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Med City Builders Blog

Air to Air Exchanger

  • By Jenni Jordan
  • •
  • 07 Jan, 2016
Today I’m going to run down my typical walk through discussion with my customers regarding their air to air exchangers. I normally start off by making sure people don’t overthink what the system is designed to do. Anyone who has stepped foot through a doorway or opened a window in a home has essentially used an air exchanger. The concept is simple at that point. You open a door and exchange outside air for inside air. This being the case, we do the exact same thing with an actual air exchanger, but we end up exchanging the outside air for inside air with something mechanical vs just a passive source like a door or window.
In new homes today, we are offered basically two forms of air removal/intake systems. Both systems are ways for us to remove moisture primarily from our bathroom sources as well as bringing fresh air in when the system is on. The first is a “balanced system” which is what an air exchanger creates and what I will explain more below. The other is a “force air system” which relies on bath fans to remove inside dirty/moist air. The forced air system also relies solely on a large intake pipe in the basement to replace the air that is being removed by the bath fans. It is normally a 6 inch or larger pipe that is a direct inlet of bitter cold air. Most homes today are built with a forced air system. They don’t do a good job of removing/replacing air due to the design. Also, most builders installing this system don’t do a good job of explaining ways they could make them work better. I install air to air exchangers on almost every home I build today. I also take time at our pre walk through, final walk through, 30 day after closing walk through, as well as the one year from closing walk through explaining the system because I truly do want my customers to understand the system properly.        
Why do we get sick more often in the winter months? Is it because it is cold outside or is it because since it is cold we spend more time in confined spaces with other people who are sick? I tend to believe the later. If we get home from work or school in the spring, summer, and fall we often spend more time outside. We also spend it with doors and windows being open. Like I stated above, this takes the form of a passive air exchanger. We spend the majority of the time in these seasons with fresh air at our disposal. Then we shift to winter and we come home from work or school and shut the door for the night.   Anyone who was sick in the home is now more likely exposing the people around him or her to what is ailing them.   This is a major reason for the use of an air exchanger and why a forced air system doesn’t cut it. We will get sick less often if we can create a spring, summer, fall environment vs a winter one.    
Winter time, turn it on! For the type of systems I install in new homes, I have my customers turn on their air exchanger to the low setting from October 1 – May 1. Basically it is on during the time of the year we don’t or can’t have a window/door open. I often say we turn it on when the furnace starts kicking out heat for the winter, but it is the same logic. We NEED to exchange air when our windows and doors open less. While the system runs in the winter, it is basically allowing us to keep a window open to the outside all winter long, but much more efficiently. The warm moist air that is being pulled out of the house by the air exchanger is being mixed with the cold fresh air right inside the air exchange unit normally located in the utility room of a basement. This too is what makes it more economical over the standard bath fan system in a home. It is also the reason you might have heard the term heat exchanger for the same type of system. When we mix the air paths inside the air exchanger we are grabbing the heat from the air leaving and warming up the cold air coming in.      
Summer time, turn it off! In my new homes, I highly recommend clients to turn their systems off in the spring, summer, and fall months. More importantly in the summer, because of how the system is designed to work. When we run the system in the winter, we do so because we don’t spend much time opening and closing doors and windows. We do go outside plenty in the summer, and even though the air is on and we have the windows closed, we go in and out much more frequently. I often tell my clients that we don’t want to have the air exchanger on(which is the same as leaving a window open) and have the air conditioner running. By doing so we are removing inside, cool, dehumidified air for extremely humid air for the outside. It will make your air conditioner run more period!
Lets recap. Run your air to air exchanger in the winter months and turn it to standby in the spring, summer, and fall. You should still press your fan button control in all times of the year to remove that surge of moisture when we bath or shower, but the air exchanger itself will be fairly dormant during the summer months.  

Let's Wait Until Next Year...

