Wiggum Posted December 19, 2018 Report Share Posted December 19, 2018 We suffer from condensation on the windows during the winter and I’m redecorating the window reveals every 6 months to stop the mould so I’m considering installing a PIV system, the house has had cavity wall insulation installed and the wife insists on drying the washing on the radiators which doesn’t help. Has anyone had any experience good or bad with PIV ? Any comments will be appreciated Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bruno22rf Posted December 19, 2018 Report Share Posted December 19, 2018 My other half does exactly the same with some clothes that cannot be tumble dried - Winter is obviously the worst time by far - we use an Aldi dehumidifier (around £50) and run it for 2 hours every night, amazed at the amount of water it removes from the air - anything up to a pint/night. Sorry cannot help with PIV. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TIGHTCHOKE Posted December 20, 2018 Report Share Posted December 20, 2018 We air wet clothing in the bathroom with the windows open and manage to keep the moisture contained and released. My wife's mother used the radiators in exactly the same wrong way. Took me a few years to stop her. Hopefully our grown up children have learned that radiators are for making places warm and are ineffective if covered by anything, especially wet clothing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yellow Bear Posted December 20, 2018 Report Share Posted December 20, 2018 (edited) We have PIV installed and yes it does work under most conditions. The only small problem area is, like you, the room where SWMBO dries washing. Even there it is only under specific conditions there is is slight condensation. Generally speaking it has been a good investment, it also helps keep pollen levels down in summer if windows are closed. Edited December 20, 2018 by Yellow Bear Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ph5172 Posted December 20, 2018 Report Share Posted December 20, 2018 Our office window are terrible for condensation. The windows appear fine. It would literally be running off the windowsills we had a dehumidifier put in on a timer to come on at night and take it in turns to empty it in the morning. It’s full most mornings at this time of year stops the problem Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnfromUK Posted December 20, 2018 Report Share Posted December 20, 2018 (edited) I have had Ventaxia Heat Recovery Ventilation fitted in both bathrooms. https://www.vent-axia.com/range/hr100rrs They are installed in the loft above the room concerned and expel humid air through a vent in the roof. I choose to draw dry air from the loft space as the loft area is very well ventilated (the insulation being at loft floor level). A condensation drain is needed, but actually I have never seen them run. In a sealed modern house you would need to draw the incoming air from outside as well. These are relatively cheap, work well and are easily installed. My problem was that the whole (large Georgian/early Victorian) house suffered from condensation - to the extent that the large sash windows required major work where the frames had rotted over many years. In times gone by there were many open fires and that kept the house well aired, but is simply not practical these days. Because the house in largely on wet cellars, there will always be a risk of high humidity. It wasn't possible to fit the HRV in the whole house, but the improvements in bathrooms both in condensation reduction and better comfort have been very worthwhile. The best solution to condensation on the big sash windows has been to double glaze which has almost completely eliminated the condensation (which used to form pools of water) - but was horrendously expensive as I had to meet listed building requirements. I have used dehumidifiers in the past (before the windows were repaired), but they are both noisy and quite expensive to run. I still use one when drying wet shooting kit just in the boot room where the kit is on a ceiling mounted drying rack. Edited December 20, 2018 by JohnfromUK Gave link to incorrect model earlier Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aaz Posted December 20, 2018 Report Share Posted December 20, 2018 I have a Sovereign 20/20 installed and its 99% reduced the condensation in our place, we suffered so badly that you couldn't see out of the windows some mornings as we have 9" solid walls with no cavities. its also stopped the condensation on our internal walls completely. They aint cheap but worth every penny, just need to ensure that the air can move from room to room so either leave doors a jar or take some of the door to increase the gap at the bottom. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wiggum Posted December 20, 2018 Author Report Share Posted December 20, 2018 Thanks for the replies, I've been looking at the Drimaster eco heat as it heats the air so you shouldn’t get a cold draught in winter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnfromUK Posted December 20, 2018 Report Share Posted December 20, 2018 1 minute ago, Wiggum said: I've been looking at the Drimaster eco heat as it heats the air The things to be aware of with this sort of thing is that it uses full price electricity to do the heating .......... which is about 3x to 5x the price of the same amount of heat (KW) from a gas central heating system. They can be very costly to run if you use the heat part. Check carefully how much electricity would be used. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yellow Bear Posted December 20, 2018 Report Share Posted December 20, 2018 47 minutes ago, Wiggum said: Thanks for the replies, I've been looking at the Drimaster eco heat as it heats the air so you shouldn’t get a cold draught in winter. We have the unheated version by NuAire which has no noticeable impact on the heating and no cold drafts either Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
figgy Posted December 20, 2018 Report Share Posted December 20, 2018 Mechanical heat recovery units are better. They swap the warm moist air for fresh air heated by the outgoing stale air. Have a look the likes of vent axia do units in different sizes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wiggum Posted December 20, 2018 Author Report Share Posted December 20, 2018 10 minutes ago, figgy said: Mechanical heat recovery units are better. They swap the warm moist air for fresh air heated by the outgoing stale air. Have a look the likes of vent axia do units in different sizes. Thanks I will take a look 👍🏻 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
millrace Posted December 20, 2018 Report Share Posted December 20, 2018 Bang in a dri master....problem sorted full mvhr unless in a new build is overkill £3/4k your never seeing again....and as for the "oh it heats cold air with warm stale air"for £4k it needs to.....lol Have a look at "bpc ventilation" they are usually doing good price for dri master etc and ship to mainland no problems and also easy to chat to if you need proper advice.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aaz Posted December 21, 2018 Report Share Posted December 21, 2018 Our PIR system can heat the air - has it ever NOPE, the installer sets this up so constant 'fresh' air circulates through the house via one vent if the air temp falls below 4deg (from memory) it will kick in but it never has done - so save your money and go for the standard option. The Sovereign one comes a 5yr warranty I think Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paddy Galore! Posted December 21, 2018 Report Share Posted December 21, 2018 we've got a unit, it helps quite a bit but we still use an aero360 on the bedroom window cill, we don't get problems with mould but we do clean the windows regularly, quality paint helps too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fisheruk Posted December 22, 2018 Report Share Posted December 22, 2018 Yes, a PIV is definitely a useful thing to invest in. Use of insulating plaster board on the window reveals may help to eliminate cold spot, prone to condensation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pearl Posted January 14, 2021 Report Share Posted January 14, 2021 Hi there, has anyone noticed any impact on dust amount? I started looking into PIV and heat recovery because I heard that as it filtrated the air, you don’t have to dust ever again. But I can’t find any mention of it online! Any experience with that? I noticed someone mentioning pollen, so hopefully dust too? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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