Risinger Deploys Zehnder ERV to Cut Leaks in Passive House Rebuild

Risinger采用Zehnder全热交换器减少被动房重建中的漏风 气密性房屋需要通过专用的双孔分集水管系统进行持续平衡通风，以维持室内空气质量，同时避免在外墙增加多个易漏风的穿孔或使暖通空调设备超载。 在参观其高性能私人住宅的机电粗装阶段时，Matt Risinger与Zehnder America代表Chris详细介绍了Zehnder ComfoAir Q600全热交换器（ERV）的机械结构、安装及经济性。该系统用单一的平衡式进排气路径取代了外墙上多个易漏风的独立排气孔，通过逆流式全热交换芯体提供180 CFM的持续新鲜空气，并实现约85%的热量回收和约66%的湿度回收。他们详细阐述了单管直通式高密度聚乙烯（HDPE）ComfoTube分配管网、集成式消音分水器以及能够应对野火烟雾的多级过滤系统。现场讲解最后分享了可锁紧Luna天花板散流器的实用安装建议，介绍了设备约100瓦的适度持续功耗，并给出了透明的价格细分：材料费用为10,000至12,000美元，外加安装人工费用。 安装集中平衡式全热交换器替代了多个独立的浴室排气扇和洗衣房排风扇，将外维护结构的穿孔数量从8个或更多减少到仅需两个8英寸管道。 (3:31) Zehnder ComfoAir Q600通过逆流六边形全热交换芯体，实现了大约85%至90%的显热回收率和约66%的湿度回收率。 (5:33) 全屋管网分配采用HDPE单管直通式分集管架构，每根管道按12 CFM的标准增量校准，运行电耗约为100瓦。 (16:03) 整套预制设备方案在较小户型中的费用约为5,000至6,000美元，一套2,700平方英尺的定制住宅约为10,000至12,000美元，安装人工费预计约为设备成本的50%。 (30:36)

[0:00] build tight ventilate right we're back [0:02] in my house under construction and i've [0:04] got a [0:05] really fun episode for you we're talking [0:07] ventilation today [0:09] you know whether you're building to the [0:10] standard i'm doing here which is a [0:12] really airtight enclosure in fact i'm [0:14] building to passive house standards [0:15] which is a [0:16] super tight envelope or you're just [0:18] building to modern codes [0:20] you've got a tight house and you need to [0:22] think about your ventilation strategy [0:24] the build show today i'm going to show [0:25] you the world's best ventilator the [0:27] system that i am [0:28] super excited to install at my house [0:30] today's build show is sponsored by [0:32] zender [0:33] let's get going [0:35] [Music] [0:40] all right guys it's been a minute since [0:41] we've been over here this is my house [0:43] under construction we've been calling [0:44] this the real rebuild [0:46] and if you haven't caught my other [0:47] videos this is basically a 1970s slab [0:51] that i originally was going to remodel [0:53] and ended up building a new house [0:55] on top of this old slab so we're in the [0:58] mechanical phase so i took a couple [1:00] months off just to get a couple things [1:01] aligned but we're back at it and we're [1:03] having a lot of fun so mechanicals are [1:05] going in that's hvac [1:07] when we think about hvac we typically [1:09] are just thinking the heating and [1:10] cooling for the house [1:12] but the v is critical that's your [1:13] ventilation [1:15] and most builders most houses under [1:17] construction the v the ventilation is [1:18] just an afterthought that's your [1:20] dryer exhaust that's your exhaust fans [1:22] out of bathrooms [1:24] maybe there's a fresh air input to the [1:25] furnace or through the dehumidifier [1:27] but on the build show today i'm going to [1:29] show you a system that's like no other [1:31] it's a [1:32] really good system and let's talk about [1:34] why we need that when we build a really [1:36] tight envelope like i have here [1:38] we're not having air infiltrate in when [1:41] it blow when the wind blows [1:43] or when an exhaust fan turns on let's [1:45] say [1:46] the house is going to be really really [1:48] airtight so as a result [1:50] we need a fresh air input and i would [1:52] say whether you're building a house to [1:53] this [1:54] crazy tight standard or you're building [1:56] a more modern house [1:58] to let's say just code built standards [2:01] you probably need a fresh air system and [2:02] you probably need a really good one [2:04] because we don't want to rely on fresh [2:06] air just when the wind is blowing right [2:08] or when your furnace kicks on we want [2:09] that fresh air all the time [2:11] now i want to use our bodies as an [2:13] example or a prototype for a house [2:15] when god designed our bodies we've only [2:17] got one spot for air to come in right [2:19] through our nose or our mouth into our [2:21] lungs and our lungs are using their [2:23] muscles constantly [2:25] 24 7 just to breathe a little bit in and [2:27] out out of this one spot [2:29] we don't poke a hole in our body to get [2:31] to our lungs [2:32] we don't want air leaking into other [2:34] spaces it only should come [2:36] in through our mouth and our lungs now [2:38] man has been doing this for years right [2:40] we make submarines we make spaceships we [2:42] know how to do breathing in enclosed [2:45] airtight enclosures [2:46] but we haven't been paying that much [2:48] attention to our houses [2:50] and what we're doing here is a system [2:52] that's very similar to the body [2:54] where in this house i'm going to show [2:55] you we only have one place for air to [2:57] come in [2:58] and one place for air to exhaust now [3:00] specifically we're installing a [3:02] zender erv in this house and if you're [3:05] in the north you've probably heard of [3:06] hrvs that's heat recovery ventilators [3:09] this is basically the same thing except [3:11] it's not just going to recover the heat [3:13] out of the fresh air [3:14] it's also going to recover energy or [3:16] enthalpy moisture basically [3:19] now this is my first floor mainly public [3:21] spaces here but my master is back there [3:24] let's actually go up to the second floor [3:26] in the attic is where this unit's being [3:28] installed i'll meet you up there [3:31] all right guys so i've got a big family [3:33] i've got four kiddos [3:35] i've got three bedrooms up and [3:38] my unit actually is going to be above us [3:40] but before we get there [3:42] let's talk about what a typical house [3:43] house a typical house that i would build [3:45] frankly and have built for years [3:47] each bathroom is going to have its own [3:49] exhaust fan sometimes