Installation of a vänEE AI Series V160H80RT air exchanger in Saint-Anicet, on the shores of Lake Saint-François

When a cottage becomes a four-season home, the air does not circulate properly on its own

Saint-Anicet occupies a particular position in the Haut-Saint-Laurent area: a long shoreline along Lake Saint-François, agricultural back roads behind it, and a housing stock made up largely of former cottages converted into permanent residences. This conversion almost always follows the same sequence. Insulation is added. The windows are replaced. The air inlets beneath the rim joists are closed. A heating system capable of keeping the house warm in January is installed. And the owners move in year-round.

What is almost always missing at the end of this sequence is mechanical ventilation. The building was made airtight without providing it with a controlled path for fresh air to enter.

The homeowners who contacted us in Saint-Anicet were experiencing exactly this situation. A single-story house a few dozen meters from the shoreline, thoroughly insulated three years earlier, heated with electricity and a supplemental stove. The result: persistent condensation on the north-facing windows, a laundry odor that lingered in the hallway for hours, and a feeling of “thick” air in the bedrooms early in the morning. None of these observations is insignificant when considered together.

We installed a vänEE AI Series V160H80RT air exchanger in the laundry room. Here is the complete reasoning behind this project, from the chosen location to the seasonal settings left for the homeowners.

What proximity to the lake really changes

A building located in the immediate vicinity of a body of water experiences a measurable microclimate. The average outdoor humidity level there is higher than that of a row house located five kilometers inland. In July and August, the surrounding air carries a moisture load that settles on all the cool surfaces in the basement. In November and April, day-to-night temperature differences increase condensation on the windows.

This reality guides two technical choices.

First, the type of unit. A heat recovery ventilator (HRV) exhausts indoor moisture outdoors without reintroducing it. An energy recovery ventilator (ERV) returns a portion of it. In a home in Saint-Anicet that already had 55% relative humidity in February, the HRV was the only defensible choice. We apply the same logic in most of the single-family homes we equip in Longueuil, on the South Shore and in Montérégie.

Next, the exhaust strategy. In a waterfront home, sources of moisture must be captured at the source, not diluted throughout the home's general volume.

The laundry room: why this was the right location

The unit was mounted on the wall of a laundry room adjacent to the central hallway, next to the washer and dryer.

What works in this room's favor

• Room heated year-round. An HRV installed in an unheated space can freeze its core and drain. The laundry room remains at room temperature.
• Moisture-producing area. Laundry and drying release a significant moisture load. Placing an exhaust grille in this room captures the steam where it is produced.
• Direct access to the ceiling. The joists were accessible, allowing the system to be run without demolishing drywall in the living areas.
• Proximity to the exterior wall. The two penetrations to the outside, intake and exhaust, remain short. Every metre of duct removed improves efficiency.
• Easy maintenance. The interior filters can be changed while standing, without a ladder, in a well-lit room.

What to watch for in a laundry room

• Suspended dryer lint. It settles on the grilles and clogs the filters faster than elsewhere.
• Clearance around the unit door. The front panel opens forward to remove the core; space must be allowed not only for installation, but also for the next fifteen years of maintenance.
• Proximity to a bedroom. Noise travels through the shared wall and through the ducts.

Duct layout: where efficiency is gained or lost

The system was installed using insulated flexible ducts running beneath the laundry room ceiling, with a main trunk and Y-branch connections leading to the rooms served. The four connections on the unit are located on top of the cabinet, allowing for short connections and a direct rise to the ceiling, without a tight elbow at the unit outlet.

Three principles guided this layout.

The shorter and straighter, the better. Each elbow adds pressure loss that the motors must compensate for by increasing speed. Higher speed means more energy consumption and more noise for the same airflow. A well-designed network allows the unit to operate at low speed most of the time.

No crushed ducts. A flexible duct bent against a joist or compressed behind a partition loses a far greater percentage of airflow than its apparent reduction in cross-sectional area. The lengths were stretched, supported at regular intervals, and secured with clamps, never left accordion-folded.

