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Frequently
Asked Questions
Review our FAQ. If you don’t find what
you’re looking for, send your question to us.
•
Why are more
people buying home air cleaners?
•
What benefits do RecoupAerators
offer?
•
Is the RecoupAerator a Heat
Recovery Ventilator or an Energy Recovery Ventilator?
•
How can I compare different
air cleaners to determine which is right for my home?
•
Do I need to “balance”
the RecoupAerator after it is installed?
•
Why can't I just open a window
to ventilate my home?
•
How good is the RecoupAerator’s
filtration?
•
How often do the filters
require cleaning?
•
How much other maintenance
is required?
•
Can I install my RecoupAerator
in an attic or crawlspace?
•
Will particles
like mold cause a problem in my RecoupAerator once it’s
trapped by the filters?
•
Can a high-capacity
HEPA filter be linked to the RecoupAerator? Would supplemental
air pressure be needed?
Why are more people buying
home air cleaners?
People who buy air cleaners and home ventilation systems are
concerned about the health, safety, and well being of themselves
and their families. And they have increasing reason to be
concerned about indoor air quality.
After the energy crisis of the 1970s, the
housing industry began building energy-efficient homes. Today,
homes are tighter, better insulated, and have much less uncontrolled
leakage of air through floors, walls, and ceilings. But tighter
houses mean less natural air exchange. So pollutants and moisture
are trapped once they enter, unless homes are well ventilated.
This doesn’t mean that an older home can't benefit from
a home air cleaner. Even though an older home may provide
more natural
air exchange, that exchange may be spotty. In addition, older
homes have a number of potential pollutants — lead dust,
asbestos, and chemical residues to name a few — that
newer homes may not have.
In addition, any home — old or new — can have pollution
that requires full ventilation. Any home with computers,
consumer
electronics, gas appliances, woodstoves, and fireplaces will
benefit from properly ducted fresh air ventilation. And
people with respiratory problems — no matter how old
their homes are — will benefit from air cleaners that
introduce fresh air as well as filter particulates out of
the environment.
Remember — all air cleaners are not alike. For the best
air cleaning and filtration, buy an air exchanger that also
offers filtration. Stirling Technology’s top-rated RecoupAerator®
series features the best energy recovery ventilators (ERVs)
and heat recovery ventilators (HRVs) on the market.
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What benefits do RecoupAerators
offer?
• An energy-efficient reduction of acute indoor air pollutant
problems like radon, household chemicals, excess moisture,
and odors
• A continuous supply of fresh, filtered outdoor
air in your home
• A comfortable supply of fresh air using recovered heat
from exhaust air in winter
• Control of excess humidity
• Rejected heat and moisture from incoming air in summer
• A safe and healthy indoor air quality
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Is the RecoupAerator a Heat Recovery Ventilator
or an Energy Recovery Ventilator?
Both.
A heat recovery ventilator (HRV) exhausts
stale air, brings in fresh air, and transfers heat energy
from one air stream to the other to keep indoor air temperature
stable. HRVs assure a continuous supply of fresh air to your
home, while recovering energy normally lost through natural
ventilation.
An energy recovery ventilator (ERV) is an even more efficient
kind of HRV. In addition to managing temperature efficiently,
ERVs manage indoor humidity — less in summer, more
in winter.
Heat Recovery Ventilators are available as central units for
connection to ductwork and suitable for whole house ventilation
(RecoupAerator® Whole House Unit SD–95+), or as window
or wall inserts suitable for small homes, apartments, and
individual rooms (RecoupAerator® Window Unit SW–120).
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How
can I compare different air cleaners to determine which is
right for my home?
First, we can’t stress enough the importance of bringing
in fresh air. Many so-called air cleaners do not bring in
fresh air, they merely filter what’s there — and
often introduce new contaminants in the process.
With the growing concern about indoor air pollution, many
families are looking for a quick fix to indoor air quality
problems. The marketplace has responded with a barrage of
appliances promising to purify household air. But very few
bring in fresh air.
Home air cleaners generally fall into four categories:
• Ozone
generators
• Ionizers
• Filtration devices
• Air exchangers with filtration
devices
Ozone generators
claim to kill undesirable organisms and cleanse particulates
from the air. This tabletop appliance draws household air
over a high-voltage plate. When oxygen molecules pass through
the electric discharge, some are ionized. The ions combine
with oxygen to form ozone, which theoretically kills contaminating
organisms. However, ozone itself can produce toxic levels
of chemicals known to cause irritation to lung tissue and
has been proven minimally effective at removing many household
pollutants such as nicotine and nitrogen dioxide.
