Hybrid Ventilation with Innovative Heat Recovery—A System Analysis

One of the most important factors when low energy houses are built is to have good heat recovery on the ventilation system. However, standard ventilation units use a considerable amount of electricity. This article discusses the consequences on a system level of using hybrid ventilation with heat recovery. The simulation program TRNSYS was used in order to investigate a ventilation system with heat recovery. The system also includes a ground source storage and waste water heat recovery system. The result of the analysis shows that the annual energy gain from ground source storage is limited. However, this is partly a consequence of the fact that the well functioning hybrid ventilation system leaves little room for improvements. The analysis shows that the hybrid ventilation system has potential to be an attractive solution for low energy buildings with a very low need for electrical energy.