two [3:51] and my house is a three and a half bath [3:53] house which means i've got at least [3:54] three exhaust fans in the master usually [3:57] you've got one in the toilet room [3:58] and the shower room so that's five [4:01] exhaust fans [4:03] plus you're usually gonna have an [4:04] exhaust fan out of the laundry room so [4:05] that's [4:06] six exhaust fans then you've got a [4:09] range exhaust you've got usually a dryer [4:12] port coming out [4:14] usual house of this size you know a four [4:16] bedroom house 2700 square feet [4:18] wouldn't be unusual at all to have eight [4:20] different fans [4:21] eight different penetrations out of your [4:23] envelope places that are gonna leak [4:25] they could bring squirrels and bugs in [4:27] they could have all these other [4:28] ancillary issues [4:30] with this system i don't have any of [4:32] that everything is going to run [4:34] through my fresh air system so for [4:36] instance now we're in my daughter's [4:38] bedroom upstairs [4:40] this is the supply [4:43] and what these little tubes right here [4:45] are going to do is they're going to [4:46] constantly [4:47] puff in just a little bit of fresh air [4:49] into my daughter's bedroom [4:51] now we're going to get into the [4:52] mechanics of that in a second but [4:54] basically [4:55] every area of my house where there's a [4:56] bedroom or a public area [4:58] is going to have one of those a place to [5:00] bring fresh air in [5:02] and then all the other places bathrooms [5:05] laundry rooms anything that's basically [5:08] wet or stinky [5:09] that's going to have an exhaust out and [5:11] what i love about this system you're [5:13] going to see in a minute is i just have [5:15] two [5:15] inputs i have two eight inch ducts one [5:17] coming in and one going out [5:19] and then my erv upstairs is a balance [5:22] system that being said let's go up and [5:24] show it to you because this is a really [5:26] cool system [5:27] and i actually have the zender rep chris [5:29] up there as well meet you upstairs [5:33] oh man i love this attic those look [5:36] awesome [5:37] now this will be all conditioned space [5:39] if you haven't seen my videos i've got a [5:41] couple [5:41] inches of exterior insulation and then [5:44] i'm going to pack these bays full of [5:45] rockwool so this will be part of my air [5:47] conditioned envelope [5:48] but here's the unit and here's chris [5:50] from zender right here hey chris how's [5:51] it going matt [5:52] how's the unit looking man it's looking [5:54] good uh we've had fun the last couple [5:56] days [5:57] jeff and his crew from air right has [5:59] done a phenomenal job putting this thing [6:00] together [6:01] and uh i'm excited to see it fired up in [6:03] a couple months it looks good yeah [6:05] all right chris i gave the basics on [6:07] this unit but give me the nerdy [6:09] the nerdy stats i made the bold [6:11] statement this was the world's [6:13] most efficient best ventilation system [6:16] can you back that up [6:17] sure yeah a few things with the zender [6:20] system first of all [6:20] it's a this is a the the zender [6:23] comfortwear q600 erv [6:26] um and uh basically what we're doing [6:28] with this [6:29] uh is we're changing the air throughout [6:30] the house we're gonna do that on a [6:31] continuous basis [6:33] and what makes it the best [6:37] first and foremost is going to be the [6:38] performance of the unit itself [6:40] and i'll break that down and show you a [6:41] couple things [6:43] but what you're trying to do is you're [6:44] trying to ventilate you're trying to [6:46] control that ventilation [6:48] you want to you want to uh do it with [6:50] energy recovery [6:52] so that you're not you know otherwise [6:54] just leave the windows open [6:55] right so if we're in the north we're [6:56] worried about just an hrv a heat [6:58] recovery [6:59] because generally in really cold [7:01] climates it's low moisture outside but [7:03] here in the south [7:04] in the southern us often it's really [7:06] humid out and if we bring that fresh air [7:08] in there's a big penalty [7:10] because now we've got all this humidity [7:11] to deal with right and all of a sudden [7:13] if i'm ventilating correctly my house [7:15] humidity could [7:15] go way up and i've lost that comfortable [7:18] feel right [7:18] yeah so an erv is going to allow you to [7:21] transfer moisture between the two air [7:23] streams [7:23] and how efficient is this in both [7:26] heating recovery and moisture recovery [7:28] right [7:29] with an erv you're going to have a [7:31] slightly less [7:32] sensible or heating recovery than you do [7:34] with an hrv okay [7:36] but still you're going to be with this [7:38] unit around 85 percent [7:40] heat recovery that's 85 of the [7:42] difference in temperature between [7:44] outdoors and indoors gotcha so it's a 50 [7:46] degree delta which would be unusual for [7:47] me you got a 50 degree delta yeah [7:49] 85 of that that's right sure i'm going [7:51] to be able to recover 45 degrees of it [7:53] or so somewhere in that [7:54] range okay and and then [7:58] on that on the the humidity side we're [8:00] going to recover [8:01] about two-thirds of the difference [8:03] between outdoor and indoor [8:04] humidity and those numbers by the way [8:07] one of the reasons why i said this is [8:08] the world's best [8:09] is those numbers are much higher than [8:10] all the other units out there [8:12] now talk to me about the tubes and show [8:14] us what's happening in the guts if you [8:16] would [8:16] sure okay well let's start with the guts [8:18] first um [8:20] the q600 is a really smart uh erv [8:23] so the controls are basically this is a [8:27] self-balancing [8:28] unit so the controls are are constantly [8:30] monitoring the air temperature [8:32] uh it knows the the altitude that you're [8:35] at because you plug that in during [8:36] commissioning [8:38] and so it can calculate based on density [8:40] how much air is actually flowing through [8:42] it [8:42] wow and it will adjust the supply fan [8:45] and the exhaust fan [8:46] independently to constantly maintain [8:49] balance so if you've got a windy day [8:51] it's going to pick up on that winds [8:52] blowing on one side maybe the intake [8:54] side or the exhaust side [8:56] it will adjust for it maybe your intake [8:58] filter starts getting dirty over time [9:01] it senses that it adjusts the supply fan [9:04] speed to deal with that [9:05] and how efficient are those motors too [9:07] yeah the motors are super efficient what [9:08] we're looking for [9:10] is you know basically less than three [9:12] quarters of a watt per cfm [9:14] so uh that's that's a pretty good [9:16] standard and um [9:18] and the q600 meets it easily so this [9:20] unit we've [9:21] kind of engineered by the way positive [9:23] energy helped me out with the design but [9:24] you guys do that as well [9:26] we engineered the system at my house for [9:29] my conditions my number of people in the [9:31] house [9:32] to run at 180 cfm that means we're [9:34] sucking in 180 cfm and we're pushing out [9:37] 180 at the same time [9:39] and when those pipes uh are bringing [9:42] that in [9:42] and exhausting so this pipe hasn't been [9:44] hooked up yet but that's the fresh air [9:46] in [9:47] we're bringing it from the north side of [9:48] the house and then this is the exhaust [9:50] out we're taking that on the kind of [9:52] south and west [9:53] side of the house how does the core work [9:56] uh to kind of [9:57] pass those streams without touching each [9:59] other so what you'll see on the top of [10:00] the unit here is we have four duct [10:02] connections and as you said these two [10:03] are connected to the exterior of the [10:04] house this is your exhaust this is your [10:06] intake [10:07] over here we've got the return coming [10:09] back okay so we're seeing an area [10:11] that's going back into the unit from the [10:13] house yep and here's your supply [10:15] so it's coming out all the basically [10:18] have two air streams that are being [10:20] directed through this heat exchanger [10:22] core or in your case an [10:23] enthalpy exchanger yeah um and let's [10:26] take a look at it and we'll see [10:27] what it looks like i know you got what [10:28] three screws on there that you popped [10:30] out yep [10:31] get those off and [10:34] just slide this open it's a big unit too [10:37] isn't it [10:38] it's a big unit and a lot of people [10:40] remark on that if if they've seen ervs [10:42] at all [10:44] yeah well and and that could be nice if [10:47] you're trying to fit it into a compact [10:49] space but if you're looking for actual [10:51] performance in your heat and humidity [10:53] recovery you need surface areas we just [10:55] need more surface area to be more [10:56] efficient [10:57] this core especially that gives you that [11:00] surface area [11:01] for that transfer this is called a plate [11:04] exchanger [11:05] and the reason it's called that is [11:06] because what you've got is a series of [11:08] plates [11:09] in this basic shape that are stacked [11:11] together [11:12] these plates are are formed in such a [11:14] way that they create [11:15] channels so here in your case we're [11:18] going to be pulling return air [11:20] from your house mainly your bathrooms [11:22] and kitchen [11:24] will come through here and it will get [11:25] directed into this side [11:27] of the of the core your outdoor air [11:30] will be coming in around the attic [11:32] through that back port there [11:34] and it will be directed into this side [11:36] and so what we've got is air that's [11:37] going to get [11:38] organized and if you think of this [11:41] center rectangular section of this [11:43] hex shape as the heat exchange section [11:47] it gets organized and then we have [11:48] counter flow happening [11:50] wow so you've got one airstream on one [11:53] side of each plate [11:54] the other airstream on the opposite side [11:56] of the plate and there's a lot of [11:58] technology in these cores guys when i [12:00] was doing my research [12:01] long before i decided on using zender at [12:04] my house i was [12:05] getting into the nerdiness of version [12:07] one two [12:08] three and four of these plates and [12:10] there's still ones on the market that [12:11] are more version one and two [12:13] this is really the latest and best [12:15] technology [12:17] which has the most amount of surface [12:18] area so that we're really exchanging [12:20] that heat from one to the other that's [12:22] how we're getting that like 85 [12:24] 90 percent efficiency that's crazy [12:26] numbers yeah what's what you'll usually [12:28] see [12:28] uh very common as especially in the [12:30] north american market but now even in in [12:32] china is you'll see the the cross flow [12:35] heat exchanger [12:37] and you know it's cross flow because [12:38] it's just a square [12:39] [Music] [12:40] and so that basically the two air [12:42] streams just go past each other like [12:43] that [12:44] and each each channel just has one point [12:46] of contact [12:47] here uh when you see this hexagonal [12:49] shape that's when