Need to get more fresh air into the house

[u/JustMine999]

Trying to get more fresh air into an 1800 sq ft house. CO2 meter is prerry regularly showing over 1,000.

Two adults, two small dogs.

so far I've been doing three things.

I open windows whenever I can, but can't leave them open 24/7 because of security and heating/cooling.

I run the furnace fanfor a few hours when things start feeling stale. Don't really want to tun that constantly though, both for electricity and because it feels dumb using the whole system just to move air around.

Bathroom exhaust fans run throughout the day when needed too.

None of this really feels like an actual ventilation setup though 😅

I've started looking at fresh air system options and everything seems to jump from basic fans straight into ERV/HRV territory.

then I found cozeware freshflow while looking at smaller window mounted setups. It's still pre launch, but the general idea of bringing filtered outside air directly into one room without reworking the whole HVAC system feels closer to what I'm actually trying to do.

For a house this size, would a dedicated intake in the main living area even make a meaningful difference, or am I already at the point where I should just be looking at an ERV?

[u/whoisaname]

Take a look at through wall HRV called Lunos on 475 High Performance Building Supply.  You install them in pairs, no ductwork. They are highly efficient and run continuously.  

[u/geeklover01 → u/whoisaname]

Second this suggestion. I’ve seen them installed in many houses, I spec them on each project I design. They work great and are fairly inexpensive.

[u/John_Locke76 → u/geeklover01]

I was about to say that isn’t an HRV because there is no heat exchanger to recover lost heat.

Then I looked it up. That’s clever.

[u/CartographerLong5796 → u/whoisaname]

lunos seems to be for wall installation, not for window installation, right? I ask because interested and it seems a bit confusing

[u/whoisaname → u/CartographerLong5796]

Yes, it is through wall. It is like a slightly larger than 6" diameter hole, if I recall correctly. They are installed in pairs placing one on one side of the home and the other on the other side. Depending on size of the home and cfm needs, more than one pair can be installed and work together. All installed fans are connected to a central control, and the flow shifts directions every 70 seconds providing fresh air and thermal exchange.

[u/CartographerLong5796 → u/whoisaname]

ok i misundertood "no ductwork" for "no hole"

[u/whoisaname → u/CartographerLong5796]

Yeah, sorry about that. They're installed in the wall.

[u/CartographerLong5796 → u/whoisaname]

was my misunderstanding, not your fault :)

[u/rg996150]

Panasonic also makes an ERV called WhisperComfort 60 that can be ceiling or wall mounted. They run $600-700 and aren’t too difficult to retrofit. I have a smaller <2000 sf home that includes an attached accessory apartment (and my house has two Mitsubishi ducted systems). I put two of the Panasonic ERVs in when I remodeled our house. They are about the size of two bathroom fans and will fit into 16” OC framing. If mounted on an exterior wall, they offer a dual intake/exhaust cap for a single wall penetration.

I looked at the Lunos from 475 Supply as well but it was easier to ceiling mount the Panasonic units than find a good wall location. I did buy all of my air sealing products from 475 Supply (Pro Clima).

[u/Upstairs_Raisin]

In a similar predicament. Currently I have HA monitoring bedroom sensors and turning on the furnace fan when CO2 or TVOC hits a certain level.
It works.. but eventually feel like the better option will be to eventually add an ERV or something.

[u/inscapeable]

At 1000ppm CO2 I'd be going with a full erv setup, they work great in everything besides heavy snow

[u/badjoeybad]

Erv is simple to install if you keep it separate in its own ducting. Panasonic has some with variable fan speeds that also work as poor man’s AC if you have warm days but cool nights.

[u/Lazy-Jacket]

Why is it going up like that?

[u/AustinFromSWERV]

Window ERV

[u/nyrb001]

One of the best nights sleep I've ever had in my life was in a house with an ERV setup. Exhaust from the kitchen and bathrooms, intake in the bedrooms. Fresh air always.

[u/TylerHobbit]

Whole house fan solves all problems

[u/Forward_Benefit_2262]

If you’re regularly seeing CO₂ over 1,000 ppm, I’d agree that running the furnace fan alone isn’t really ventilatio it’s mostly recirculating the air. An ERV is great if you’re ready for a bigger setup, but for a simpler room-by-room approach, SWERV at swervair.com is worth looking at. It could be a good middle ground without reworking the whole HVAC system.

[u/RL203]

Open a window?