Top 3 MVHR brands?

[ashthekid]

Hi,

 

I see there is a wide variety of MVHR units and brands but what are the top 3 rated brands for quality and reliability?

And also a bottom 3 brands to avoid for nightmare issues and bad quality?

I've never installed a system but want to know which ones to avoid but equally which ones are considered the Rolls Royce of MVHR.

 

Thank you.

[Pocster]

I went with vent axia .

Not turned it on yet except to check it works ! . Gets good reviews 

[MJNewton]

I doubt there's all that much difference between them, not least given many (most?) will be using off-the-shelf components such as the fans (ebm papst being very common) and heat exchangers. That only really leaves control boards and external controllers left to fail which I wouldn't expect to see differences in reliability given modern manufacturing techniques. 

Edited April 2, 2021 by MJNewton

[Conor]

If you're looking for high quality, you can't go wrong with anything passive House rated, e.g. zehnder 

[Bitpipe]

We have a Vent Axia Sentinel Kinetic + -  very pleased with it, no issues in 5 years and easy to change filters and remove the heat exchanger for it's annual clean.

 

They're not that complicated inside, four fans and lots of foam plus a few other bits and bobs. Not much to go wrong really. 

[tonyshouse]

Genvex for me 

[PeterW]

Mitsubishi ... but also fitted a Blauberg one and that was very neat. 
 

Also depends on how you define “best”... 

[ashthekid]

Most compact, quiet & efficient for a residential property that doesn’t break the bank. 

[tonyshouse]

Compact will generally equate to less efficient and quiet to mor expensive 

[Alisont]

On 02/04/2021 at 16:43, Bitpipe said:

We have a Vent Axia Sentinel Kinetic + -  very pleased with it, no issues in 5 years and easy to change filters and remove the heat exchanger for it's annual clean.

 

They're not that complicated inside, four fans and lots of foam plus a few other bits and bobs. Not much to go wrong really. 

Did you fit it yourself?  If so was it straightforward or would you recommend installation company?

[Pocster]

51 minutes ago, Alisont said:

Did you fit it yourself?  If so was it straightforward or would you recommend installation company?

I fitted mine ?

It is pretty straightforward 

[Bitpipe]

1 hour ago, Alisont said:

Did you fit it yourself?  If so was it straightforward or would you recommend installation company?

 

DIY and I'm not particularly handy. Lots of information on this forum on how to do it. 

 

Start with a design from one of the suppliers based on your floor plan  - I used BPC. You'll be looking at an extract per bath/kitchen and a supply per bed and otherwise occupied room.

 

Depending on your build method, you may need penetrations in steel beams for the duct runs - these need to be specified, designed by your SE and fabricated, not a thing to be doing on site. 

 

You then fix the ceiling plenums where needed and run duct from there back to the manifold locations, one for extract and one for supply. It's easy enough with pozi joists but be prepared for a bit of swearing. Best done with a helper but I did mine solo.

 

Next job is running large bore duct from the internal manifolds to the unit and running the external large bore ducts from the external vent locations to the unit location, insulating if required. 

 

Once ceilings are up and plastered (I recommend trimming the ceiling plenums before skimming) you attach the vents, position the unit, attach the large bore duct, run the condensate drain as appropriate and basically switch it on.

 

Your electrician should make provision for boost switches if they're to be wired in  - ours were done inline with the lighting controls and use the same PIR trigger as the hot return system.

 

You can then adjust the ceiling ducts to balance flows and check you meet the BR requirements - again, lots of guides here how to do that. You will need to borrow or hire a flow meter.

 

Try and get your ducts in before first fix starts or you may find space taken up with other large services such as foul drains.

[Weebles]

2 hours ago, Alisont said:

Did you fit it yourself?  If so was it straightforward or would you recommend installation company?

+ 1 to @Bitpipe comments. Fitted ourselves as per design from BPC.  If you have any steel beams you may need to consider access through them for services. We planned for some MVHR ducts and plumbing but not sufficient space for all the MVHR ducts. Had to avoid the beam with a huge detour via the roof void resulting in longer runs than planned.  Works fine - was just another problem to solve.

[Bitpipe]

54 minutes ago, Weebles said:

+ 1 to @Bitpipe comments. Fitted ourselves as per design from BPC.  If you have any steel beams you may need to consider access through them for services. We planned for some MVHR ducts and plumbing but not sufficient space for all the MVHR ducts. Had to avoid the beam with a huge detour via the roof void resulting in longer runs than planned.  Works fine - was just another problem to solve.

 

I did not plan any steel penetrations but got lucky with a few gaps but also had a few detours.