Over the last few years I have come across many poorly installed or laid out PIV units in damp mouldy properties. So I tend not to recommend them. Not because the theory doesn’t have merit, just the installation and maintenance.
Pros
If you live in a polluted zone, or suffer from hay fever, then you should consider the merits of filtered air.
If you have a heavily occupied or polluted space, such as an office or factory, then the push – pull ventilation of PIV working together with continuous flow is essential.
Cons
Many consider PIV to be:
- Expensive compared to their sister product, the continuous flow fan (which is effectively a “negative output”, with no filtration),
- Cause heat loss in the centre of a property,
- Unattractive, at least in the case of horizontal units, typically installed in flats.
- Hard to install or for an owner to use to provide balanced ventilation across a property,
- Hard, if not impossible for occupiers to control, there will be times when there is greater need against less need, when thermal loss could be saved.
Tips
- There is relatively little thermal gain from PIV units in a flat, a sun heated loft may have thermal gain, I am checking the claimed 3°C thermal gain.
- Have the following as a minimum:
- A good extractor fan in any internal wet room, that is bathroom, kitchen, toilet, possibly utility room for drying clothes,
- Trickle vents is all rooms, evenly distributed, always open,
- Similarly even gap under the door.
- Check inflow and outflow air speeds, about 5 l/s per person and are identical (or make sure installer does, under your supervision),
- Check temperature or incoming air is similar to outside air temperature (using a laser thermometer, check annually in winter), if not then it suggests leakage,
- Use a vacuum cleaner to clear dust/pollutants from filter at least once a year.
- Monitor internal surface relative humidity with a datalogger, see https://surveyor.tips/datalogger
This post is to be continued.