you know you're [12:50] dealing with a counter flow heat [12:51] exchanger [12:52] and you're you just should expect you're [12:54] going to get much better performance i [12:55] love it yup [12:56] now i'm also seeing uh i'm assuming this [12:59] is a pre-filter [13:00] because this is uh oh no that's the [13:01] exhaust right there where's the [13:02] pre-filter well the exhaust channel is [13:04] actually coming up from around here okay [13:06] so inside here we've got some plenums [13:07] that are directing [13:08] air around but uh your back port [13:11] that brings in your outdoor air is [13:13] what's going to go through this filter [13:15] so this is your your uh filter for your [13:17] incoming air [13:18] and in your case um we've got some [13:21] additional filtration but normally what [13:23] we if if [13:24] we don't have that we'll use this uh [13:28] merv 13 filter and merv 13 is really [13:31] good [13:31] filtration not quite hepa quality but [13:33] it's the 99.9 [13:35] that's right kind of quality so we're [13:36] all the pollen all the mold spores all [13:39] the nasty stuff [13:40] before it even gets the core is going to [13:42] be filled exactly so we're going to [13:43] protect the core [13:45] and because this is the outdoor air [13:46] coming in as supplier at the house we're [13:48] going to protect everybody in the house [13:49] too [13:50] yeah and that filter probably needs to [13:52] be checked how often [13:53] you should look at it every quarter okay [13:55] yeah typical you know [13:56] maintenance schedule on this side over [13:59] here we've got a lower grade [14:00] merv 8 filter and the merv 8 filter is [14:04] basically filtering your return air from [14:05] the house [14:06] and that's only to protect the core all [14:08] right so you're this your pet [14:10] dander yeah dust in the house we're [14:12] trying not to get all that in [14:13] there and dirty it up because when that [14:15] core gets dirty the efficiency drops yep [14:18] we're never recirculating air with this [14:20] unit [14:21] ever so we're always doing a constant [14:24] air exchange [14:25] this air will always be directed right [14:27] through your exhaust pipe [14:28] out that gable end that's awesome so [14:30] that's really just to protect the core [14:32] itself and keep it clean and keep that [14:34] heat exchange [14:34] going now that's not the only filtration [14:37] on this unit right though [14:38] that's right uh in your case and this is [14:40] uh you know [14:41] we can we can do this as an option but [14:44] up here [14:44] what we've got our supply air coming out [14:47] before it gets distributed to the house [14:49] is going to go through an additional [14:50] filter casing and if we open this up [14:53] we'll see inside here we've got an [14:55] upgraded filter [14:56] this is actually a merv 15 filter and [14:58] this is getting [15:00] basically into your hospital outpatient [15:02] type category of filtration [15:04] and as you can see you know we've got [15:07] more surface area [15:08] so you know we're not going to add a lot [15:10] of static pressure to the system [15:12] and we've got a bigger thicker filter [15:14] that's going to give you a bigger [15:16] a longer lifespan now what if i wanted [15:18] even more filtration [15:19] or let's say i was in a wildfire area [15:21] there's smoke [15:22] there's other things can i upgrade that [15:24] even you yeah the the other option for [15:26] this uh filter casing right here [15:28] is an activated charcoal filter uh so a [15:32] carbon filter and and basically that'll [15:34] help deal with smoke or orders that [15:36] might exist in your neighborhood [15:37] got it so that so if i did have [15:39] wildfires outside that would [15:41] filter that out before it sent it into [15:43] my house yeah we've [15:45] i've got a colleague out on the west [15:47] coast he lives near oregon [15:49] um and he's basically running his system [15:52] at a lower speed but he's continued his [15:54] ventilation [15:56] he's put in an active charcoal filter [15:58] and um and he's got no smoke inside his [16:01] house [16:01] that's awesome yeah all right now one of [16:03] the things i love about this system and [16:05] one of the reasons why i chose it is i'm [16:07] trying to build this really tight house [16:08] right a house that doesn't have a bunch [16:10] of [16:11] air leaking in and i didn't want exhaust [16:14] fans [16:15] everywhere and depressurization going on [16:18] in my house [16:18] and that's something that i've wrestled [16:20] with mentally for a long time [16:22] and that's one of the things i think [16:23] makes a lot of sense about this system [16:25] because it's balanced [16:27] talk to me about the supply and the [16:29] exhaust [16:30] and then underneath here if you look [16:33] underneath we've got [16:34] basically two manifolds kind of like a [16:39] structured plumbing system a manifold [16:41] plumbing system and these two front ones [16:43] right here this one hasn't been [16:44] installed yet this is what it's going to [16:45] look like in a minute [16:47] these have these little ports on here [16:49] and we've got [16:50] 16 of them on the exhaust and underneath [16:53] in the back we've got [16:54] 16 on the supply as well talk to me [16:57] about these chris yeah [16:58] so what we want to do is we want to give [17:00] people an engineered solution [17:03] so when they go to to connect the system [17:05] up [17:06] um you know they they don't have to to [17:08] engineer [17:09] a trunk and branch system and figure out [17:11] how much