I have an existing HVAC system on a 2 story, 2500sq ft house + finished basement in Pennsylvania. We have radon in the basement, which fluctuates between 1 and 3.5. It's controlled by a mitigation system, but we'd like to reduce it further. An ERV was suggested, which would also provide the benefit of passing more fresh air through the house.
An HVAC tech came by and said that we could hook the ERV ventilation into the existing HVAC system, and the ERV would drive fresh air through the house. However, he later realized that the 150 max CFM wouldn't be sufficient to drive air through our HVAC system. He suggested one of the follow solutions:
- Hook ERV into basement HVAC and leave HVAC fan running all the time. The HVAC would then drive the fresh air that the ERV pumps in and out of the system.
- Keep the ERV as its own isolated system in the basement. This would circulate the basement air, which is the air w/ most radon. However, we'd lose the benefit of fresh air in our whole house.
Can someone confirm that home ERVs do need to hook into existing HVAC systems to drive air flow through a house? And secondly, any recommendations on how you'd proceed in my situation?