Ionizers
send out radio waves that electrically charge airborne particles
within a prescribed radius (typically 60 feet). These negatively
charged particles attach themselves to surfaces such as draperies,
walls, and tabletops, which must be cleaned frequently or
else the particles will become resuspended in the air.
Filtration
devices rely on filters to
trap airborne particulates, ranging in efficiency from about
20% to 99%. Filtration devices do not introduce fresh air
into stale environments.
Air
exchangers with filtration devices
(like the RecoupAerator® series) exchange indoor air every
several hours, filtering the air as it circulates. Air exchangers
paired with filtration are the best filtration devices on
the market today. The RecoupAerator® is the only air exchanger
designed to maintain your home’s air temperature and
humidity while refreshing indoor air. Compare the RecoupAerator®
with the competition. The RecoupAerator® is an Energy
Recovery Ventilator (ERV), which falls into the larger category
of Heat Recovery Ventilators (HRVs).
Review
a comparison of popular air exchangers performed
by an independent evaluator.
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Do I need to ‘balance’ the RecoupAerator
after it is installed?
Yes. Balancing is important because when a RecoupAerator®
Whole House Unit is installed, depressurization can occur
if intake and exhaust duct work differs in physical length.
Using a manometer, an installer can check ports and dampers
to ensure that the same amount of air is being brought into
the house as is being exhausted. Ask your installer to balance
your RecoupAerator® after installation.
TOP
Why can’t I just open a window to ventilate
my home?
You can. But would you? If you were to open your windows
and use a powerful ventilating fan, you’d remove all
the air from your house in under an hour. And all of the
warmth
or coolness. Plus, the fresh air you would bring into your
home through open windows would not be filtered, so it would
introduce contaminants such as dust, pollen, soot, and mold.
Once contaminants
enter
your home, it can take a long time to eliminate them.
With an energy recovery ventilator (ERV) such as the RecoupAerator®,
you’ll keep the air temperature in your home stable –
and still reap the benefits of clean, fresh, filtered air.
The RecoupAerator® is the most efficient energy recovery
ventilator on the market.
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How good is the RecoupAerator’s
filtration?
The RecoupAerator® is unique among heat recovery ventilators
(HRVs) and energy recovery ventilators (ERVs) in its extraordinary
ability to filter pollens from incoming air. It traps 95%
of particles 5 microns and larger, which includes most pollens,
and 72% of particles .22 to .3 microns! The heat exchange
media, which also delivers this high-efficiency filtration,
is easily removable for washing. Replacement material is very
reasonably priced (see our online store prices). Larger particles
are trapped in washable aluminum pre-filters, which are also
easy to remove for cleaning.
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How often do the filters require cleaning?
The frequency of cleaning or replacement depends on the indoor
and outdoor air conditions. A rule of thumb is to check your
filters every six months, but in a unit installed in new construction
it is a good idea to check the filters at a three-month interval
initially.
The rotary core filters include six pie-shaped
segments that you can easily reach through an access door
(fastened with one thumb screw). These segments are hand or
machine washable (hot water, gentle cycle, mild detergent,
drip dry). Our experience shows that you can wash these segments
six or seven times (three years under normal use) without
performance degradation. Please visit our online store for
prices.
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How much other maintenance is required?
Beside the filters, there are no other user-serviceable parts
in our units. The motors are permanently lubricated and all
the bearings are sealed. If possible, clean the inside of
your RecoupAerator® once a year with a vacuum cleaner
and brush attachment to remove dust and insects that may be
trapped in the unit housing.
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Can I install the RecoupAerator in an attic
or crawlspace?
All RecoupAerator® models are fully insulated and may
be installed in uninsulated spaces. It is advisable, however,
to install the unit in a space that makes it convenient to
clean and periodically maintain the unit.
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Will particles like
mold cause a problem in the RecoupAerator once it’s trapped
by the filters?
We have never experienced (or heard of) mold growing in our
unit or on the heat exchange material. Should this become
a problem, adding Chlorine to the solution in which the heat
exchange material is washed would both kill and prevent spore
growth. Also, there is continuous air movement within the
cabinet preventing moisture from accumulating. Air circulation
creates an inhospitable environment for mold growth.
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Can a high-capacity
HEPA filter be linked to the RecoupAerator? Would supplemental
air pressure be needed?
Yes, you can attach a HEPA filter to the RecoupAerator®,
but you may need additional blowers. The fan curves on our
units can support an additional .2 to .3 inches of water.
Pressure drops greater than this require additional
blowers.
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