flow is going to be in what's [17:13] what branch so what we've got is this [17:15] manifold system [17:16] we can plan for the same amount of [17:18] airflow basically to go through each one [17:20] of these tubes [17:21] we can connect it to a manifold and give [17:24] that give every tube [17:25] on that manifold the same pressure same [17:27] air pressure [17:28] and in that way we just plan in [17:30] multiples in in our case [17:32] of 12 cfm per tube that's awesome and we [17:34] decide which room needs [17:36] you know whether it's 12 24 36 cfm of [17:38] supply or of return [17:40] and um and we'll break it down that way [17:43] and this [17:44] uh this main part of this box here is [17:46] actually a silencer [17:47] so what this is going to do is it's in [17:49] this case it's the return side so it's [17:51] going to keep [17:51] exhaust fan noise from going down these [17:54] tubes [17:55] to your your bathroom uh or wherever [17:59] and it also keeps uh because we're [18:01] connecting all the rooms to one manifold [18:03] it keeps crosstalk from the rooms as [18:05] well from happening so the silencer is [18:07] good [18:08] um and then the manifold plate obviously [18:10] as i said gives us that constant [18:11] pressure at each tube [18:13] so this tubing this is uh your version [18:16] or your product called comfo tube right [18:19] it looks like corrugated uh pipe almost [18:22] like a [18:22] uh you know like a shop vac hose [18:26] it's very rigid you can't you can't [18:28] crush it [18:29] so it's not going to get shoved in like [18:31] flex duct wood and get crushed and not [18:33] have air flow [18:34] but it also has a liner on the inside as [18:36] well so it's a little smooth it looks [18:38] corrugated on the [18:38] on the outside but it's actually smooth [18:40] on the inside [18:42] and you guys have a really dialed in [18:44] system for installing it show me how [18:46] that works so [18:46] you know part of the performance of [18:48] ventilation system is getting the air [18:49] where you want it [18:50] and if you create a system that's [18:52] leaking all over the place you're not [18:54] getting the air where you want it i'm [18:55] gonna hold this so you can show sure [18:56] yeah so what we do with this is is uh in [18:59] this particular [19:00] uh uh approach with this comfo tube this [19:02] by the way is a [19:04] high density polyethylene tube it's milk [19:06] jug material got it [19:07] so we put an o-ring around here and [19:10] we'll press that down in [19:12] and basically it seats down inside there [19:16] and then you've got your air air [19:19] tightness [19:19] because the o-ring and then you slide [19:22] this clip in here [19:26] and this is going to give you your [19:28] mechanical fastening [19:29] so now that tube's not going to come out [19:31] not coming out and [19:32] as i said earlier manifold meaning home [19:34] run so basically we're going from here [19:37] to the outlet one continuous vacuum mode [19:40] no joints no couplings nothing just like [19:43] a you know [19:44] pex manifold system and the two that are [19:47] down there already [19:48] are connected to my daughter's bedroom [19:50] that i showed you earlier [19:52] and each one of those as chris said [19:53] earlier is about 12 cfm [19:56] and so we're going to decide in each [19:58] bedroom how many occupants we have and [20:00] how much supply we need [20:02] we're also going to think about exhaust [20:04] right so a laundry room [20:05] we may have one or two a bathroom we [20:08] might have one or two a huge bathroom or [20:10] a bigger wetter you might have three in [20:12] there you might have more in my master [20:13] bedroom i've got a three port [20:16] supply because there's two of us living [20:17] in the master and [20:19] the thing i like about the system is [20:21] it's running continuously [20:23] so for instance in my kids baths i have [20:25] a hard time getting them to turn their [20:27] bath fans on even though i have a [20:28] countdown timer in there and i say [20:30] hey when you get in the shower hit that [20:32] button and it'll count down and run [20:34] for 30 minutes often times i come after [20:37] them and realize they never use the [20:38] exhaust fan i got to hit it in this case [20:40] this unit's running [20:42] 24 7. just a little bit of sucking out [20:45] of those wet and stinky areas and just a [20:47] little bit of supply [20:49] to those bedrooms into those public [20:50] spaces so all night long as i'm sleeping [20:53] i've got just a little bit of puff of [20:54] that fresh filtered air from the outside [20:58] and then in those bathrooms even if they [20:59] forget to run the um [21:02] or forget to actually i haven't talked [21:03] about this but they forget to put it in [21:04] the boost mode [21:05] it's always going to be sucking just a [21:07] little bit out now speaking of boost [21:09] mode i didn't get into this chris tell [21:10] us about [21:11] fan speed yeah and controls for this [21:14] system because i mentioned earlier [21:15] my house is designed to run about 180 [21:18] cfm [21:18] all the time yep so the nice thing about [21:22] uh the q series of ervs from zender is [21:25] again we've got constant balance going [21:27] on so what you do with this unit [21:30] is it's got four preset speeds you've [21:32] got your normal speed which for us [21:34] is speed two you can have a low speed [21:37] speed one [21:38] uh you can have boost mode speed three [21:40] and then we've got away mode [21:42] so if you're going away on vacation you [21:44] basically can kind of