The Quick Answer
In a typical High Prairie home, an HRV is the better fit. Our winters are dry, and an HRV pulls fresh air in without stripping the moisture that humidifiers and breathing put back into the house.
What an HRV Does
A Heat Recovery Ventilator exhausts stale indoor air and brings in fresh outdoor air, capturing heat from the outgoing stream and transferring it to the incoming stream. You get fresh air without dumping all your heating dollars outside.
What an ERV Does
An Energy Recovery Ventilator does everything an HRV does, plus it transfers humidity between the two air streams. In humid climates, that prevents pulling muggy air into a sealed home. In dry Alberta winters, it means you lose less moisture too — useful in some cases but rarely necessary.
When ERV Makes Sense Here
Tightly sealed new builds with significant moisture loads (large families, lots of cooking, indoor plants) sometimes benefit from an ERV. We will measure during the on-site assessment rather than recommending by default.
Sizing Matters More Than the Acronym
An HRV or ERV that is too small for the home will not ventilate properly. One that is too large wastes energy and short-cycles. Sizing is based on bedroom count, square footage, and how the home was built — not a sticker on the box.
