actually Does
Every cubic foot of air the hood pushes out of the house has to be replaced by a cubic foot coming in. In a leaky old house, that replacement air seeped in through the envelope. In a tight house, the hood has to fight for it, and the house goes under negative pressure. A makeup air system is the deliberate answer: a dedicated outdoor air duct with a damper that opens when the hood runs, supplying replacement air at roughly the rate the hood exhausts it. A makeup air unit can also filter and temper the incoming air so the kitchen doesn't get a blast of January with every use of the hood. The result is a hood that performs at its rated power without depressurizing the rest of the house.
ERV vs HRV: Which One Fits This Climate
A heat recovery ventilator transfers heat only. An energy recovery ventilator transfers heat and moisture. That single difference decides which unit belongs in which house. In North Jersey, where summers run humid, an ERV is usually the better fit because it keeps a portion of the outdoor humidity from riding in on the fresh air, which takes load off your AC and helps hold indoor humidity in a healthy range. An HRV can still be the right call in specific situations, such as a house with a persistent indoor moisture source where you want the ventilation to actively dry the air in winter. The honest answer to erv vs hrv is that it depends on the house, and the first step is looking at how the home actually behaves through both seasons.
Why Tightly Sealed Homes Need Mechanical Ventilation
Older leaky houses ventilated themselves by accident, through every gap in the envelope. Modern construction and weatherized older homes don't. New windows, air sealing, and added insulation are good for your energy bill and hard on your air quality, because the pollutants, moisture, and odors that used to leak out now stay in. That's why ASHRAE 62.2, the national residential ventilation standard, requires whole-house mechanical ventilation in tight homes. The building science mantra is build tight, ventilate right. If your home has been weatherized and now feels stuffy, holds cooking smells overnight, or fogs its windows every winter morning, the envelope did its job and the ventilation hasn't caught up yet.
What ERV and HRV Installation Involves
There are two ways to duct these units. A fully ducted installation gives the ERV its own dedicated supply and exhaust runs, typically pulling stale air from bathrooms and delivering fresh air to bedrooms and living spaces. A simplified installation ties the unit into the existing HVAC ductwork and uses the air handler to distribute the fresh air. Which one fits depends on the house, the ductwork you already have, and how the rooms are used. Either way, the installation isn't finished until the airflows are balanced, meaning the amount of air coming in matches the amount going out. An unbalanced unit pressurizes or depressurizes the house, and both of those create problems the ventilator was supposed to solve. We handle the sizing, the duct connections, the condensate drain, and the balancing as one job. And when the house needs more than fresh air exchange alone, the ERV often becomes the engine of a broader basement and whole-home ventilation design.
Signs Your Home Isn't Exchanging Air
Condensation on the windows every winter morning. A stuffy feeling that doesn't clear even with the HVAC running. Cooking odors that outlast the meal by a day (and if the range hood itself is the weak point, that's a kitchen exhaust and makeup air problem). Musty smells in rooms that stay closed. These are all symptoms of the same condition: the air in the house isn't being replaced. A portable air purifier filters the air that's already there, but it can't bring in oxygen-rich fresh air or carry out the moisture and carbon dioxide the household generates every day. HRV installation or ERV installation is the fix that addresses the exchange itself, not just the symptoms floating in it.
Both exchange stale indoor air for fresh outdoor air while recovering energy from the outgoing stream. An HRV transfers heat only. An ERV transfers both heat and moisture, which keeps humid summer air from riding in with the fresh air. In a climate with muggy summers like ours, an ERV is usually the better choice, but the right answer depends on how your specific house handles moisture.
Related Custom Ductwork Services
Basement & Whole-Home Ventilation
Fixing musty basements and stale houses at the root cause with air that actually circulates. Learn more about basement and whole-home ventilation.
Kitchen Exhaust & Makeup Air
Code-compliant range hood venting with makeup air systems that keep powerful hoods from backdrafting your gas appliances. Learn more about kitchen exhaust and makeup air.
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