Continuous insulation and sealed vapor barrier. The two runs leading outdoors carry air at outdoor temperature. Without insulation and an airtight vapor barrier at the ends, they condense along their entire length for six months of the year. The wall penetrations were caulked and properly sealed.

Where to exhaust, where to supply air

This is the step that low-end installations most often skip, settling for two grilles for the entire house.

• Exhaust in rooms that produce moisture and odors: bathroom, laundry room, kitchen (away from the range hood, never as a replacement for it).
• Fresh-air supply in rooms where people spend long periods: bedrooms, living room, office.
• Bathroom grilles placed away from the shower to capture ambient steam without allowing direct splashes into the duct.
• Undercut doors so air can circulate from one room to another. A room supplied with fresh air but sealed by an airtight door becomes pressurized, and airflow collapses.

The vänEE AI Series V160H80RT in numbers and in practice

The features that justified the choice

The most discussed figure is the 82% SRE at 0 °C. The figure that matters more in Saint-Anicet in January is the 67% at -25 °C: that is the unit's actual efficiency during the intense cold spells that move in from the frozen lake.

The ECM PMSM motors also justify their presence. A permanent-magnet motor maintains high efficiency when running slowly, unlike previous-generation motors, which lost efficiency as soon as their speed was reduced. Since a properly configured HRV spends most of its life running at low speed, that is precisely where the savings are achieved.

Virtuo Air technology: balancing becomes measured data

An air exchanger must exhaust exactly as much air as it introduces. An imbalance in favor of exhaust puts the building under negative pressure: the house compensates by drawing air in through cracks, the drain, and the septic tank, and this can interfere with the draft of a combustion appliance. The opposite imbalance pushes humid indoor air into the walls, where it condenses against the air barrier.

On units without automatic adjustment, balancing is done manually during commissioning, using a manometer and pressure taps. It is accurate that day, and begins to drift as soon as the filters become loaded.

The AI Series incorporates an electronic airflow measurement device and an LCD screen built into the unit. The installer enters the target airflow; the unit adjusts the speed of its two fans itself to maintain that value, taking into account the actual resistance of the ductwork, the gradual buildup of dirt on the filters, and outdoor conditions. The motorized dampers are integrated into the cabinet, eliminating the additional backdraft dampers and the air leaks they cause.

At commissioning, we ran the automatic airflow test, selected the installation configuration corresponding to the standalone setup, and then programmed the minimum and maximum airflow rates. The measured values were recorded and provided to the owners.

The electrical connection

The unit is powered by 120 V. The gray control box mounted on the adjacent wall houses the connection and wall control. We prefer a dedicated circuit rather than sharing one with the washer outlet: a laundry room is a place where it is easy to plug in a dehumidifier, an iron, or a space heater. An HRV that shuts down because a breaker has tripped stops ventilating the house, and no one may notice for several days.

Noise in a house where the walls are thin

An HRV installed next to a bedroom must be designed for quiet operation. Three measures help achieve this:

1. Anti-vibration suspension or mounting, never rigid direct contact between the cabinet and a lightweight partition.
2. Sufficient flexible duct length between the unit and the first branch ducts: the flexible duct absorbs some of the fan noise that rigid ductwork would transmit in full.
3. Low continuous airflow rather than high-speed cycles. A unit running gently all the time is noticeably less perceptible than one that starts at full speed four times an hour.

The dryer: the connection that must never be made

We repeat this on every job where the unit is in a laundry room: the dryer outlet must never be connected to the air exchanger, either directly or through a grille installed immediately above it. Lint clogs the core within a few weeks, and the massive amount of moisture released by a drying cycle exceeds the unit's capacity. The dryer keeps its dedicated exhaust to the exterior.

On the exterior wall, the same rule applies in reverse: the HRV fresh-air intake hood has been positioned a safe distance from the dryer outlet, plumbing vent, and range hood outlet, and high enough to remain above accumulated snow. The two HRV hoods are spaced apart to prevent exhausted air from being immediately drawn back in.