put [21:45] put the thing in away mode it gives a [21:47] constant trickle just a trickle of air [21:49] in the house keep it from getting stale [21:51] but with those four preset speeds you [21:54] can make them whatever you want in this [21:56] controller [21:57] and it will keep track of it and make [21:58] sure those stay the same i love it [22:00] then from your controller control panel [22:02] either in the house or here on the front [22:03] of the machine [22:04] or if we collect connect this gateway [22:08] we can allow you to do it even from your [22:09] smartphone um [22:11] you'd be able to jump between those four [22:13] speeds at any time you want [22:14] that's great and you can independently [22:16] adjust those speeds [22:18] so if you you know in your case we're [22:19] doing 180 cfm [22:22] we might add a little bit more just for [22:23] this attic to keep it fresh but um [22:26] 180 cfm and uh if if you decide that's [22:29] too much [22:30] you don't need that much dial it down to [22:32] 150 and change your preset [22:34] no big deal easy yep now what happens if [22:36] you go on vacation [22:37] and leave this thing running if you [22:39] leave it running and you forget to go [22:40] into away mode [22:41] then uh just before your flight takes [22:43] off you get on your app [22:45] and and you set it back to away mode [22:47] it'll ask you how long you want it give [22:49] it a date [22:49] it'll keep it in way more until that [22:51] date that's really cool [22:53] the other thing that i mentioned earlier [22:54] in the video that i want to come back to [22:56] is [22:56] i love that i've only got two uh [22:59] basically nostrils in my house right [23:00] i've got this one right here which is [23:02] exhausting [23:03] and i've got one on the other side which [23:04] is bring it in i've eliminated [23:06] all those bath fans i don't have any of [23:08] these other random penetrations that i [23:10] need to seal [23:11] i just have two now i've gone probably [23:13] from at least eight [23:14] in a house like this normally maybe more [23:17] down to two [23:18] that is really cool for me that means [23:20] i've got a much more reliable house [23:22] the other thing i want to mention on [23:23] that is a quick example from [23:26] your car have you ever sat in your car [23:28] and turned the engine off [23:30] and it only takes a few minutes really [23:32] to be uncomfortable [23:33] and to get comfortable just drop usually [23:35] just drop the window down by an inch and [23:37] you've got a little bit of fresh air and [23:39] you feel much better [23:40] that's basically the same system that's [23:42] happening here when your car is running [23:43] you're bringing a little bit of fresh [23:44] air and you're comfortable [23:45] when you're sealed up tightly in a tight [23:47] house and you don't have that [23:49] the moisture can build up the vocs are [23:52] going to build up [23:53] the co2 is going to build up hopefully [23:55] there's no carbon monoxide building up [23:57] but this system is always exhausting and [24:00] always supplying just a little bit of [24:01] fresh air [24:02] speaking of carbon monoxide chris in my [24:05] house i don't have any combustion [24:07] appliances i have i'm basically running [24:08] an all-electric house i have [24:10] mitsubishi heat pumps for heating and [24:13] cooling [24:14] i'm going to be putting a sand and heat [24:15] pump water heater in [24:17] i'm going to be using an induction [24:18] cooktop so i don't have any [24:21] natural gas appliances so i really don't [24:24] have anything to make [24:25] carbon monoxide but let's say you've got [24:27] somebody who wants a big [24:29] you know melee gas cooktop with all [24:31] these burners [24:33] what can this do in terms of making sure [24:35] that my carbon monoxide or [24:37] dioxide levels for that matter are gonna [24:39] rise yeah as far as carbon monoxide i [24:41] mean just the regular ventilation rate [24:43] is gonna [24:44] is gonna go a long ways to keep the [24:45] house safe you're going to be constantly [24:47] changing [24:48] in your case we'll probably be changing [24:50] the air about [24:51] 0.4 times per hour okay through the [24:54] whole house [24:54] so that's going to take care of those [24:56] rates if co2 is an issue [24:59] or vocs are an issue different [25:02] environments you know [25:03] we have basically a control box here [25:07] that we can connect to the queue your [25:09] bathroom fan switches will connect to [25:11] this box [25:12] but also inside our terminals to connect [25:14] uh any 0 to 10 volt device like a [25:17] carbon dioxide sensor or a voc sensor [25:20] xender sells a carbon dioxide sensor [25:23] that you can mount on the wall on a [25:24] bedroom [25:25] you can put up to four of them on the [25:27] system um so maybe every bedroom you had [25:29] multiple you have six friends sleeping [25:32] over in that bedroom all of a sudden [25:33] your co2 rises [25:34] yep this could jump it into into uh [25:37] boost mode [25:38] and then you could double the fresh air [25:39] right into that room is that that's [25:40] right [25:41] yeah so it'll monitor the co2 levels and [25:43] help the fan speed to respond to that [25:46] man chris i got to say i've seen this [25:48] installed before [25:49] but having done it now it feels [25:53] complicated at first and when you see [25:54] this you might think oh my gosh [25:56] but now that i've been on site for two [25:58] days it's really not very complicated [26:00] and when i was in vancouver i saw a ton [26:02] of builders doing