The value of a ductless ERV in a Cape style home renovation – GreenBuildingAdvisor

Hi All,

We are currently renovating a 1960 1100 SF cape-style home in CT (zone 5A). We had asbestos in all of our drywall, so we took the whole house down to the studs and rewired the house. We’re reinsulating with Rockwool and thinking we’ll use Certainteed’s Membrain as a smart vapor barrier.

The house has a gas-powered boiler and water heater, and we plan to install a high-efficiency wood stove to supplement heating. The house has no central AC or ductwork. The house will have someone with severe asthma living in it, so we’ve prioritized healthy and nontoxic materials throughout our renovation.

I recently came across ductless ERVs/HRVs and was wondering if anyone has any experience (good or bad) with them. It seems like they are much less expensive than a ducted system, and we’d love it if we could further improve the IAQ, but are they effective enough to justify the costs? Do they work as well as a full ducted ERV/HRV system? Would we have to install units in every room of the house for them to be effective?

Lastly, I’ve seen estimates ranging from $1,000 to $2,000. For anyone who has installed a ductless ERV/HRV, what did it cost?

Thanks in advance,

DeeDee