The seasonal settings we leave to homeowners

• December to March: low continuous airflow. The goal is to keep relative humidity below 40% without drying the air out excessively. If condensation reappears on the windows, increase the setting by one notch, not four.
• April to June: intermediate airflow rate. This is the period when the basement takes on moisture again from flooding and snowmelt.
• July to August: reduced airflow during the day when the outdoor air is saturated, and boost ventilation at night, when the temperature drops. An HRV is not a dehumidifier; bringing in air at 90% humidity in the middle of a heatwave afternoon does no one any good.
• September to November: return to the intermediate airflow rate, then to the winter setting.
• Before every long shower or large load of laundry: temporary boost ventilation.

Certifications and financial assistance

The unit bears HVI 2100 certification from the Home Ventilating Institute, visible on the label affixed to the front. This is the central technical requirement of the provincial Rénoclimat program, which provides $500 for the installation or replacement of an HRV or ERV listed in section 3 of the HVI directory.

Two sequencing points are worth remembering:

• The energy evaluation must take place before the work. An installation completed before the initial evaluation visit is no longer eligible, regardless of the unit's quality.
• A second evaluation is required after the work to trigger the payment.

The unit's label also bears the ENERGY STAR mark, whose Canadian program specifically regulates HRVs and ERVs through Natural Resources Canada. This certification applies only in Canada, as the text printed on the label also specifies.

We prepare the project's technical documentation for our clients in Saint-Anicet, Sainte-Barbe, Huntingdon, Ormstown, and throughout Montérégie, just as we do in Montreal, Laval, and on the North Shore.

The defects we most often find in existing installations

1. Two grilles for an entire house. The unit operates, but half the rooms receive no airflow.
2. Uninsulated exterior ducts in a heated basement, resulting in condensation dripping throughout the winter.
3. Drain hose without a trap or installed with an upward slope. The pan overflows, and the water eventually ends up on the floor.
4. Unit left in standby mode because no one explained to the occupants that an HRV is designed to run continuously.
5. Filters never removed since installation. Airflow drops, the motors work harder, and the benefit disappears.
6. Exterior hoods installed too low, buried under snow blown in from the lake during the first January storm.

Proper maintenance, adapted to waterfront conditions

• Every three months: vacuum the interior filters; replace them once a year. In a laundry room, plan for a shorter interval during the first year while you observe the actual buildup.
• Once a year: remove the core and wash it in warm, soapy water.
• In spring: inspect the grilles on the exterior hoods. Along the shores of Lake Saint-François, mayfly hatches in late June can clog them within a few days.
• After every major winter storm: check that snow has not covered the fresh-air intake.
• Every two years: have the actual airflow rates checked. Automatic balancing compensates for a lot, but a system modified during a renovation should have its measurements retaken.

Why entrust this type of project to AirGreen

At AirGreen, residential ventilation is not an afterthought added at the end of a quote. We have been installing air exchangers, heat pumps, and complete HVAC systems for more than twenty years, with over fifteen service teams operating between Montreal, Laval, Longueuil, the North Shore, the South Shore, and the municipalities of Haut-Saint-Laurent, all the way to the shores of Lake Saint-François.

What this means for a Saint-Anicet homeowner:

• We calculate the required airflow rates according to the Quebec Construction Code method before recommending a unit, rather than applying the same model to every home.
• We design the duct network based on the rooms actually being used, not the quickest route to install.
• We measure and record airflow rates during commissioning and provide the values to the client.
• We document our projects with real photos, not catalog visuals.
• We know the municipal regulations applicable in our service area, and our office team answers clients' questions about them.
• We hold an RBQ licence (5645-9605-01) and prepare subsidy applications with the property owner.

For an assessment of your ventilation needs, a replacement of an end-of-life HRV, or a new installation in Saint-Anicet, the Haut-Saint-Laurent area, or anywhere in the Greater Montreal area, email us at sales@airgreen.ca or call (514) 316-2973. We come to you, take on-site measurements, and provide a detailed, no-obligation quote.