it themselves [26:04] i think if you were a motivated [26:06] homeowner you could even do this system [26:08] yourself [26:08] it's not rocket science they're doing [26:11] all the layout and the engineering for [26:12] you so you know what to do [26:14] all these pipes or home runs they've got [26:16] a pretty dummy proof [26:18] uh plug and play manifold i love it [26:21] chris let's transition it downstairs [26:23] let's show these guys um what the boots [26:25] and the outlets look like and how that [26:27] fresh air is getting delivered sounds [26:29] good all right we'll meet y'all [26:30] downstairs [26:31] so here's where we decided we would set [26:33] 24 cfm of supply [26:35] not through the floor but through the [26:36] ceiling above all right so this is my [26:38] daughter's bedroom her bed's [26:39] against that wall right there and that [26:43] has got two tubes coming to it remember [26:45] we said they're about 12 [26:46] cfm per so that supply box is [26:49] made for that and that supply box [26:51] basically everything's just plugged in [26:53] just like you showed me upstairs right [26:54] chris that's right it goes together the [26:56] same way that's really easy [26:57] let's walk over to the boys bedroom and [26:59] show [27:00] what that looks like or what it's going [27:04] to look like and i'm going to grab the [27:07] termination head here as well so this [27:10] one we've got [27:11] screwed to the subfloor now it's ready [27:13] to get [27:14] tubes installed we hold that for a [27:16] second and [27:18] chris gave me a great tip we haven't [27:19] done it yet but we're about to do this [27:21] you can see these are about i don't know [27:24] six seven eight inches long [27:26] and this is roughly a five inch uh hole [27:29] so we did is we took a five inch hole [27:30] saw right here [27:32] and we're going to take that onto a [27:35] piece of [27:37] plywood that's the same size as your [27:39] drywall now this is 5 8 [27:40] zip i've got 5 8 sheet rock i'm going to [27:42] put a screw here and a screw here [27:44] i'm going to hold that in place and then [27:46] what i'm going to use is use this [27:47] plywood as a template [27:50] for a saw that's going to zip this off [27:53] at the level of my sheetrock so when [27:56] we're done here this will be nice and [27:57] flush [27:58] so when the sheetrock guys come i'll be [28:00] all set [28:01] and then at commissioning [28:04] talk to me about the vents that are [28:06] going to be in each one of those places [28:07] chris [28:07] yeah this is our luna diffuser this is [28:10] our supply diffuser we have a luna [28:11] extract diffuser as well [28:14] and basically this is going to fit right [28:15] up inside that five inch duct right [28:17] there [28:18] and uh we're going to air seal it with [28:19] this gasket that's on the back side [28:21] pre-gasketed yep yep [28:22] yep just pop it in and you're air sealed [28:24] easy as that [28:26] and then this can be adjusted during [28:28] commissioning so we just give this cover [28:30] a little turn and pull it off what we [28:31] see [28:32] is it is a locking mechanism if we [28:35] unlock that [28:36] which we'll do real quick here we can [28:39] basically [28:40] now keep your eyes tuned right here into [28:41] this this is fixed and this is going to [28:44] move you'll see as chris [28:45] turns it we'll see our gap close down as [28:47] we turn it [28:48] clockwise if we want to open it up [28:50] during commissioning and get more [28:52] airflow [28:53] we'll we'll back it off counterclockwise [28:55] once we [28:56] figure out where we need to be push this [28:58] in [28:59] we'll lock it in place and there if it's [29:02] tamper proof so [29:03] get the cover back on so it looks [29:06] beautiful [29:07] it kind of looks like a little smoke [29:09] detector on the ceiling there's really [29:10] nothing to it [29:12] but one cool thing about this is i don't [29:13] have to think about [29:15] duct length or duct sizing or all that [29:17] stuff i just run a comfo tube to every [29:19] location [29:20] and some of my locations are real close [29:22] to the unit so they're going to have [29:23] plenty of airflow [29:24] some of my locations may be 40 feet away [29:27] of comfort tubes snaking everywhere [29:30] and then at the end they're going to [29:31] turn on the fan and when we commission [29:33] this [29:33] we're going to put a flow hood up [29:35] against the ceiling with this [29:37] and go alright how many cfm do we have [29:38] coming out do we need more or do we need [29:40] less [29:41] dial it in right here so everything gets [29:42] done later there's no [29:44] weirdness with i need a two inch or a [29:46] three inch or a six inch duct here no [29:48] everything goes with those vacuum [29:49] cleaner looking hoses comfortable tubes [29:52] and then later we can dial it in so at [29:54] this point i don't need anybody from [29:55] zender on site i appreciate you coming [29:57] chris but [29:58] i don't need anybody special just like i [30:00] said in vancouver i saw builders doing [30:02] this [30:02] in their houses they were building for [30:03] clients their guys ran the tubes they [30:06] set everything up there was nothing to [30:07] it maybe a duck guy would [30:08] do a couple of the rigid connections [30:10] upstairs but that's really it [30:12] pretty straightforward chris yeah that's [30:14] right what did i miss on this tour [30:16] well when we get this up there and we're [30:18] adjusting this because the unit is [30:20] self-adjusting [30:22] as we close this down or open it up [30:24] we'll adjust only the airflow in this [30:26] room [30:27] the the unit's going to maintain the [30:29] overall airflow for the whole house so [30:31] that 180 cfm [30:32] is going to stay constant even while we [30:34] make these fine adjustments i love it [30:36] yeah you know one thing we haven't [30:37] spoken about and we kind of saved the [30:39] best for the last [30:40] talk to me about uh how people can get a [30:42] bid on this [30:43] and give us a range of costs what does [30:45] this system look like [30:47] from a material standpoint let's say if [30:49] i'm a builder and want to install it [30:50] myself [30:51] and then what would this look like if [30:52] you're a homeowner watching this who [30:53] wants it installed on their job or a [30:55] builder says i just want to get a bid on [30:56] this [30:57] right for someone to install yeah no [30:58] great question so [31:01] first of all zender is the only company [31:03] in north america that's currently [31:04] selling a complete system [31:06] so you get not only an erv not only the [31:08] appliance [31:09] but you get the whole air distribution [31:11] system that goes with it [31:13] um and again it's it's engineered to [31:15] work together [31:16] so that package cost for a house like [31:19] this is probably going to be in the [31:20] neighborhood of [31:21] ten to twelve thousand dollars for the [31:23] complete equipment package [31:24] and that will enthusiastic duct work [31:26] that's the grills and registers [31:28] that's all that stuff right includes the [31:30] erv everything from your exterior grill [31:33] to these interior diffusers [31:35] and also includes if you want it a third [31:38] party commissioning service [31:40] so that we can get that dialed in a [31:43] smaller house or a large apartment might [31:45] be more like [31:46] five to six thousand dollars for the [31:47] equipment package okay so it's [31:49] definitely more than a [31:50] basic box erv the small ones that i've [31:53] installed before [31:54] but what's awesome about the system is [31:56] really everything's included in there [31:58] yeah when you y'all shipped that freight [32:00] out to me [32:00] i had everything i needed and just a few [32:02] boxes yeah right and then what about [32:04] install what do you think if i bought [32:05] this package what do you think uh [32:07] install might run on something like us [32:09] well uh an installer that hasn't seen [32:11] this package before is gonna scratch [32:12] their head a little bit and say how do i [32:14] how do i do this [32:16] but actually they'll find once they do [32:18] one that the labor of putting this [32:20] together is much easier than [32:22] running a trunk and branch system out of [32:23] sheet metal [32:25] it doesn't require the specific skills [32:27] of working with sheet metal [32:28] it's more of an assembly project yeah [32:30] it's an erector set basically you got it [32:32] so [32:32] uh i think labor i typically just in [32:35] rough terms i tell people to expect [32:37] about [32:38] half the cost of the equipment package [32:40] add that on top for your labor to [32:42] install and you're probably in the [32:43] ballpark [32:44] got it yep not bad man chris [32:47] really appreciate you being in this [32:48] video with me this this as i've said [32:50] i've seen it in several houses my buddy [32:52] steve basic and architect [32:54] up in boston has specified it and i've [32:57] seen it installed in his houses [32:59] but then what really clicked with me was [33:01] when i saw those builders in vancouver [33:03] installing themselves with your comfo [33:05] tube system [33:06] under construction not just finished [33:07] houses i said you know that looks [33:10] not that hard i think we could do it and [33:12] jeff's been [33:14] learning the system he's my main [33:15] installer i think we're good i'm excited [33:17] to use [33:17] more of these the last thing that i [33:19] don't think we mentioned was talk to me [33:21] about [33:22] roughly what the running watts of this [33:24] system might be [33:25] yeah i mean they're gonna this system [33:27] right here is probably gonna be the [33:28] neighborhood of 100 watts or so [33:30] um but you're you're you're looking at a [33:32] really low [33:33] cost of operation yeah yeah not that [33:36] much at all [33:36] and again it's running 24 7 and it's [33:39] exhausting the same amount as it's [33:41] supplying [33:42] and i've eliminated all those bath fans [33:44] that i might spend 120 150 bucks [33:46] a bath fan on so man great system chris [33:50] i really appreciate you coming out i'll [33:52] put a link in the description uh [33:53] for zender's contact info they are the [33:56] dominant player in the world in this [33:58] industry uh they're all over the nation [34:01] i think they're number one in europe [34:02] number one in china [34:04] smaller here in america i want to change [34:06] that i think this is an incredible [34:08] system [34:08] and whether you're building a passive [34:10] house like i am or you're just building [34:11] a really good house that's really tight [34:14] you need a really good system like this [34:15] guys go check it out very impressive big [34:17] thanks to xender for sponsoring today's [34:19] video guys if you're not currently a [34:21] subscriber hit that subscribe button [34:22] below [34:23] we've got new content every tuesday and [34:25] every friday follow me on twitter [34:26] instagram otherwise we'll see you next [34:28] time [34:28] on the build show [34:37] [Music] [34:45] [Music] [34:48] you