As an Ottawa-based HVAC company, we walk into homes every winter that face the same two-sided problem: the windows are dripping with condensation, but the air in the room is so dry that skin is cracking and wood floors are shrinking.
How can your home be too humid and too dry at the same time?
It’s simple. When we seal our homes tight to survive the frigid winter, our furnaces provide heat, but we trap all the moisture from breathing, cooking, and showering inside. This stale, humid air fogs up our windows. At the same time, the act of heating that air plummets the relative humidity, making the living space feel dry and uncomfortable.
A furnace alone can’t solve this. You need a complete system for total home comfort. That system starts with proper ventilation, which means a Heat Recovery Ventilator (HRV) or Energy Recovery Ventilator (ERV).
What Are HRVs and ERVs? (And What’s the Difference?)
Think of an HRV or ERV as the “lungs” of your home. They are both designed to do one critical job: exhaust stale, polluted indoor air and replace it with fresh, filtered outdoor air.
Their magic is in the “recovery” core. As they exhaust the warm, stale air, they pass it through a heat exchanger that captures the heat (50-70% of it!) and transfers it to the fresh, cold air being brought in.
You get fresh air without forcing your furnace to work overtime.
- HRV (Heat Recovery Ventilator): This has been the standard in Ottawa for decades. It transfers heat only. It’s the single best tool for managing excess indoor humidity, making it perfect for stopping window condensation and protecting your home from moisture damage.
- ERV (Energy Recovery Ventilator): An ERV is the next step up. It transfers both heat and moisture. As our Ottawa summers get hotter and more humid, ERVs are gaining popularity. In the winter, they help retain some of your home’s humidity (great for dry homes). In the summer, they do the reverse, exhausting some of the humidity from the incoming outdoor air before it gets to your air conditioner.
Your Top Questions Answered
Can an HRV or ERV be added to my existing furnace?
Yes. This is a standard installation. We almost always integrate the HRV or ERV with your existing furnace and ductwork. This is the most effective and efficient way to do it. The system uses your furnace’s fan to distribute the fresh, pre-warmed air to every single room in your home.
Do I still need a humidifier if I install an HRV?
YES. This is the most important concept for Ottawa homeowners to understand.
Think of it this way:
- An HRV is a ventilator. Its main job is to bring in fresh air and expel excess humidity.
- A Humidifier is a moisturizer. Its job is to add moisture to achieve a comfortable level (35-50%).
In our bone-dry Ottawa winters, the fresh air an HRV brings in is -20°C and has almost zero moisture. The HRV warms this air up, but it’s still incredibly dry. In fact, an HRV will make your air cleaner but drier.
You need both systems working as a team. The HRV provides fresh air and protects your home from damaging condensation. The humidifier then adds the necessary moisture back in to protect your hardwood floors, prevent static shock, and keep your family comfortable. If you’re wondering about the right balance, we have another article that details if you need a humidifier or an HRV/ERV.
Real Benefits for Your Home
A ventilation system isn’t a luxury—in a modern, airtight home, it’s a necessity.
- Moisture Control: This is the #1 reason. An HRV is the right tool to manage high humidity and stop condensation, protecting your window frames and preventing mold growth.
- Odour Control: From cooking, pets, or just a “stuffy” basement, a ventilator continuously exhausts these smells instead of letting them linger.
- Better Indoor Air Quality: The air in our homes is often far more polluted than the air outside. An HRV/ERV flushes out CO2, VOCs from new furniture, and other common indoor air quality problems, giving you oxygen-rich fresh air.
- Energy Efficiency: By recovering heat you’d otherwise just dump outside, the system reduces the load on your furnace and helps lower your utility bills.
Ventilation & Humidity Products We Trust
We’ve been doing this for a long time, and we’re very particular about the equipment we install. Here are a few of the ventilation and humidity control products we trust in our customers’ homes.
Our Top Ventilation Picks
Featured HRV: Vanee AI Virtuo HRV This is one of the most intelligent units on the market. The Vanee AI series is smart, efficient, and does an incredible job of managing airflow and ventilation. It’s a top-tier choice for homeowners who want best-in-class performance.
Featured ERV: Panasonic Intellibalance 200 This is the most efficient ERV available. For homeowners in very airtight homes, or those who want year-round ventilation in our humid summers, the Intellibalance is a fantastic piece of technology. It’s quiet, hyper-efficient, and great at balancing fresh air and humidity.
Completing the System: Humidifiers
The Workhorse: Generalaire 1042 Humidifier This has been our most popular and trusted humidifier for nearly 20 years. It’s a bypass humidifier that is rock-solid, reliable, and does a great job of adding moisture to the air. It’s an economical and effective choice for the vast majority of Ottawa homes.
The Premium Choice: Aprilaire 800 Steam Humidifier For ultimate control, nothing beats a steam humidifier. Unlike bypass models that rely on your furnace’s heat, the Aprilaire 800 creates its own steam. This allows it to deliver the perfect amount of humidity 24/7, whether your furnace is running or not. It’s the premier solution for larger homes or for anyone who wants precise, guaranteed humidity levels.
Build Your Total Comfort System
A furnace provides heat. An HRV provides fresh air. A humidifier provides moisture. Together, they create a true home comfort system.
If you’re tired of stale air, foggy windows, or winter dryness, our team of local experts can help. We provide free, no-obligation consultations to assess your home’s unique needs and help you build a system that actually solves the problem.
Explore our HRV/ERV solutions and furnace humidifiers or book a free quote to have one of our comfort specialists design the right system for you.