By Jenni Jordan • 09 Sep, 2020
This seems like a common thing to say with the current state of the world and this COVID pandemic, but many don’t take the time to figure out why this might be the wrong thing to say.  For many of us, our home has been and always will be our single best investment.  The key to any good investment is time and many who see the wild swings in the stock market soon forget.  I often have clients ask me when the right time to buy or build a new home and I have kept my answer the same for the past 20 years.  It is “Yesterday" but you can’t go back in time obviously.  Each year we begin with price increases in labor, materials, and typically land.  We often think that this seems too high for our customers but by the following season our customers call and say how thankful they are that they built when they did.  This year will be no different for anyone who took that leap of faith and next year will be the same.  Our home has been the only place we are able to take our masks off, the only place many of us have been able to work, and the only place our kids have been able to learn over the past year.  That being said, we should look at our home as the place we should invest the most in and if and when the time is right for our family we should make the move to do what is right at the time.  Recently we have seen an uptick on the lumber costs across the nation and that has caused many to hit the pause button and think that if we wait until next year we might be better off.  Historically we have seen an average of 2-3% in new home increases from fall to the next spring and this is the overall effect that we are seeing with the higher costs in the materials today.  If the lumber prices go back down next year, you are only going to be paying the same amount for your new home and likely more with the normal set of increases we see yearly.  Interest rates are another factor.  We currently have historically low rates and next spring that home you can build now will be unattainable with a small shift in that rate.  The bottom line is this.  Never be afraid of taking the leap if your time is right.  Your home has been and always will be one of your best investments you can make for yourself and your family.  Yesterday is almost here so now is the time to get moving!

Ventilation System for Winter

By Jenni Jordan • 24 Oct, 2017
Winter is almost here and there is no better time to talk about our homes ventilation systems. The cold is fast approaching and I thought I’d touch on two vital air movement systems in our homes to prepare for it. … Continued

Seasonal Home Maintenance

By Jenni Jordan • 03 Feb, 2016
Spring Outdoor Tasks: Clean gutters & downspouts Inspect roof/chimney for cracks and damage Touch up peeling or damaged paint Wash all windows, inside & out Service your lawn mower Fertilize your lawn Install downspout extentions   Indoor Tasks: Test smoke … Continued

Your Furnace in Cold Weather

By Jenni Jordan • 18 Jan, 2016
When I meet with my customers on the final walk through, I spend time discussing the major mechanical systems in the home. The last topic was on the Air to Air Exchanger and today I will focus on the homes … Continued

Understanding duct sealing in a new home…

By Jenni Jordan • 03 Apr, 2015
Sounds pretty mundane, but in the MN building industry it is a pretty hot topic. As code continues to be understood by us all, the best and most cost effective ways to build a home always seems to filter to … Continued

New Construction vs New Construction??

By Jenni Jordan • 12 Mar, 2015
Might seem like a strange title, but this is a reality for the next few months in our market. Many of you are aware that we saw a major influx of building permits pulled trying to beat the new building … Continued

Where do we start?!

By Jenni Jordan • 27 Oct, 2014
Have you ever considered building?  If so, you probably have wondered where to start.  We have clients come to us at all different stages…some know exactly what plan they want and the flooring they want in it, and some don’t … Continued

Recent Testimonial

By Jenni Jordan • 18 Jul, 2013
You are selecting a quality builder with Med City Builders.    Andy is great from the first detail down to the follow up after the build. He explains everything thoroughly and does not cut corners in the build.    His … Continued

Lot Shortage!!

By Jenni Jordan • 13 Jun, 2013
I just had a moment to catch up from the wild spring and start to the summer and was thinking about the new issues we are up against as builders and building customers.  The lots in Rochester are becoming very … Continued

Can removing screens make a difference on my heating /cooling costs?

By Jenni Jordan • 16 Apr, 2013
The simple answer to this question is absolutely yes.  It would seem odd to think that doing something this simple can make a difference, but it really can.    As I have discussed in earlier blog topics, the heat in … Continued
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