HRV risk of overheating causing fire

March 25, 2008 · Filed Under Home Maintenance, New Home Construction and Real Estate Articles · Comment 

Venmar Ventilation has received several reports of major home fires where the suspected cause is a heat recovery system. Therefore, Venmar Ventilation released this press release which affects heat recovery systems as these systems can fail and pose a potential fire hazard to homeowners.

I looked into mine and it was determined that I had one of the HRV’s in question. (Model: 43720) You can fill out the Request Form Product Recall - Safety Upgrade Program and find out if your model is listed as well.

The recall is for models manufactured between 1991 and 2001 as well as between October 2006 and August 2007.
Owners of air exchange systems that are covered by this Safety Upgrade Program must immediately turn their unit off and unplug it, and contact Venmar as soon as possible. (1 866-441-4645) or by visiting their website at www.venmar.ca

It has come to Venmar’s attention that an unlikely series of circumstances could lead to a motor overheating in certain models of air exchangers that may result in a potential fire hazard. For models manufactured between 1991 and 2001 Venmar will provide a safety upgrade device, called Power Plug Adaptor free of charge. For models manufactured between October 2006 and August 2007 Venmar will send a field technician who will inspect and fix the affected units, free of charge.
The Safety Upgrade Program affects certain units distributed under the names: Venmar, Venmar AVS,Flair, vänEE, Sears, Guardian by Broan, NuTone, Conformax, Payne, Day & Night, Carrier, Bryant, Heil, York, Rheem, Ruud, Protech and Weatherking Heat Recovery Ventilators sold in North-America. This program covers units with the following model numbers only. This model number is located on a silver or a black label positioned on the outside panel of the unit.

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Humidity in Your Home

December 18, 2007 · Filed Under Home Maintenance · Comment 

Humidity is the amount of moisture or water vapor in the air. You, your family, and your pets produce moisture when you breathe or perspire, when you are cooking, showering, bathing, doing laundry, and dish washing. We need humidity for our comfort and health. But too much or too little humidity can produce a host of difficulties for householders.

In our Newfoundland climate we are usually on the “too much humidity” side of the equation. Fortunately it can be controlled. I have been in my home for 4 years and each time I added more insulation, a new window, caulked and sealed around the outside of my house I noticed more condensation on my windows, a higher heat bill…opposite to what I expected. The problem was I was trapping in moist air.

Two months ago I installed an HRV (Heat Recovery Ventilator) and noticed remarkable changes. All new homes come equipped with an HRV but for those with older pre-existing homes I highly recommend having an HRV installed. You can also make simple changes in your family’s habits, such as remembering to open or close doors or windows, turning on exhaust fans in bathrooms or kitchens, to remove excess humidity.

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